Four generations of the Nelson family on Sunday unveiled the newest Route 66-related mural in Boswell Park in Lebanon, Missouri.
The mural, titled “Nelson Family Legacy,” was a $75,000 project in which 143 people, businesses and organization donated money to finish it, according to the blog of the Lebanon-Laclede County Route 66 Society.
Bruce Owen, one of the great-grandsons of Arthur T. Nelson and grandson of Frank Nelson, both Route 66 pioneers and entrepreneurs, spoke at the ceremony:
Owen told the story of how the Nelsons donated the land for Route 66 to be built through the west side of Lebanon, then built a string of successful Route 66 businesses, including Nelson Tavern and Nelson’s Dream Village.
The mural was completed in April and left uncovered until the morning of the ceremony. The tarp was pulled off by Owen, his brother Nelson, Bruce’s son Zach, Nelson’s daughter Nancy, Bruce’s grandson Reid, and Zeke and Harper Vanelli, children of Ashley and Will Vanelli and Nelson Owen’s great-grandchildren.
Also helping pull the tarp off was Angela Shadel, the graphic artist who designed the mural. The new mural is the only one of the three to have been designed locally.
Paul Whitehill, founder of Whitehill Enterprises in Joplin, Missouri, also presented a ceramic tile depicting Nelson’s Service Station to Bruce Owen and a tile depicting the Munger Moss Motel to co-owner Ramona Lehman. The tiles are duplicates of “postcards” that line the edge of each mural. The postcards feature Route 66 landmarks in Lebanon and Laclede County.
Lehman also was honored for her 80th birthday, which she marked Monday.
Nelson Dream Village was built in 1931 along Route 66 in Lebanon. It featured a large fountain with 12 cabins of native stone surrounding it. The motel closed after the Lebanon was bypassed by Interstate 44. The Nelson Tavern opened along Route 66 in 1931 and was razed in 1958.
(Image by Helen Sosnecki of the new mural in Lebanon, Missouri, shortly after its unveiling Sunday)