Viva Cuba will use this "mobile unit" spyder for this year's evening mural tours as well as for a few rides on the "twisties," as they call the curvy back roads in the area although we must admit that the logo is digitally enhanced.
Area motels are booked full. The itinerary is set. Welcome banners are going up. They are on the way to Spyderfest The Third Journey, which is set officially from Wed. April 25 to Sunday April 29. However, you will see some event attendees filter in over the weekend and the first of the week. Many are already on the road. There will be be over 700 of them. They are still registering.
One spyder ryder known as Murphybrown has started her journey alone from Washington State. She is in her 70s, traveling alone, and posting her journey on spyderlovers.com, an online site for spyder ryders.
Phil and Bobbie are coming from Tyler, Texas.
FrankPA is on the way from Harrisburg, PA, Mike from Moretown, Vermont., Jim and Mary from Yuma, Arizona
A group of seven ryders is coming from Barlett, Tennessee.
Darell’s coming from Grand Rapids, Michigan
Pincushion and Mrs. Pincushion are ryding in from San Diego, California. Did we mention that spyder ryders have special names on the spyderlovers.com site?
Kathy & Bob are coming from Ontario, Canada.
Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Kentucky, New York, Kansas, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Nevada, Florida, Illinois, Oregon, Illinois, Virginia, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota; the list goes on.
Spyders from a previous Spyderfest on Route 66 outside of Cuba.
As these colorful bikes make their way toward Cuba, some ride alone while others are meeting up to run in a group. Many have planned this for a year, used vacation days, and made a commitment of time and money to experience Spyderfest in Cuba. Some have attended the event before while for others this is their first trip.
They are excited, packing, traveling to Cuba.
Len Damouth of Cowtown originated Spyderfest three years ago and has watched it grow. Read the Cuba Free Press article about how the spyder ryders will become a part of our town, fan out through the area for day rides, contribute to a local charity, and view our attractions. The Friday night event at the Drive-in is open to the public. Go out and see the bikes and the entertainment. Saturday at 6:00 pm there is a Parade of Spyders from the Wagon Wheel Motel to Recklein. Viva Cuba will be conducting mural tours with the bikes Saturday evening. After that, there will be an evening ceremony to honor Veterans at the Veteran’s Memorial in Recklein Commons.
When you see the spyder ryders, wave, thank them for coming to Cuba, and make them feel welcome.
The Viva Cuba monkey is ready for Spyderfest with his spyder do-rag and t-shirt. He's looking forward to riding the twisties.
Saturday, May 5th is Viva Cuba’s 28th Annual Trash Bash when area organizations and individuals come out to clean up the town. Swinger Sanitation is placing a large dumpster near the 4-way for all those trash bags that we plan to fill. Meet in the Viva Cuba Garden at the junction of Hwy 19 and Route 66 at 8 am to get your trash bags and reflective vests. If you have a group working in another area, be sure to take a photo to send to us for our Facebook page or website.
Some organizations and individuals have chosen to take part in an ongoing cleanup project by joining Cuba’s Adopt-A-Street project or the state’s Adopt-A-Highway project. May 5th might be a good day to take part in that as well. You can still become part of Cuba’s Adopt-A-Strret program. Check our website page for details.
This Sunday Viva Cuba members will fill the black planters around town with their annual plantings to make our town look a little more welcoming.
It’s a good time to walk around your yard or business and decide what you can do to clean up and fix up too. Join us in raking, picking up, and putting a shine on Cuba.
Call Jessica Prock 885-2511 with questions.
Community members come together for a cleaner Cuba.
The City will also be contributing to a city-wide clean up. This information came from the City of Cuba Facebook page:
City of Cuba Spring Clean Up–May 14 and 15 All items must be placed curbside prior to 6 am May 14. NO EXCEPTIONS Any items remaining after May 15 will result in a nuisance ordinance violation and tickets will be issued. More information is available in the Cuba Free Press or by calling Public Works at 885-6453. Brush pick-up will be June 4 and 5.
Two general stores have their place in history. The lower present photo was taken on the day of the Route 66 Race to the Rocker. Route 66 has been closed for the race, and the finish line sits on the road. Tents for the runners occupy the parking lot. The indoor archery ranges account for the length of the building.
