POCATELLO — When digital technology revolutionized the camera industry, Fred Cuoio decided he’d stick with what he knew and continued stocking old-fashioned equipment requiring actual film.

Both Cuoio and the small business he operated as sole proprietor for 72 years, Fred’s Photo Service and Supplies, were throwbacks to a former time in the city’s history — he made his transactions using an antique brass-and-iron cash register, and a pair of neon signs welcomed his customers.

Cuoio’s iconic shop closed after he died on Jan. 1, 2011, at age 96, but a local organization has made certain Fred’s Photo Service and Supplies will always have a presence in Old Town Pocatello.

Relight the Night, which is devoted to restoring old neon signs from historic local businesses, has restored the former camera shop’s sign and mounted it on a pole on the Old Town Pavilion grounds. A relighting celebration has been scheduled for 8:15 p.m. April 5 at the pavilion, following First Friday Art Walk. Cuoio’s widow, Frances, will flip the switch to illuminate the sign during the event.

“She wanted to see this lit up, she says, while she’s still on this earth,” her son, Rick, explained. “She’s 96 and anxious to come down and flip the switch next week.”

Rick believes his father’s shop was worthy of the recognition.

“It’s probably one of the longest running businesses in Pocatello ever run by one guy,” he said.

His daughter, Christy, said her father was also an avid photographer and developed photographs. She’s pleased that his sign has been restored to preserve the history of the shop.

“We’ve got to get back to that I think — the old ma and pa shops,” Christy said. “It’s kind of sad when you lose those one-on-one business people who knew their stuff. We don’t have that anymore.”

The Bannock County Historical Museum also has a tribute to Fred’s Photo Service and Supplies, which used to be located in the 500 block of East Center Street. The museum’s director and curator, Lynn Murdoch, said the family has donated some of his old equipment and negatives for the exhibit. They’ve been on display at the museum, along with text about his business for about seven years.

“The cameras are amazing. There’s everything from owners manuals to flash bulbs — all the stuff you used to have,” Murdoch said, adding the equipment is still in good working condition.

Stephanie Palagi, executive director of Old Town Pocatello Inc., said this will be the 14th historic sign in the community to be relit since 2012, also counting some signs that were restored by private owners. Palagi said the Fred’s Photo Service and Supplies sign will be an addition to an envisioned Neon Alley along Union Pacific Avenue, which also includes neon signs of long-standing businesses such as the Whitman Hotel and Molinelli’s Jewelers.

The next sign to be added to Neon Alley will be the old Buster Brown Shoe sign, which features a boy who blinks at passing motorists.

“We have three other signs we own that are in storage right now,” Palagi said. “We’ll be working on them further down the road.”

Randy Dixon, chairman of the Relight the Night Committee, said the committee has invested about $7,500 in the restoration of the Fred’s Photo Supply sign and has worked with the family on the project for about four years. Dixon said Cuoio likely took a million photographs throughout his career, often working for Idaho State University and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Dixon said Cuoio also had a close relationship with members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and made an effort to greet them in their native tongue.

“The history that surrounds the sign is so deep. He was a great man, well admired by everyone who knew him,” Dixon said. “As long as these neon signs shine bright, the history that surrounds them can never be forgotten.”