The warm glow of neon, made on the Westside

[Erik Sine]

The warm glow of neon, made on the Westside

Toby Norris works with neon in a small Westside shop

Jacksonville Community News

By Matt Soergel

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Toby Norris fixes and makes neon signs and, when asked, admits that neon's bright and warm light does indeed brighten and warm his soul. He likes the stuff.

But he's a burly Vietnam vet with a plainspoken streak, and he's not one to rhapsodize about his calling, his craft.

"The first one I did this morning was fun," he said in his small repair shop on Blanding Boulevard. "The second one I did was kind of fun. The rest were pure work."

Newfangled LED signs have eaten into his business significantly. But there's still enough call for the real thing to keep his two-person company, Norris Neon, pretty busy.

Norris is 66. He grew up in Canton, Ohio, where his family ran a tiny corner store, S&N Confectionery, at 10th and McKinley. He supposes that's where he got his taste for now-old things.

He likes antique advertising, business-related antiques, and his Westside shop has an antiques store that fronts on Blanding. It has old signs, phonographs, bottles of tooth powder and much more. It's never open, though. He has regulars who visit, coming in the back door through the neon shop.

At work, Norris wears a battered 1st Cavalry Division hat on his head. He was drafted into the Army on Christmas Eve 1964. He was sent to Vietnam from late 1965 to early 1967; he was a crew chief and door gunner on an Army helicopter.

Norris doesn't go in for much war talk. "There's a lot of mundane things you do in war, too. We came out relatively unscathed. We got shot at, but ... "

He leaves it at that.

Norris said after he came back from the war, he got on with life and left the arguing and the cheering to others. He didn't — and doesn't — care if others his age went or didn't go. That was their decision.

"I'm kind of an American patriot. I don't want to get into the politics of it. I think we did a good thing," he said. "It was something the country asked me to do. And I did it."

He was 28 and single when he headed for a more exciting life in Fort Lauderdale. He stopped to visit an uncle in Jacksonville. He ended up staying, for 38 years so far, and has become a dedicated student of the history of his adopted home.

He owned a sandwich shop for a while, among other things. And he bought and sold antiques, his real passion. That led to neon: He had old neon that needed fixing, so after getting some training from a repairman on the Northside (who died within the last few years), Norris began working on his own pieces from a garage in Riverside.

People heard about him and started taking their projects to him. And so Norris Neon was born.

Helen Bouschor joined him at work about 14 years ago. She's of Chippewa Indian descent, from Michigan, and was working in a casino up there when she started training in neon. She does most of the bending of the tubes into shapes and letters, blowing air into the tubes while heating them over a natural-gas frame. Norris says she's better at it than he is. Younger, too. That helps.

You might have seen their neon on the Main Street Bridge during the Super Bowl. They did the neon sign at Freebird Live in Jacksonville Beach. The cool neon in downtown's Poppy Love Smoke lounge.

They work for individuals, including some who want neon pieces for around the house. They've brought to life the ideas of neon artists. They work for sign companies, and they work for restaurants and bars.

On a recent day they were making relatively simple signs that said "gyros" and "oyster bar," as well as several complex Sam Adams signs that twist and turn on each other.

Over the years, Norris has thought about turning neon into art, bending and blending neon tubes with ordinary old objects — "found objects, things I like," he said.

He's never gotten around to it; he's always been too busy working. The way he looks at it, at this point, he probably never will. "I'm 67," he exclaimed. "Almost."

But he doesn't waste his time wondering what could have been. For what, he figures, is the sense in that?

[Erik Sine]

Don't know him but he sounds like such a patient person. Sure would love to hear the Vietnam talk though.

[Guest Signtiffic]

I like the article, the man, and by all means, the girl who is from what is arguable one of the best states in the country. Of course, I have some Michigan bias.

Other than that, I can't say I'd ever ask anyone to tell me war stories......yet I sure would listen intently if they brought it up. I too am a patriot and Norris hit 3 nails on the head.......

Norris doesn't go in for much war talk. "There's a lot of mundane things you do in war, too. We came out relatively unscathed. We got shot at, but ... "

He leaves it at that.

Norris said after he came back from the war, he got on with life and left the arguing and the cheering to others. He didn't — and doesn't — care if others his age went or didn't go. That was their decision.

"I'm kind of an American patriot. I don't want to get into the politics of it. I think we did a good thing," he said. "It was something the country asked me to do. And I did it."

[Erik Sine]

I like the article, the man, and by all means, the girl who is from what is arguable one of the best states in the country. Of course, I have some Michigan bias.

Other than that, I can't say I'd ever ask anyone to tell me war stories......yet I sure would listen intently if they brought it up. I too am a patriot and Norris hit 3 nails on the head.......

Norris doesn't go in for much war talk. "There's a lot of mundane things you do in war, too. We came out relatively unscathed. We got shot at, but ... "

He leaves it at that.

Norris said after he came back from the war, he got on with life and left the arguing and the cheering to others. He didn't — and doesn't — care if others his age went or didn't go. That was their decision.

"I'm kind of an American patriot. I don't want to get into the politics of it. I think we did a good thing," he said. "It was something the country asked me to do. And I did it."

Yeah, I know that's something you don't ask about, I have a bunch of uncles and great uncles from just about WWII and on. But, there are those times you get to, "hear" about it.

I think he has a good voice in that video.

[manuellynch]

My uncle was a US airforce pilot - never heard him tell stories. He looked like and talked like John Wayne. He was 90. He died on Saturday.