Last weekend almost 900 runners raced 4-miles west on Route 66 from the historic Cuba, Mo area to the site of the Fanning US 66 General Store and the site of the World’s Largest Rocking Chair at Fanning, Missouri. It was a beautiful day and a combination of fun, inspiration, and fitness. Many photos were taken. One photo was Chad Dake’s aerial view of the the Fanning US 66 General Store that depicts the store’s signature attraction the World’s Largest Rocking Chair, as well as the taxidermy shop, and the nearby Fanning Feed Store, all owned by the Sanazaro family.
The Store Part I
The photo reminded me of another aerial view of the Fanning General Store and the small gas station next door in the heyday of Route 66. Sam and Mary Vitali owned the store and Mary’s brother Joe Bacialli owned the Speedway Garage next door. At one time, the Vitali’s store was located on the south side of the nearby railroad tracks. But when the new Highway 66 was paved across the tracks, the Vitalis and Mary’s brother Joe bought land on the north side of the tracks along the new road. Joe built the Speedway Garage to serve the travelers, and he built Mary and Sam what would be the Fanning General Store, which opened August 1, 1930, according to their daughter Louise Vitali Campbell in an article that she wrote for the Show Me Route 66 Fall Magazine in 1996.
In 1935, Joe remodeled the garage into the tavern Joe’s Place, where on Saturday night spaghetti was served and there would be dancing in the garage/tavern. Later Joe moved to St. Louis, and the business was leased under various names such as the Fanning Social Club and later became the Fanning Community Center until it fell into disuse.
The little general store served a little bit of everything from meat to feed. According to Louise, they sold groceries, clothing, buttons, as well as hammers and nails. Louise stated in her article, ” Mother made homemade cheese that was so good it became known across the state.” The family also had a couple acres of grapes that the three Vitali kids got 10 cents an hour to hoe.
Fanning also had a Post Office from 1930-1953. Louise remembered that her mom or dad would bag up the mail that people brought in and then take the bag across the tracks to hang on the crane for the train to “hook” as it went by. The Vitali home was attached to the store, and they raised Louise and her twin brothers Joe and Jim there.
Sam Vitali in 1947 hanging the mail bag for the train to snag on the way by. His daughter Louise said it was a spectacular sport to watch.
Times were tough during the depression, but Mary would feed the hobos that went by, and Sam would give the kids candy when their parents came by for the weekly groceries. Louise also remembered when gypsies would visit the store and her mother would tell them to go the back and hide because they would steal children.
Louise married Willard Campbell in 1947 and moved to Illinois, but they returned to Fanning in 1955, where their eight children grew up with wonderful memories of the store with their grandparents. Jim Vitali and his family also lived nearby in Fanning with their four children who were regulars at the store.Twin brother Joe and his family lived in Tulsa.
When Sam died in 1964, Mary ran the store by herself until 1972. Finally, they convinced her that it wasn’t safe for her to continue to operate her beloved store by herself. She closed the store in 1972, and moved in with her daughter Louise and her family. The Vitalis had run the Fanning Store for 42 years as part of their American Dream. Their children and grandchildren have many stories and warm memories of those days along Route 66 with Sam and Mary Vitali.
The Store Part II
The Fanning General Store was demolished in the 1980s. The Fanning Community building, once Joe’s Garage and Tavern, had been shuttered when Dan and Carolyn Sanazaro bought the property. Sanazaro decided to rehab the community building rather than tear down and start over, thus preserving a piece of Fanning history. Since he did not plan to operate as a gas station, he felt he needed something to attract people to stop. That’s when Sanazaro got the idea to build the World’s Largest Rocking Chair that has since been recognized by the Guinness organization. It was erected on April 1, 2008, and it has become the attraction that Sanazaro envisioned. It sits about where the original Fanning General Store did. In March it is the destination for the 4-mile Route 66 Race to the Rocker, which helps raise funds for local kids health/fitness projects. This year the event raised around $19,000 and drew over 800 racers.
Since 2008, the Sanazaros have built on to the community center by adding archery ranges so that they are now a four-plex Archery Center as well as general store. Dan’s nephew runs the Taxidermy Shop, and the Sanazaros have purchased Fanning Feed, just across the parking lot. The Sanazaros have two children who also lend a hand at the businesses.
