Signs of Times Gone By in Avalon: And Now Replicas of Jim Leahy’s ‘Welcome’ Signs Are Collectibles
By Dave Coskey
There’s a group of people who love to look back at the days gone by here on the Seven Mile Beach. Here’s a trivia question especially for them: Primarily in the 1970s, but to some extent the ’60s and into the ’80s, there was one person whose name was in virtually every business and public building in both Avalon and Stone Harbor. Can you name him?
The answer? It’s Jim Leahy! He was the sign maker extraordinaire in much of Cape May County but especially here on the Seven Mile Beach. And he called this island his home for almost 50 years.
It’s hard to imagine that in this, the age of LED animated electronic signage, there was actually a time not that long ago when just about every business and public space or building in Avalon and Stone Harbor had at least one hand-painted sign that was created in a small sign shop located on the street level at 2115 Ocean Drive in Avalon. In that small shop, with the glittering letters out front spelling S-I-G-N-S, was where the magic happened. Sign magic created by Jim Leahy.
Phil Judyski, who managed The Bongo Room at the Avalon Hotel while operating his own Phil’s Deli, remembers relying on Leahy for all signage at the legendary nightlife venues The Bongo Room and The Rock Room. “Jim was a great guy, and we relied on him for all of our signage at all of our venues. Jim was the best.”
Leahy’s signage empire was no doubt a byproduct of the fact that his wife, Eleanore, had a desire to live at the Jersey Shore. Already an established salesman in Philadelphia for Nabisco, changing territories didn’t seem like too big a deal. As children, both Eleanore and Jim vacationed in Avalon, so the north end of Seven Mile Beach was the natural destination for the family to relocate. There was just one problem: The Leahy family was growing, six children, and even with all of Cape May County as his new territory, it only equated to less than a very small portion of his previous route in Philadelphia. As you might expect, commissions mirrored the sparse population of Cape May County. And with a growing family to support.
Leahy is remembered by his son, Bill, a realtor in Avalon for decades, as a naturally gifted artist. “Dad was very talented as an artist,” he remembers. With the island just beginning to burgeon, Leahy realized that signs would be needed, and thus it became what’s referred to today as a side hustle, only in a very big way. Over time, his signature, -LEAHY-, may have been the single most familiar sight from one end of the Seven Mile Beach to the other, as well as for much of Cape May County.
He hand-lettered and painted signs of all shapes and kinds: menu boards, operating hours, outdoor, indoor – if you could imagine it, Jim Leahy could make and paint it. And often did. Despite the literally hundreds of signs on the island, most people would acknowledge Leahy’s most defining signs, which were perhaps his “welcome to” signs in both towns. For the better part of five decades, every person coming into either town on the Seven Mile Beach, regardless of roadway or bridge, was welcomed by a sign designed, painted, and signed by Jim Leahy. For many years, there were as many as eight signs by Jim Leahy welcoming everyone to both towns, regardless of which route or bridge they took. Over time, they’ve become treasured, iconic memories of both Avalon and Stone Harbor.
A Leahy sign is still the first memory that generations of island visitors have of their visits here decades ago. People can only dream of the legacy Jim Leahy established: one that endures today, more than four decades after his passing.
An example of the instant recognition of his work occurred in early January, when the Avalon Historical Society partnered with the Borough of Avalon and the Avalon Library and History Center to recreate a series of classic Leahy Welcome to Avalon signs on Avalon Boulevard for 2026. Simply powered by the memories of so many, a Seven Mile Times Facebook post, midweek in mid-January, promoting the boulevard signage program, generated 175,000 total page views, most in under 48 hours. What a compliment to the power of -LEAHY-.
People from all walks of life and from all corners of the country have commented on the resurgence of the Welcome to Avalon signs.
Robin Sonner, a former resident, commented, “Jim Leahy did ‘The Sonners’ sign for our home at 50 East 14th Street. The sign still hangs today in my office here in California.”
From his home in Colorado, contractor Mike Studzinski remembered, “Mr. Leahy made two signs for me. He suggested that I use two different telephone numbers. It would make it look like I had more than one truck.”
“The welcome to Avalon signs were classics here in Avalon,” says Avalon Mayor John McCorristin. “Everyone had signs by Jim. Going back when we had New Dawn Surf Shop, they were Leahy signs.”
According to Pat Killian, “He painted an Irish blessing for our new home in 1962. It hung there until we sold it in 1998.”
And Mary Mazza Gambone remembered “Sitting and waiting for my dad to arrive on Fridays at the corner of 21st Street and Ocean Drive. We loved watching Mr. Leahy paint.”
But Craig Montesano probably summed it up best with his one-word comment: “-LEAHY-”.
No one had a better view of Leahy working at his drafting table that he fashioned into his work easel than former Stone Harbor Mayor Judy Davies-Dunhour. The Davies family owned and lived above the space at 2115 Ocean Drive, where Leahy’s studio was located.
“Oh my gosh,” Davies-Dunhour says at the thought of her former family home. “I’m sure that my rugrat siblings and I drove him crazy running around. I remember the big table that he worked at, I remember that he paid us $50 a month rent, but I especially remember playing with drumsticks on his desk. He’d also hand us the rent check each month and instruct us to give it to mother.”
The drumsticks were just another example of the many talents of Jim Leahy. Another way that he supported his growing family was with the Jim Leahy orchestra, a group of local musicians that often included Avalon pharmacist Dan Keen. They played local club dates, dinner dances, and even high school proms. Naturally, the orchestra was promoted with a large Leahy sign that everyone saw when they walked into his sign shop.
So many people have played pivotal roles in helping to establish the towns of Avalon and Stone Harbor that we love today, but no one played a larger role than Jim Leahy. Truly a sign of the times.
Collect all 4 versions of the historic Leahy signs
The Avalon Historical Society, along with the Borough of Avalon, will rotate a different classic “Welcome to Avalon” sign by Jim Leahy every three months along Avalon Boulevard in 2026. The signs from 1964, 1972, 1976, and 1982 were restored from authentic photos from Jim Leahy’s personal collection by Jenn Forster of Seven Mile Publishing.
As each new sign is posted, an individually numbered card version of that sign will be available on a first-come basis, in limited quantities, at the Avalon History Center on 39th Street, all free of charge courtesy of the Avalon Historical Society, the Borough of Avalon, and the Avalon Library/History Center. Just another great reason to occasionally visit the Avalon History Center on 39th Street.
The next sign to be displayed and offered on a collectible card will come in April. It’s a version from 1975 and perhaps the sign that was displayed for the longest time in the 1970s.
Be sure to keep your eyes on the signs and, when you see a new sign, get to the Avalon History Center for your collectible version. And thanks to the Borough of Avalon, the Avalon Library and History Center, and the Avalon Historical Society.