COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Many cities boast something instantly recognizable. We love to see those landmarks, but we may not think about what it takes to keep it around. This weekend, there's a sweet way to help a bit of local history.
Cream City in Cookeville was already long an institution when Chris and Karen Savage took over.
"She has a degree in marketing from Tennessee Tech," Chris said about wife Karen. "I have a degree in civil engineering from Tennessee Tech. We just thought that would be a good combination for ice cream."
The history of the place goes way back, but the current building showed up in 1950 and so did the iconic three-ton neon Cream City Ice Cream sign.
A wall in the place shows all the different ways local artists have captured the sign. People are always asking if they can get married up there.
"Absolutely not," Karen laughed.
Insurance won't allow for that.
"Just admire the sign from afar," she continued.
"It's the second oldest neon sign in the state of Tennessee," said Ferran Kefauver, executive director of the Cookeville non-profit CityScape.
Cityscape handles the beautification, preservation, and restoration of downtown including the famous sign. This being the original neon does bring about challenges.
"We can't do a whole lot because it loses its historical integrity," Chris said.
"It's why we cannot change to LED," Ferran added. "Keeping the lights on, paying the utilities, repairing bulbs and wires and things, it's just a pricey piece of art."
Ahead of bringing in a team to work on the sign again, the team at Cream City said they have plenty of something to save the day.
"That's the best way we know how to help!" Karen said.
This Saturday, August 17, is Scoop for the Sign. It's an event where a portion of the day's Cream City sales for ice cream, coffee, and more will go to CityScape for the sign.
Right now, the 'I T Y' in the sign doesn't light up. The hope of the effort is after this, they'll be able to afford to fix it.
There's also a way to donate to save the sign — online. You can do that at the CityScape site here.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