Things are once more prospering along this stretch of Route 66 as they did during the days of the Vitalis. Community still gathers there, and travelers stop for a cold drink. People still sit on the front porch to visit. We can only imagine what the conversation would be if Sam Vitali would sit with Dan Sanazaro on the porch of the present general store: two businessmen with an Italian-Catholic heritage discussing running a store and raising families. Sam could tell him about hanging the mail for the train. Dan could tell him about building that rocker. They could both laugh about all those people running 4-miles from town. And the cars on Route 66 would roll on.
In 1947 Marina Espen and Louise Vitali pose in front of the Fanning sign along Route 66.
For more about the Fanning US 66 Outpost General Store and the World’s Largest Rocking Chair go here.
A.J. Barnett probably never imagined that he would have a mural on a wall, much less that he would be pictured in a "green" version.
Cuba, Mo With a little computer technology, Viva Cuba’s very first mural has joined the green season, just in time for St. Pat’s Day. The subject of this mural, Mr. A.J. Barnett probably never realized that he would be the subject of a mural or that he would someday be portrayed as green.
Who was Mr. Barnett, that Peoples Bank would sponsor this mural to recognize the 100th Anniversary of its bank?
A.J. Barnett, the first cashier and President of Peoples Bank from 1920-1959, was mayor of Cuba for ten years. The first city lighting system was installed during his first term in 1922.
The mural shows him cranking the first Model T Ford in Cuba, which Barnett owned. In the car, left to right are Katie Hunter, Billy Jackson, and A. J.’s children James and Mildred Barnett. The building in the mural at the SW corner of Smith and Washington was the site of the bank in the early 1900s. Barnett also owned Barnett Motor Company, one of the first garages in Cuba.
This distinctive corner entrance of an early bank building has a presence in the mural. The building is located on the corner of Route 66 and Smith Street.
This photograph was an inspiration for the mural.
The Barnett Motor Company grew with the growth of Ford cars.
Car clubs that travel through Cuba sometimes pose their cars in front of the mural, and there are classic cars in front of the mural during the September Lions Club Car Show.
These Austin 7s came from the UK. These cars look a good deal like the old model T that A.J. Barnett drove. The mural is just off Route 66 on Buchanan St.
Although we are having a little fun with this “green version” of the photo, let’s pause to think of the many town leaders who made their contribution to Cuba and do our part to continue to make it a good place to work, live, and do business.
Come to Cuba the 3rd weekend of October during Cuba Fest for a free, narrated trolley tour about all of Viva Cuba's murals.
This information is updated from a previous Cuba Free Press article.
As many young Americans of his his age did, Henry Hayes served his country before marrying and beginning a family.
March 31, 1918-February 27,2012 RIP
Cuba, Missouri: Henry Hayes, former owner of Hayes Shoe Store, was a cobbler, a businessman, a Baptist, a Lion’s Club member, a family man, a gentleman, and much more. He was known as a man of impeccable integrity, few words, and a sharp wit. For a few years,even after selling Hayes Shoe Store he went to his cobbler’s bench at the store each day because he had people who depended on the custom work that he did.
Hayes’ granddaughter Sarah Hayes created an album about her grandfather, especially his war years, for a school assignment. As Hayes’ granddaughter said in her album, “Henry is a tacit man who speaks only when he thinks what he has to say is completely essential.” In an earlier article for a school assignment that his grandson Jeff Branson wrote, he said of his grandfather, “Grandpa doesn’t talk much. When Grandpa talks, you know to listen carefully.”
Sarah’s album chronicled the life of a young Henry Hayes who grew up in West Plains and Rolla, wanted to have his own shoe store, and had met a girl named Audrey in 1940. World War II intervened, and Hayes had to defer his quest for his own shoe store and marriage to his sweetheart. Instead, he served in the army, fought in Germany, and carried Audrey’s picture in his pocket during his days in the foxholes of Europe.
Hayes started in the shoe business in fourth grade. He was able to convince Mr. Williams of Williams Shoe Store in Rolla to give him a job sweeping the repair shop there. He dreamed of having his own store. Hayes attended Rolla High School until 1937 and continued to work in the shoe business in West Plains, learning to be a cobbler. When he joined the West Plains unit of the Missouri National Guard in 1940, he never expected that he would be going to war or fighting battles.
The War Years
According to his granddaughter’s album, ‘ “I was serving in the 35th division of the National Guard at Camp Robinson in Little Rock, Arkansas, but the second I heard the news about Pearl Harbor being bombed, I knew that I was no longer a young boy trying to fulfill his required one year of National Guard service. No, with the impact of Pearl Harbor, I knew that the draft would call me, and I’d become a live and kicking soldier.”’ After training in the US, Hayes was sent to Europe. Hayes docked in Glasgow, Scotland.
