Robin Hood is returning to Cobleskill.
No, not Sir Robin of Locksley himself, but the champion of his namesake flour.
Volunteers are repainting the large and long-faded Robin Hood Flour sign on the side of the Lamont Engineers building at the corner of Main and South Grand streets.
An advertising landmark for decades in downtown Cobleskill, the sign is barely visible on the large brick wall.
But there’s enough to follow and repaint the sign, and that’s what Tim Snyder, Dick Frank, George Yoder and friends are doing.
The project’s been talked about for years, as the sign continued to fade, but plans came together in late summer and fall.
The combined efforts of the Cobleskill Historical Society and Cobleskill Partnership Inc. are getting the painting done.
“Basically, we’re just volunteers using the resources of both groups,” said Mr. Snyder. “It’s a good project.”
Don Briggs sealed the brick a couple of weeks ago, and painting began on Thursday.
Mr. Snyder, Mr. Frank and Mr. Yoder finished the lettering, which has “Robin Hood Flour” in large red letters and “milled from washed wheat” in smaller green letters.
They still need to paint the white background, a red or black border around the large sign and a small figure of Robin Hood that stood between Robin and Hood.
“We may need some help with the figure of Robin Hood, maybe someone who could outline it for us,” Mr. Snyder said.
“It may be a project for next year if the weather doesn’t hold.”
They received permission from the building owner, Raj DeFreitas, and Robin Hood Flour to repaint the sign.
Nobody’s sure how old the sign is. Henry J. Wilson, grandfather of Jim Wilson of Cobleskill, painted it about 1950. But like the work being done now, that was a repainting job, so the sign was on the building before that.
“It’s been talked about for years, and it’s part of the history of our village,” Mr. Snyder said. “Now it’s getting done.”