Local Sign Companies Do Big Business

St. Tammany Parish has been home to a variety of well-appreciated and capable sign companies.

One of the area's best known signmakers was Robert Glenn Crutchfield. He was an art teacher at Mandeville High School and later owned his own business “Sign Services” in Covington, LA. He passed Saturday January 28, 2023, in Covington, LA at the age of 95. He was born in Jackson, TN and lived most of his life in St. Tammany Parish.  He enjoyed woodworking and was very passionate about sports, according to his obituary. In 1950 he served as a cheerleader for Southeastern Louisiana College.

Bob Crutchfield, left, and working as an art teacher in 1973

In 1961 the St. Tammany Tribune ran this photo and business review of the S & M Electric sign company on Jefferson Avenue in Covington. Apparently its owner F. J. Schwab was quite successful in providing many of the metal and electrical signs we saw for years all over the area. 

Click on the image to make it larger and more readable. 

Nick's Sign Shop was another busy sign shop in the Covington area.

Lamar Barthet ran Victory Signs in Slidell, located first on Military Road, then Fremaux Avenue at the Interstate 12 exchange. During the 1980's he specialized in commercial signage and truck letterings, with an occasional billboard. Before coming to St. Tammany, he had a sign company "Signs by Bart" in New Orleans, and there he did a number gold-leaf lettering signs for glass office doors. 

Lamar Barthet on ladder, and his sign shop in Slidell

See also:

Signs of the Times

Signmaker Harold Marquart