Alumni Feature: Bill Eames (1957) Relights the Night

point across town. They create the ‘magic of the night’ and add a burst of color to even the grayest of days.” Eames not only donated the sign to ISU, he also transported it from California to Pocatello all by himself. “I drove a U-Haul rental truck from Laffayette, California, all the way to ISU to drop off these 20 crates of drugs as well as this sign,” Eames said. “At the time, they did not realize they were getting a sign with all these drugs.” Initially, the idea was to find a home for the sign on ISU’s campus near the College of Pharmacy, according to a plaque positioned next to the Rexall Drug sign during the relighting ceremony. No home was secured for the sign, and in early 2018, the Idaho State University Foundation contacted Old Town Pocatello Foundation to see if Relight the Night had any interest in the sign. After inspecting the sign, Relight the Night expressed a strong interest in assuming ownership of the sign and asked ISU to store it until the group could find the correct place to store the sign in order to preserve, the plaque read. Fast forward to last October, and Eames was back in Pocatello to attend the ISU homecoming festivities. During his stay in Pocatello, Eames met with Relight the Night representatives. As a result of that meeting, Eames donated the Ukiah Rexall Drug neon sign to the committee to be cared for, renovated and eventually relit. A few months ago, Relight the Night finally found a permanent home for the sign in the Cottonwood Junction store, which is located in the historic Woolworth’s Department Store Building on Main Street in Old Town Pocatello. Both Eames and Snyder shared the cost to restore the sign, which has been preserved as an official historic artifact, the plaque said. Like all the Relight the Night neon signs, the Ukiah Rexall Drug store sign is timer-operated, meaning it will turn on at dusk and shut off at midnight every day. Installed on wheels, the sign is portable. Unlike the other 13 signs Relight the Night has brought back to life in Pocatello, the Ukiah Rexall Drug sign sits at eye-level, positioned in the window of the Cottonwood Junction storefront, something Snyder was thrilled about. “I love the idea that this sign is portable and at a street level like none of the other signs,” Snyder said. “The fact that visitors can now enjoy a close up look at a working neon sign is really, really cool.”

Written by Shelbie Harris for the Idaho State Journal October 10, 2019 Reprinted with permission by Idaho State Journal