When Johnny Cade said to Ponyboy, “Stay gold,” in the beloved Tulsa, Oklahoma young adult classic The Outsiders, it’s unlikely that he was referring to the nearby sign for Meadow Gold Dairy. Yet for decades, the City of Tulsa worked to make the classic Route 66 neon sign would glow again. Meadow Gold Dairy was a regional brand owned by Beatrice Creamery Company, an early 20th-century food conglomerate. In 1934, the sign was constructed by the Claude Neon company, built a few blocks from where it now stands. The neon…
