Clinton resident saves iconic Ken's Korner Red Apple sign
A Clinton resident, John Norris, salvaged the roughly 18 foot by 7 foot Ken's Korner Red Apple sign as the storefront was cleared for renovation, a site that will become a Grocery Outlet. The recovery underscores shifting retail landscapes and raises questions about how Island County preserves local commercial history.
John Norris of Clinton removed the large Ken's Korner Red Apple sign while a longtime storefront on the town's main strip was being cleared for renovation. The sign measures roughly 18 foot by 7 foot and is built of neon and aluminum, a construction style that reflects an earlier era of commercial signage. The building that hosted the sign is being repurposed and will reopen under a Grocery Outlet banner.
Norris negotiated with the demolition crew to recover the fixture rather than allowing it to be discarded. He has a local track record of collecting historic signs and indicated he might part with this item for the right price. The salvage came to light in reporting published on November 14, 2025 and has drawn attention from residents who recall the site under previous operators.
The Ken's Korner location has hosted multiple grocery incarnations over the decades, including operations known as Hope's, Myers Mark and Pak, and Red Apple and IGA. The site also endured a notable fire in 1969, an event that remains part of local memory and that helps explain the layered commercial history of the corner. Those successive uses illustrate a wider pattern of retail turnover in small town centers as chain and discount stores replace locally branded grocers.
Beyond the immediate salvage, the episode speaks to broader economic and cultural shifts. Sign technologies have moved from neon tubes and formed aluminum to LED modules and printed vinyl, which reduces maintenance costs and initial outlays but also accelerates the disappearance of older fabric and craft. For collectors and municipal historians a recovered sign can be both artifact and asset, holding potential value to museums, private collectors, or businesses seeking a vintage aesthetic.
The local policy implications are practical. When redevelopment occurs, salvage opportunities can preserve community character at low cost, but they also require coordination between property owners, contractors and local government. This case highlights a potential role for a systematic salvage or inventory program that would allow historic commercial elements to be documented and retained rather than lost in renovation projects.
For Island County residents the recovered Red Apple sign is a tangible reminder of a changing retail economy and an invitation to consider how public memory is preserved amid building turnover. Whether the sign remains in private hands, enters a local collection, or reappears in a new public setting, its recovery demonstrates that community history can be rescued even as storefronts evolve.
