A monsoon storm on Monday night blew down one side of the iconic “Here It Is” billboard for the Jack Rabbit Trading Post near Joseph City, Arizona, and weakened the other side.
The good news is that a GoFundMe.com fundraising campaign to rebuild the nearly 80-year-old sign reached its goal within hours.
Here’s what the sign looked like Monday night after disaster struck:
The trading post uploaded this video on Facebook of the damaged sign the morning after the storm:
Isabelle Jaquez, daughter of longtime Jack Rabbit owners Tony and Cindy Jaquez, launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the couple rebuild the sign with a goal of $6,500.
The campaign swiftly met that goal and, as of this writing, has generated about 250 donations totaling over $17,000.
“I have made the decision that since we exceeded the goal amount, the rest of the money made will go to any Route 66 shops that need help in any way to restore or rebuild something they are unable to,” Isabelle wrote Tuesday.
The Jaquezes won’t be able to rebuild right away. More storms are in the forecast, and they won’t do any repairs until the weather improves.
Jim Taylor built Jack Rabbit Trading Post along U.S. 66 in 1949. Glen Blansett bought the business in 1967 and passed it on to his son and daughter-in-law two years later. They, in turn, sold it to their daughter and son-in-law and current owners in 1995.
The old Route 66 business, off Exit 269 of Interstate 40, has inspired many travelers, including the creators of the fictional Route 66 town of Radiator Springs for the 2006 Disney-Pixar animated film “Cars.”
(Image of the “Here It Is” billboard for the Jack Rabbit Trading Post in 2018)