One of the inspirations for doing what I do is Mike and Frank from American Pickers, driving around in there van looking for “rusty gold”. I am not looking stuff to buy, but I am always looking for interesting things along the way that I can photograph. I always try to take back roads when I can, and traveling from Chesaning to Oakley, I saw this old semi trailer. I could make out a logo, but not to well, but it defiantly caught my eye since I especially like old advertising signs and murals. When I got home and looked closer at the photograph, I realized it was a Rainbo Bread trailer. It looks like it has been converted to something else since it has a smoke stack out the side, but the original logo was still visible.
It was fascinating to find it, since my dad used to work at the bread factory in Saginaw a long time ago. I remember going on a tour there when I was younger, and getting some freshly baked bread at the end of the tour. I tried to find the history of Rainbo Bread online but I could not find anything, the internet seems as empty as the building that was once home the bakery on Holland and Remington in Saginaw’s East Side.
I remember we always had Rainbo bread as a kid, and a lot of the stuff we bought was made locally and you knew where and how it was made. Now I go to the store and who knows where the stuff comes from, China I mostly. Maybe that is why I like the old advertising signs, and Frank and Mike buy a lot of them for their store.
There were lager corporations when I was a kid, but they had local factories since it was a little more difficult to ship, now anything can be shipped anywhere, and made who knows where. I guess that is why I prefer to go to locally owned and operated business.
