Eddie Cera, of Eddie's Sign Service, 1586 W. Windlake Ave., has been a sign painter / maker for 52 years, the last 47 at his current location.
"I made a lot of signs, God, did I make a lot of signs. Sometimes I don't even believe I made all of them," Cera says.
Cera only knows of "a handful, maybe three" guys in the city who still custom paint signs by hand. Cera started his business in his attic when he was 26 years old. "Now, it's all digital -- digital billboards," he says.
Among Cera's many clients for signs and painted trucks were Smith Brothers in Port Washington, Black Bear Bottling (when they were located in St. Francis), Marc's Big Boy and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Cera painted the Klement's Sausage Company trucks 20 years ago.
"I see some of them around, and they are still good," Cera says.
Cera made a lot of outdoor wall signs, most of which are gone because the buildings have been torn down. One of the last of the big ones was Amann's at 6th Street and Lincoln Avenue. The letters were eight feet high and Cera says you could see them from three blocks away. Cera remembers it took four days to do the Amann's sign in 86-degree heat and humidity.
"I don't think I can do the volume I used to do, my body says, 'no,'" says Cera.
In spite of his body's protests, Cera continues to make all kinds of signs, from painted and vinyl, to ones with foam letters, including a sign he is currently making for Anderson Laboratories in Greendale.
Cera's computer broke down two years ago, and he's disappointed in the cost for parts to fix it. So he hasn't. His vinyl letter cutter is also broken, but he'll still make a vinyl sign, just without the machine. Cera purchased the machine in 1989 to speed up some jobs; it was one of the first models the company ever made. When Cera called the company to inquire about servicing it, he was informed that they don't make parts for it anymore.
Cera grew up at 9th Street and Mitchell Street and graduated from Boys Tech (now Bradley Technical and Trade School). Cera went on to Layton School of Art for four years to become a magazine illustrator.
"It was a hard road to becoming an illustrator, you had to go to New York, so I thought I'd just make signs instead," says Cera.
Cera worked with Art Seimann, of Art Seimann Advertising, in his early days. Siemann created the signage at County Stadium when the Braves played there in the late '50s.
"Art did good work. He gave me some tips on what I was doing wrong," Cera says.
Cera, who's been widowed 16 years, has two daughters who live in the area. When not making signs, Cera will occasionally go to the casino to "play with the machines" but he can usually be found in his Windlake Avenue shop.
"When you really love something like this, it's hard to stay away from it. I've got to stay busy, I can't just go for a walk in the mall or something," says Cera.
Cera will reflect on Milwaukee history and it's easy to get him talking about the changes he's witnessed in the city. When Cera was 17, he had a summer job at Sunlight Manufacturing at 23rd Street and Scott Street.
"But they're gone. It's amazing how many companies used to be in Milwaukee, just amazing to think about," he says.
Cera wonders where young people find work now. Five years ago, Cera says "a kid" came into the shop and asked him if he could work for free. "Just to learn a trade, I suppose. He could then go on to a bigger place with some experience and say, 'I used to work for this geezer on Windlake,'" he says.
Despite his old school approach to sign making, Cera still gets work. Yet he wonders whether or not people value his service.
"What gets me is you go to the dentist, who works on your teeth for maybe 15 minutes. It costs 300 bucks and people are OK with that. But you go to the sign maker, who gives you a quote -- and, ah -- that's suddenly too much," Cera says.
Cera can't remember the last time he changed the price for his signs. Cera will charge $250 for a sign measuring approximately four feet by five feet, like the one pictured to the right.
Bruce Taylor, of commercial real estate agency Frisch, Shay and Taylor, Inc., 735 N. Water St., has been using Cera's signs for 39 years. "Eddie was making signs for us before I was here. Initially, I think, he even picked out the company's colors," says Taylor.
Taylor never considered digital signs or going with a larger sign company. "You always buy Chevys, you keep buying them, you know? Really, we've always been happy with his signs," he says.
Taylor also says he's not not looking forward to making a change when the day comes for Cera to stop making signs. Which fortunately may not come anytime soon. At 78, Cera still digs holes for the posts and puts up the signs he makes himself.
"Everyone's gotta be somewhere, at some time, and I'm gonna be here," he says.
