11 Alabama things we'd miss if they were gone

The "Go to Church or the Devil Will Get You" sign. The iconic sign erected by businessman Billy Newell along I-65 in Deatsville always elicits a response from passersby. (AP File/Dave Martin)

An iconic Alabama road sign vanished in September, leaving many wondering what happened to the red devil that has for decades warned drivers on Interstate 65 of the dangers of not going to church.

The "Go to church or the devil will get you" sign was built many years ago by construction contractor W.S. "Billy" Newell on his property alongside I-65 north of Prattville. Newell, who died in 2009 at age 87, had a strong belief in God and loved America, according to an Associated Press report from that time.

A powerful storm rolled through the area in the second week of September, knocking the sign down but not seriously damaging it, said Benita Hunt, executive assistant to Newell's sons, Sam and Keith, at W.S. Newell & Sons Construction in Montgomery.

"It's going back up," Hunt said today. "We just haven't had time to get out there."