Ox Yoke Inn Neon Sign

The Leichsenring family opened their restaurant in 1940 in Amana, Iowa and moved to its current site in 1950 which had formerly been a communal kitchen built circa 1856. At the suggestion of a friend, the Leichsenrings named the Ox Yoke Inn after settlers who used oxen to clear surrounding land. The neon sign went up shortly after 1950 and was made by Nesper Sign Advertising but regretfully had to be removed due to an Amana Colonies ordinated from 1996. Although Bill Leichsenring was a member of the committee who created the ordinance, he felt that 1950s neon signs “represent the entrepreneurship of Amana residents following the Great Change in 19332 after they abandoned a communal lifestyle…but these signs also contrast with the Amana Colonies’ designation as a national historic landmark.”

Fair