From there he was shipped to Brest, France to fight his first battle as a member of the 2nd Division of the 140th Infantry. His unit fought the Germans for three weeks until the Germans finally surrendered. Hayes was stationed in the Black Forest in Germany. Every morning before battle he realized everything could end for him that day. He earned several Bronze Stars while fighting. He said that he hardly ever got to shower while in Germany and wondered what Audrey would think about that. He developed a habit of carrying different coins in his pocket from the countries he had been in, which would eventually lead to a coin collection, which reflected the events of his life.
While in Germany, Hayes saved several crisp American fifty-dollar bills. He had a plan for the money. The next time that he was near a mailbox, he intended to send Audrey the money to buy an engagement ring. She worked at a jewelry store in Springfield, and he thought that it would be easy for her to pick out a ring. Hayes intended to return home, marry Audrey, get his job back at a shoe store in West Plains, and someday have his own store.
Finally Hayes’ days as a squad leader ended, and he received his discharge papers in November. His discharge papers stated that he had fought in North France, the Rhineland, Ardennes, Normandy, and central Europe. Hayes, as would a generation of young Americans, would now return to the United States to start a new life.
Starting a business and a family
Hayes’ grandson Jeff Branson chronicled the next phase of Hayes’ life in a article “The Evolution of a Successful Business” for the 1995 edition of Cuba High School’s Backroads magazine.
In 1946, Hayes and Audrey were married, and they owned a shoe repair shop in West Plains, Missouri for three years before selling it and moving to Cuba in 1950. They started the store on West Main St. and moved to store’s present location on Route 66 in 1951. Hard work, determination, and the ability to work with the public would be the basis of a solid business.
Their daughter Ann was three when they moved to Cuba, and son David was born in Cuba. Church, family, community, and building their business would define their lives in the years ahead. Henry’s background in the shoe business and the classes the Hayes attended for shoe business owners contributed to their success. They made up for their shortage of operating capital with knowledge, a good work ethic, and customer service. According to the Backroads article, they would often cut costs by driving to St. Louis, buying what shoes they needed, then loading as many as they could into their car for a return to Cuba.
Hayes recollected to grandson Jeff the days when there wasn’t enough cash to keep the inventory they needed. He recalled a day when he couldn’t find a size that a customer needed, and he told the customer, ‘ “I hope some day we have enough shoes in this place that we will have to pick our way around stacks of shoes.” ’ Jeff remarked in the article that anyone that has ever been to a Hayes’ 99-cent shoe sale knows that those days finally arrived.
The shoe repair part of the business was always important to Henry. He could make shoes last longer or adapt them to the special needs of customers. Hayes liked this portion of the business because he could restore something that might have gone to waste, and he liked the challenge of repairing shoes that required a delicate touch not to ruin them, such as a high heel or removing old soles.
‘“Removing old soles isn’t always easy because they are stitched and cemented. The soles have to be carefully removed so the welt (or upper) is not damaged,”’ Hayes told Jeff. Hayes also had customers who depended on him to make orthopedic adjustments to their shoes because of various foot problems. It would cost the customer much more if they had to have the work done in St. Louis.
As the Hayes family grew, Audrey stayed home with the children for many years. When school started, she would work in the store until school was out and then she would go home with the children. According to Audrey, ‘ “If the children did have to spend time at the store, we tried to have some activity to keep them busy.” ’
According to grandson Jeff, their hideout was a small storage space under the stairs that served as a place to do homework and to play. Jeff mentioned that not only did David and Ann use this space but also the grandchildren when they visited. When granddaughter Sarah visited, Henry taught her, as he had his own children, to use a stick with a piece of gum on the end to retrieve coins that dropped into the floor grates of the store. Hayes continued his coin collection that started during WWII and shared his knowledge with his grandchildren.
