Goodwin Sign Company

Our history expert solves local mysteries: who, what, when, where, why, and why not. Well, sometimes.

March 10, 2021

8:00 AM

photograph © Bill Goodwin

Dear Vance: My father was a sign painter in Memphis. This old photo shows a fine example of his work, but I can’t locate the building. Can you help? — B.G., Memphis.

Dear B.G.: The artistry here is impressive — just look at the effort your father put into the “G” of Midwest Dairy's Golden Royal Ice Cream. To answer your question: In 1954 John Gegan opened his drug store at 1228 Lamar, on the southeast corner of Lamar and Bellevue. He purchased the property from Albert Frayle, whose name is still visible across the front of the building.

This building, erected in the 1930s, had always been home to different pharmacies. Over the years, it was Walker Mabry Drugs, Kendall-Rambo Drug Co., Curtis Drug Co., and Frayle Drug Store. Gegan bought it after operating two small groceries in Midtown, but the wonderful sign shown here probably didn’t remain on the building very long. Within five years, the store became Gray’s Pharmacy.

Now, right about here, anybody who’s read this column knows that I usually go into an obsessive overview of people I’ve mentioned, such as Gegan or Frayle. I may even provide a year-by-year history of the property itself.

Look, I’m not doing that this time, because I’m more intrigued by the life of the sign painter. After all, he was obviously very talented, so confident about his work that he put his name at the bottom, and drove a nice Chevrolet panel truck with his name painted on the doors. So who was Harold Goodwin?

I contacted B.G. — that would be Bill Goodwin — and asked him to tell me about his dad. Here’s the story.

photograph © Bill Goodwin

In 2000 Harold Goodwin came out of retirement to paint a vintage-style Coca-Cola sign on the Union Avenue wall of AutoZone Park. It’s still there today.

Born in Memphis in 1927, Harold Goodwin attended Humes High School, where he met his future wife, Dorothy Pearson. They married in 1948, and his new father-in-law, a professional sign painter, taught him the rudiments of the craft. Harold first worked for a local sign company called Arnett, but after a while, decided to head out on his own. His main clients were Midwest Dairy and Ful-o-Pep feeds, and he’d paint their ads on buildings, barns, siloes, whatever “canvas” was available. The work carried him all over the Mid-South.

“The drugstore photograph from 1954 is significant because it depicts the very beginning of his career,” says Bill. “This was one of the first signs he did for Midwest, and it includes the first truck with his name on it.”

Bigger things were in store. One day, Harold was high on a ladder painting a Midwest billboard at Russwood Park baseball stadium and noticed a fellow in a suit, watching him carefully. He became curious when the same man showed up the next day. “If you’re an artist like my dad,” says Bill, “you don’t want people standing over you. So he yelled down, “Hey, what do you want?’”

The man responded, “You’re a pretty good sign painter. How would you like to come work for Coca-Cola?” It turns out he was in charge of outdoor advertising for the local bottling company. Bill says, “My dad told me later that he almost jumped off the ladder to hug the man.”

That offer was good news, because in recent years Harold had, as Bill put it, “started feeling a spiritual tug and wanted to become a minister.” The new job would keep him in Memphis, while allowing him to attend school to study for the ministry. And besides, he now had a son (Bill was born in 1958) and wanted to spend time with him.

But first things first: Harold agreed to paint signs for Coca-Cola, but only as an independent contractor. “Dad didn’t like meetings and didn’t put up with nonsense,” says Bill, “so that’s why he wanted to work on his own.”

Harold painted almost every Coca-Cola sign around town. About this time, Bill began to help his father after school and on weekends. “I was 12 years old,” he says, “and I was riding around in the truck, carrying ladders, cleaning brushes, and learning how to mix paints.” After a while, he began to help his father with the actual painting.

I won’t reveal how billboard artists can transfer a small sketch into a painted sign that may stretch 20 feet wide, but Harold showed Bill how to master the craft. Harold was talented enough with various Coca-Cola signs that he could freehand the preliminary design, including the all-important “sweep” — that red ribbon across the logo.

Bill recalls. “I might finish a sign and Dad would step back and say, ‘Son, I see some holidays over here.’” That was sign lingo for places where the base coat peeked through the final colors. So that meant another trip up the ladder, until the billboard met his father’s approval.

While Bill filled in the red and white blocks of color, his father would lay out the “privilege” — the additional wording for the store name, address, whatever was needed. The father-and-son team stayed busy with new signs, while repainting older ones that had faded over the years.

“Dad was a master,” says Bill. “I never reached the level that he did, and it would take me twice as long to paint signs as he did. He just had a gift.”

Meanwhile, Harold enrolled part-time at Memphis State University and at the same time became a lay minister for Decatur Street Christian Church, mentored by the senior pastor, Rev. Thomas O. Slaughter. It took him ten years, but he earned a bachelor’s degree in speech and later a master’s degree in counseling.

Throughout the late 1950s and ’60s, he also served other congregations in Rossville, Eads, and Covington. In 1967, he returned to Decatur Street, where he was named the associate minister after Slaughter stepped down. In 1969, the Rev. Harold Goodwin oversaw the church’s move to a modern building in Bartlett.

