From Market to Motel

Yesterday was one of those days. Had a protracted interaction with a teen who shall go nameless that left me pissed and sad. I always get sad when I get angry at my kids because I think it means I've failed as a mother. I do come to grips eventually but in the meantime I'm always sad. We went and picked the Honda up, more money, sigh. Then we went to see the uncovered Bunny's signs but I was too late and what I wanted to see was covered up again. We drove out in the country to get a couple of pictures for work and then I stopped to get another picture of a sign.

We came home in very slightly better moods. I cleaned up a huge piece of poop from where I was going to sit down (poor Hattie…old age is just not dignified), had a glass of wine, muttered about my son, cooked dinner so he'd have something to eat and then ate popcorn for dinner.

Here's are the pictures I DID manage to get at Bunnie's.

Here is the other sign I stopped to get a picture of. I had posted a picture of the Brownie's Market sign and somebody had asked if I'd seen the other side and oddly, I hadn't so stopped to see it today.

What a delightful surprise. On the back, it says Jay's Ranch Motel. Well, actually the neon says that on both sides, but the painting is a little different. On the back side you can see the lettering for both Brownie's Market and Jay's Ranch Motel.

Newspaper clippings from the 40's and 50's refer to a Brownie's Market in Paxton and maybe Rantoul too. The only mention I found of Jay's Ranch Motel is from a 1963 florist convention notice of some sort.

But then again there evidently was a Brownie's Market here in Champaign, too. Who knows.

I found this photo of Jay's Ranch and Motel from the 1950s on 45 in Somer Township…so right location. I assume this was the ranch part and our sign was on the motel part??

Getting VERY itchy for a wander.

Onward.