My folks and I were headed to the Smokies when we paused for gas just north of Corbin, Kentucky. I’m not usually one to admire corporate truck stop signs, but the one at Love’s was impossible to ignore. Towering over the interstate like some roadside monolith, it was certainly the biggest sign I’ve ever seen! I simply had to snag a couple of pictures on the way down and on the way back.
Love’s Travel Stops is a family-owned chain of more than 650 travel centers in the United States. The company was founded in 1964 when Tom and Judy Love spent $5,000 they borrowed from Judy’s parents to reopen an abandoned gas station in Oklahoma1. The couple opened forty more quick stops over the next eight years and reached a hundred by 1981. By 2019, the company owned five-hundred! Sadly, Tom Love died in 2023 at eighty-five2. Judy Love followed at eighty-seven in 20243.
Eventually, Love’s came to the part of Corbin, Kentucky situated in Laurel County. The fourteen-acre property at 34 Adams Road4 sits just west of I-75’s junction with Kentucky Route 770 and may be one of the busiest stops in all of Corbin! At least it felt that way when I was there. What astonished me more than its business was the size of the truck stop’s sign. The towering structure had to be enormous, I guess, considering it stood nearly a quarter mile from the interstate and needed to command attention. I’ve seen a lot of roadside signage in my travels, but nothing quite like this one.
Maybe it’s a little weird to get excited over a truck stop sign, but ours was a rainy, windy drive that lacked the chance for tons of pictures elsewhere. At any rate, that’s what I love about travel: the small (or in this case, humongous) unexpected details that grab your attention and make a moment stick! The Love’s in Corbin might be just another pit stop for most people barreling towards Tennessee, but for me, that colossal sign became a symbol of the open road itself: it’s loud, proud, and impossible to ignore. Truly- this sign is huge!
Sources Cited
1 Dennis, Y.W., Hirschfelder, A., Molin, P.F. (2022). Indigenous Firsts: A History of Native American Achievements and Events. Visible Ink Press [Canton Charter Township]. Book.
2 Lackmeyer, S. (2023, March 7). Tom Love, founder of Live’s Travel Stops, dead at age 85. The Oklahoman. Web. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
3 Lackmeyer, S. (2024, November 5). Judy Love, philanthropisdt, co-founder of Love’s Travel Stops, dead at 87. The Oklahoman. Web. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
4 Laurel County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2025). London. Parcel ID: 122-00-00-050.00. Map.
I have patronized Loves fairly often, and need to start looking at their signs!
I should have taken a picture of a normal one for comparison!