Route 66 Outdoor Mural Exhibits: How They Worked in Cuba MO

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Cuba, Missouri, designated “Route 66 Mural City,” by the Missouri legislature, is often described as a town where art meets history. While some of the outdoor murals have national importance, others more closely reflect Cuba’s workers and the local economy.

 As Viva Cuba’s eighth mural took life on the 1948 Roberts-Judson Sheetmetal & Millworks building, a labor of love began for Julie Nixon Krovicka, a talented Saint Louis artist who graduated from Cuba High School.  

 Local artists Shelly Smith Steiger and Julie Balogh Brand recreated the original signage on the building and gave the utilitarian garage door a vintage look. They began painting an interior scene of the building as it looked when long time employee Francis Nixon practiced his craftsmanship and woodworking on the various tasks involving custom-built doors, windows, and moldings that came his way for the 54 years he worked at the Millworks.

South St. Louis artist, Julie Nixon Krovicka joined Steiger and Brand to paint what was to her a very special part of the mural. Francis Nixon was her father and when Krovicka heard about the mural, she expressed an interest in helping with this part of the design. She joined Cuba’s muralists to paint a loving picture of her dad wearing his trademark overalls with a bandana hanging out of his back pocket and a packet of Wrigley’s gum peeping out of his front pocket.  Krovicka remembers visiting her dad at work during his years at the shop. “I associated my dad with the smell of Wrigley’s gum, Old Spice, and sawdust, to me that was a great smell.”

The building tucked into a side street, provided quality products and employment to a roster of Cuba workers in addition to Francis Nixon. Workers in the Sheetmetal shop were Leonard Thomas, George Scantlan, Jim Reiner, and Walter Wagner.  Employees of the Carpenter shop were Harry Harmon, Harrison Souders, Rowe Matlock, Thadeous Matlock, Clarence Weber, and Sherman Nixon.       

Some of Cuba’s other murals, painted by Shelly Smith Steiger, depict a time when the humble apple drove the local economy. In the early 1900s, apple orchards dotted the countryside, and seasonal workers harvested them.

Apples were shipped in barrels for table use and were shipped loose in boxcars to be made into vinegar. Salesmen traveled from Cuba throughout the U.S. to sell Cuba’s apples. By 1900, Cuba was the largest producer, processor, and distributor of apples in the state of Missouri. Cuba’s became known as “The Land of the Big Red Apple.” http://www.cubamo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=3

During the harvest season from September through October, the orchards employed hundreds of people to get the crops to market. Local businesses associated with the apple industry were barrel cooperages, cider mills, canning factories, and an apple dehydrating company.

In 1906, Rev. Dr. C.B. Carlos of the St. Louis Methodist Church District came to Cuba to address the local Methodists for two Sundays. During his time in Cuba, he happened to spy large piles of apples on the ground that had not been harvested. Being of the “waste not, want not” state of mind, he preached on the text “Gather up the fragments that nothing be lost.” He told the congregation that he could make 1000 worthy people happy with a carload of apples.

Local resident, I.C. Walker, decided to match good words to deed and became enthusiastic about the project. He soon gathered 670 bushels of Cuba apples. Rev. Carlos was contacted, and he in turn, spoke with the Frisco Railroad about transportation. When Frisco officials heard about the project, they offered to ship the apples without charge. The October 22, 1906 Cuba Review reported that 5,654 apples had been shipped by barrel, as well as one carload of bulk apples.

While Cuba is proud of its murals featuring national figures and events, it also treasures the stories of the working men and women of our community who have contributed to its progress.

For photos and information on Cuba’s Mural Project,  www.cubamomurals.com

By Jane Reed

For Viva Cuba Mural Project

573-885-2464

http://cubamomurals.com/wordpress/

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