It seems he never stopped working or studying and eventually earned a master of divinity degree from Memphis Theological Seminary. In 1990, he retired from the ministry — but not for long. In 1995, he became an assistant minister with Lindenwood Christian Church at East Parkway and Union, until his “final” retirement in 2012.

By this time Bill, who studied journalism at Memphis State, had taken over the business side of their company. “I would go after the customers, and my dad and I would do the painting,” he says. “Even though our roles were reversed, there we were, father and son, still working side by side.”

Harold was a perfectionist, Bill recalls. “I might finish a sign and Dad would step back and say, ‘Son, I see some holidays over here.’” That was sign lingo for places where the base coat peeked through the final colors. So that meant another trip up the ladder, until the billboard met his approval.

About this time, their painting operations began to wind down. Across the country, Coca-Cola cut its budget for outdoor advertising. Bill picked up other accounts, including Carburetor Clinic and Xpert Tune, but new technology was the main factor.

photograph © Bill Goodwin

Bill Goodwin painted this old-fashioned Coca-Cola sign on property he owned in Arlington. He and Harold pose on a ladder by the newly completed work in 1997.

“Vinyl came in,” says Bill. “Vinyl banners and lettering, and that marked the end of the sign painting business.”

One of Harold’s last signs is still prominently displayed Downtown. In 2000, he painted the vintage-style Coca-Cola sign on a wall of AutoZone Park (shown here). He passed away on Christmas Day 2018. Bill’s mother, known to everyone as Dot, had died five years earlier.

For a while, Bill went to work for American Sign Shops and later became the managing editor of Memphis Home Garden magazine. Today, he works in the insurance business.

“A lot of our signs are still around,” says Bill, “and I’ll get calls to repaint some that have faded. But if technology had not outpaced us, we would still be going. I would have loved to introduce my three sons to the business, but it just wasn’t in the cards.”

Bill obviously relishes the “windshield time” he and his father spent in their Chevy truck, driving all over the region, painting billboards for Coca-Cola and other clients. “We’d work hard,” he says, “but it was a wonderful time for both of us.”

Harold and Bill Goodwin didn't confine their sign-painting skills to red-and-white Coca-Cola logos. Quite a few buildings (and structures) in Memphis and Shelby County — and West Tennessee — have carried examples of their handiwork promoting other businesses and products. Here's a gallery of some of their best-known signs, and all of them are outstanding examples of the lost art of hand-painted signs and billboards.

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The Public Eye was one of this city's most popular barbecue eateries, and an Overton Square landmark.

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First it was Godfather’s, a popular club in Overton Square. Then the club at the corner of Madison and Cooper became Solomon Alfred’s. It was torn down to make way for the French Quarter Inn. And THAT was torn down, and the site is now headquarters and studio space for Ballet Memphis.

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Harold and Bill Goodwin didn't just paint billboards and signs. One year they painted this eye-catching design on the floor of the swimming pool at the downtown hotel.

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Thirsty? Take your pick. Note the intricate borders that Goodwin applied to the Schepps and Coca-Cola signs.

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A great example of a vintage-style Coca-Cola sign. A lot of work (and colors) went into this one.

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Another example of the Goodwins' work that was on display in Overton Square. It was hard to miss this sign.

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When was ”Pure As Sunlight” ever used as a slogan for Coca-Cola? Also unusual is the name at the bottom of this sign, painted to promote the Tennessee Homecoming celebration in Henning: Willie Goodwin. According to Bill, this was a tribute to his grandfather (his father’s father, whose first name was Willie.

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Harold and Bill often worked together, but here, it's Bill's son (Harold's grandson) on the ladder.

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A concrete silo makes a great can-shaped “canvas’ for a soft-drink company. It's interesting that the actual quantity of this ”can” was left as ???.

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Tops Barbecue still has locations throughout Memphis. This sign was located on Summer Avenue. A lot of work went into this one.

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This really beautiful Coca-Cola sign was located on the town square in Corinth, Mississippi. Goodwin had a keen eye for details; notice how the "C" loops through the top of the "L."

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This eye-catching sign for Mitchell’s Tuxedos was located on Highland.

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Sometimes Harold would sign his work with just initials: WHG. Here, he did it twice. The full name of both father and son was William Harold Goodwin (with Jr. added for Bill).

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A relatively simple sign could be turned into something special, with the addition of the "Donut Man" character. This sign was located at Southern and Highland.

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Leonard's was a Memphis institution, originally established here in 1922.

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Nothing you see here was a decal or stencil. Everything was hand-painted.

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This is another example of an old-style Coca-Cola sign, with a very elaborate border.

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Look carefully and you’ll see that this sign carried the signature for “Goodwin & Son.” The very subtle blue border is a nice touch, and the cursive "Outrageous!" is a masterpiece of hand lettering.

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In 1997, Bill Goodwin painted this Coca-Cola sign on a building he owned in Arlington. It wasn’t meant to be an “official” promotion for Coke; Bill just wanted a sign there — as a remembrance of his family’s life in the sign-painting business. Here, he is posing with his father and his three sons.