Their children David and Ann also worked in the store as they were older and learned to respect the source of the family’s livelihood. In a Cuba Free Press article, David Hayes stated, ‘ “I’ve said publicly that I could write a book entitled Everything I needed to learn about management, I learned in the shoe store. There were invaluable lessons about how to meet the public, getting along with people, equanimity, business 101, and on and on. The lessons were truly endless.” ’
One story that Dr. David Hayes told when interviewed for a Cuba Free Press article illustrates how Henry and Audrey Hayes taught their children by example:
Hayes says that his parents also practiced what they preached, especially “give unto others.” He remembers vividly an example of this on a cold January or February night. A woman came into the shoe store just before closing with two kids. The mother needed shoes for the younger child and made it plain that she didn’t have a lot of money. “As mom fit the child, she noted during the fitting that the older boy had holes in the bottom of his shoes, and you could see his socks.” The boy’s mother said that she could only afford shoes for one. However, the Hayes fit both boys for shoes, for the price of one pair. Mr. Hayes said as they were leaving, “So are you going to the basketball game tonight, our boy is going?” The boy said he wanted go, but he didn’t have the 50 cents to go. Hayes says, “As they were leaving, Dad gave him a dollar and told him he better go to the basketball game. Again, they practiced what they preached …still do.”
Ann is now a speech pathologist in St. James, and David is a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Hayes was a charter member of the Cuba Lions Club, and he and Audrey participated in club activities and donated the building for the current Lions Den. Hayes supported many civic improvements in Cuba, such as business development, the pool, and the fair. For years Hayes was an avid golfer and was known for his huge collection of old golf balls that he found on the course. Hayes always hated waste in any form.
Although they sold the shoe store to Jeff and Dona Bouse so that the business would have continuity, they both still worked in the store for many years. Audrey used her expertise in fitting shoes, and Hayes maintained his cobbler’s bench in the basement so that he could mend soles and make something old good again. He also passed on the basics of his mending to Jeff Bouse so that he could continue Henry’s work.
They continued their church and community work and were revered by their children, grandchildren, and those who know them. Henry still carried Audrey’s photo in his wallet, and she baked those sweets that he yearned for during the war years. They seemed to have done what eludes many modern families. They balanced all the important elements of what God gave them into a prosperous life. For Hayes, this was the life he was fighting for during the war, and he made the most of it. Hayes’ life illustrates the quote, “Give the world the best you have and the best will come back to you.”
After a few years of ill health, Henry passed on surrounded by friends and family and survived by his wife Audrey and his two children and their families.
The family has announced that there will be a memorial service for Mr. Hayes at a date to be announced.
As the sign says, there will soon be an auction at the cafe part of the Back in the Day Cafe building.
There are some changes coming to 615 SW Main Street, which is located about a block south of Route 66 or Washington Street. Business cycles come and go and bring new ventures with them. The building was recently used as a restaurant, but with the departure of that tenant, owner of the building Andy Sanazaro, Jr. is holding an auction to sell some of the restaurant equipment that the new tenants don’t need.
The new tenants are Matt and Ruth Coblentz who will be opening the Cuba Bakery & Deli. At the last Chamber of Commerce Meeting, Matt said that they hoped to be open by March 15. Recently, we ran into Dave Schroyer who was painting some new signs on the windows. New signage signals some new offerings on the eating scene in Cuba.
It will be nice to have Julie Nixon Krovicka’s interior vintage bakery mural once again on display over filled bakery cases.
We’ll be there to try it out when the doors open and will give you more details and photos of the Cuba Bakery & Deli.
This eye-catching Love66 license plate from Texas and the Route 66 decals signaled that this was a real roadie, as Route 66 lovers are called.
On a recent day, I pulled up outside the Fanning Outpost 66 General Storeand the Texas Route 66 license plate and decals of the car above caught my eye. I thought I would see some enthusiastic Route 66 tourists inside shopping for souvenirs. However, I didn’t see them when I went inside the Outpost, one of Cuba, Missouri’s Route 66 attractions. You may have noticed that large rocker in the background of the photo.
I checked the supply of Viva Cuba brochures and looked around the store as I always do because there is always something new.
There was the wooden Indian that Dan Sanazaro bought at an auction…
Dan bought the wooden carving at an auction, and he guards the entrance now.
There's locally made products like these Route 66 Baby Cakes from the Route 66 Fudge Shop in the historic district of Cuba.
But much of the store’s interior is given over to Route 66 merchandise to satisfy the Outpost’s US and international customers’ desire for Route 66 mementoes. Much of that inventory is provided by a company wholesale company Real Time Products. I found out that the Route 66 plates out front belonged to Don Larker, a long time roadie and Real Time Products sales representative. Jackie, the store manager, told me that Don was back in the archery center at the picnic table filling out his order.
