A mural on the side of a Uniontown business makes the downtown area more attractive and pays homage to local history.
Don and Mary Pemberton own Bandera Stone Inc., a rock quarry business in the county.
“Bandera flagstone has been quarried near Redfield off and on since the mid-1800’s and the company name Bandera Stone carries on that history,” she said.
“Bandera Stone Inc. had outgrown its office space, and needed to expand and add a showroom,” Mary Pemberton said. She and her husband Don own the business.
“We liked this brick building on the Uniontown square and wanted to save it,” she said. ” I always planned on having a mural painted on one side as part of the remodel.”
“In March of 2023, my office assistant, Ashley, encouraged me to apply for the Rural Mural Grant awarded by the Kansas Office of Rural Prosperity to promote tourism to small communities,” she said. “The City of Uniontown agreed to sponsor my application and we were awarded a grant that covered about 1/3 of the cost of the mural. Bandera Stone, Inc. funded the other 2/3 of the total cost.”
She selected Danyell Miles, Fort Scott, after talking with a few artists.
“She has painted several murals around Fort Scott and Pittsburg, so I knew the quality of her work. I wanted the mural to have some local and state significance, yet be fun and a nice backdrop for selfies. The design Danyell put together is all of that! With her mother, Flo Tanner, helping her, Danyell began painting in June 2023 and finished in August 2023, working two or three evenings each week to avoid the daytime heat.”
“Everything on the mural has a meaning and was designed so visitors who know a little about Bourbon County, and take a few minutes to really look, will find ‘hidden’ relevance in the various elements,” she said.
“The Eagle represents the local Uniontown High School mascot; a nod to local and state aviation history is the hot air balloon and banner which is being pulled by Amelia Earhart’s airplane; Wizard of Oz characters are one of the first things most people think of about Kansas – as are tornados. Danyell had the brilliant idea of using ‘tornado debris’ to incorporate a number of local and Kansas items: the books are all authored by Bourbon County residents, a Missouri-Pacific railroad engine reminds that Bourbon County used to be a rail hub, a box turtle, fishing, farming, and even a windmill to signify the future. Also prominently displayed in the debris is ‘Life in a Jar’, the UHS History Day project that inspired a book and movie and brought the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes to Fort Scott!”
Pemberton added a 3D element by making a basket that ” people can stand in when taking a picture with the hot air balloon. The colorful balloon with the Uniontown banner makes for a very nice and memorable ‘hometown’ or ‘travels’ photo.”
” Next time you are near Uniontown, stop by 103 Third Street on the north side of the park square and see the mural, take a picture, view the fossil collection in the Bandera Stone Inc. window displays and if you’d like, step inside the showroom to see the transformation of a piece of Uniontown history which most people remember as a former cafe,” she said.
The following local authors/books are depicted on the mural: The Greatest Test of Courage by Ronda Hassig; Historic Reflections of Bourbon County by Fred Campbell Jr. and Don Miller; Murder and Mayhem by Brian Allen; Life in a Jar; Why Did Grandpa Cry? by Cathy Werling; A Little Faith Lift by Patty LaRoche; A Kansas Sunset by Joyce Love, Our Duty by Gerri Hilgar; The Moffet Street Gang by Kay Large; Legends of Bourbon County by Judy Marshall; Fort Scott Now and Then by D. Miller, A Schofield, F. Campbell, and D. Banwart and The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks.
