Yoken’s sign up for grabs at York antique shop: 'What a treasure'
YORK, Maine — A piece of Seacoast history is up for sale at a local antique shop.
“Yoken’s” reads the lettering across the black whale painted on the 4-by-10-foot wooden sign. It’s not quite as large as the one where Yoken’s Restaurant once stood on Route 1 in Portsmouth, but picker Chris Cameron believes it’s worth at least $1,200.
Cameron found and bought the sign last summer. He is now selling the sign at his booth at Hidden Treasures Antiques & Collectibles on Route 1 in York. The sign is hanging in the rafters of the store, which is home to several antique dealers that rent booths there.
Yoken’s served the Seacoast for more than 50 years, opening in 1947 to offer a restaurant, conference center and a large gift shop. The restaurant served as a pit stop for many prominent individuals, including Presidents Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
“I think it’s just a piece of history,” Cameron said.
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Yoken’s an iconic restaurant for its neon whale sign
Yoken’s, started by Harry Yoken, was known for its massive neon-lit sign. It read “Thar She Blows” and featured the image of a whale shooting water out of its spout.
The whale sign became so iconic and recognizable that even the Air Force used it as a landmark while the Pease Air Force base was operational. When the restaurant closed in 2004, the sign was eventually refurbished and put back in place in 2015 as the sign for Yoken’s Common.
People who miss Yoken’s still talk about its history and share posts about its memorabilia on social media. Jayson Curly Harrington posted in the Facebook group “Yoken’s Restaurant” a picture of the sign for sale at Hidden Treasure.
“What a treasure,” wrote one commenter on the post.
Kevin MacLeod, Yoken’s nephew, said judging by a photograph of the sign, it looks real. He believes it was the sign that stood in the neon landmark’s place when it was taken down for repairs in the 1980s.
“That looks like a legitimate sign,” MacLeod said.
MacLeod, the oldest surviving member of his family at 82, recalled an auction after Yoken’s closed where items, like the sign, would have been sold. While he said there is “no question” the Yoken’s sign is a landmark, he said he doubted people still thought about the restaurant’s heyday. He noted the generations that enjoyed the restaurant are getting older.
“I don’t think there’s much nostalgia for it,” MacLeod said.
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Local picker says sign holds value
Cameron believes the sign holds value to many people on the Seacoast. He said the Yoken’s wooden sign could be the centerpiece of a local restaurant’s décor.
“Everybody who sees that sign always seems to have a story about that restaurant,” Cameron said.
Cameron said he has his own memories of the restaurant. Previously a chef, he said he worked functions at Yoken’s.
Cameron said he coincidentally, only a week before finding the sign, he came across a set of pearls from the Yoken’s gift shop. He believes finding both in one week was a sign.
“When I saw the sign online, it was an omen,” Cameron said.
Cameron believes the sign may have also been placed at a side road entrance to the restaurant, not the temporary one that went up when the neon one needed repairs. He said he found the sign when looking online for items to buy and saw an ad for a collection up for sale in Charlestown, New Hampshire. He said the owner was a picker himself and had died, and his barn was full of items for purchase.
Cameron said he has had some “lowball” offers from other pickers. He stands by his price, however.
“There’s only two signs you can get,” Cameron said. “There’s the one that’s all lit up on Route 1, and then you got my sign.”
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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Yoken’s sign up for sale at York antique shop
