Painted signs from the past emerge during WAFER pantry project in La Crosse

A couple of decades-old signs on La Crosse’s north side are visible again, but only for a brief time.

Painted billboards for the Dolly Madison dairy and Kingsbury beer are on a wall facing George Street were uncovered as part of the construction at a former Piggly Wiggly store at corner of George and Gillette streets.

The building, also known as Birnbaum’s in the past, is being renovated for use by the WAFER Food Pantry.

The signs were painted by Frank Kaufmann, who served for many years on the La Crosse city council and appear to date back to the 1940s or 50s.

WAFER posted an online message, saying photos are being taken of the painted signs, because they may need to be removed as part of the building renovation.

The WAFER staff says a goal is to have the storefront resemble the way it looked in 1906, long before those signs were painted.