Charlie Rundquist remembers how, as a young child, his father would put him in the backseat of his Kaiser and cruise down the Strip or Fremont Street to look at the neon lights and glittering signs of the city’s skyline.
His father would stare at the lights, too. Not in youthful admiration, but to scrutinize signs and see if a bulb had burst, a light was out, or the neon had tarnished.
The weekly field trips for Rundquist were sign patrol assignments for his father, who worked for Yesco, then called the Young Electric Sign Company.
The company is responsible for most of the neon and LED signs in Las Vegas, including Vegas Vic, the Silver Slipper, several panoramic video screens on Las Vegas Boulevard, and the newly installed letters on Allegiant Stadium. On Friday, the company will celebrate its 100th anniversary...