Neon Baby Chick Sign May Shine Again In Petaluma With Help From Fundraiser

PETALUMA, CA — Once touted as the egg capital of Sonoma County — if not the world — Petaluma has been pursuing a different image as a place where the river meets wine country.

Despite the makeover, Petaluma hasn't forgotten its poultry pride. Now a group is raising money to restore a faded sign they say symbolizes the town's past: A chick in faded yellow, outlined by neon, perched above the words "Restaurant" and "The Hatchery."

The sign hangs above the entrance to the Poehlmann Hatchery building, which now houses a gun shop, medical supply store, and music school, rather than the hatchery it once was nearly a century ago. The sign that once beamed the words "Baby Chicks" itself will soon be 90 years old.

The sign at 620 Petaluma Blvd. North is an embarrassing eyesore for people like Petaluma historian Katherine Rinehart, who is leading the Petaluma Signs Project that launched a GoFundMe to restore the sign. As of Thursday afternoon, they had raised $3,412 of the $22,000 they need for the work.

The sign is not far from Petaluma's town center, lined with tasting rooms, restaurants, boutiques, breweries, as well as a cinema and a yacht club, reflecting efforts to find an alternative to the agricultural economy that once supported the town. Indeed, many residents in the area consider Petaluma to be a weekend destination, whose population of just under 60,000 swells on Saturday nights.

One of the groups behind the project is Petalumans of Yesteryear, whose members dress in period costume for tours of historic sites in Petaluma. Inevitably, hatcheries are part of them. The town still celebrates its chicken history through events like the Butter & Egg Days Parade. Many residents in the area have family who worked in the Petaluma poultry industry, preparing eggs for local and long-distance distribution. Many women can still tell stories about "candling" eggs -- assessing the eggs by holding a light up to the shell to see inside.

Mamie Strong, owner of the Poehlmann Hatchery building, inherited the real estate and chick sign, but not the money to restore it, according to project members. Once the neon chick is glowing again, Mamie has committed to keeping it well-maintained and glowing year-round.