Many times when I am in stores with Route 66 merchandise, I flip over an item to see where it came from, and it often says Real Time Products. I thought that I wanted to meet this guy. I went back to the archery center and found Don Larker surrounded by paperwork.
After I introduced my self, we chatted for a bit. He used to be in the souvenir business for himself until he sold out and went to work for Real Time distributing souvenirs, jewelry, gifts, and novelties. He used to actually drive cargo around and unload merchandise himself. Now, he just takes orders, and they ship the items out.
“I think that I am going to live 10 years longer since I don’t have to load and unload souvenirs up and down the road,” he stated. He also stated that vendors always ask “What do you have new?”
We chatted for awhile about Cuba’s murals and other towns along the road. Don lives in Amarillo, Texas, and we chatted about other Route 66ers that we know in common such Croc Lile in Texas and Jim Hinckley in Arizona. We talked about Jim’s new Route 66 Atlas and Encyclopedia that he will debut at Cuba Fest in October. Then I took my leave and left Don to finish his orders and get back on Route 66 to his next stop.
I was glad that I had met Mr. Larker who is another slice of the living Route 66 history.
Don Larker, a sales rep with Real Time Products, was surrounded with orders and his Real Time listing of products when I found him at the Fanning Outpost.
This row of trees on South Hwy. 19 displays fall colors and offers an attractive entrance to Cuba.
In the words of Mark Grueber of the Missouri Department of Conservation in his paper Tree Planting in Missouri:
Planting a tree has been described as the ultimate act of optimism and sharing — a meaningful opportunity to make a positive impact on our environment.
Trees dramatically improve the quality of our lives. They help make our communities more livable and more attractive. They provide us with a cleaner and cooler environment. They make an economic difference, saving us money in energy consumption, increasing property value and boosting business and tourism.
While the benefits of trees may be important, so is the act
of planting them. Planting requires forethought, planning and responsibility. …
With the above points in mind, this past Thursday Bob Baldwin of Public Works and other city workers, along with representatives of Viva Cuba, met with Mark Grueber of the Missouri Department of Conservation to discuss the future of Cuba’s trees and other plantings.
In the 70s and 80s, before the plantings took place, the entrance to Cuba on Hwy. 19 in Cuba was pretty dismal. Take a look at some of those previous scenes in this earlier blog. But community organizations and the city came together in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation to raise money for planting and landscaping. Now those plantings have matured, and it is time to take inventory of what the city has and make plans going forward.
Mr. Grueber will work with the city and thinks there may be grants available for management of Cuba’s trees. Management might include trimming or replacement of some trees or plantings if they are impeding power lines or have other problems.
The goal is to keep Cuba attractive and manage the community’s trees as an asset that contributes to the character and beauty of our town.
Harry Truman and his wife Bess and daughter Margaret share some time together during his 1940 senate campaign. It was in 1940, that Truman visited Cuba. Notice the punctuation on the poster in the background.
While Presidents Day, was originally designated to commemorate our first President George Washington’s birthday, it is has become a combination observance of Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays and, in some states, other local heroes as well.
On Presidents Day in Missouri we might think of “our” President Harry Truman of Independence, Missouri whose birthday is May 8. Whatever your politics, Truman was known as a feisty, outspoken man, who most citizens of the Show-Me State think of with some pride.
One of his quotes gives an example of how his forthrightness was often perceived.
I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell. –Harry Truman
In 1940,Truman came to Cuba when he was campaigning in the state to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. David McCullough’s book Truman states that in late July, 1940 Truman wrote to his wife Bess about visiting Cuba when he was on the campaign trail.
Harry Truman couldn’t figure out why people wouldn’t stop to listen to his speech when he stood on a Coca-Cola box on the steps of the Methodist Church along Rt. 66. They just kept passing him by while he was electioneering for a senate seat.
He was told by local officials that they were passing him to attend the “Homecoming,” which was what the County Fair was called then. He said that he would attend the fair as well and went to the fair and made his speech. Legend has it that he had to pass the hat for money to continue to the next town.
Viva Cuba chose the wall adjacent to the building that used to be the Methodist Church to paint this scene in a mural. The building has reverted back to its original name of Wallace House, a historical Cuba home. Four-H symbols are used in the mural because the 4-H organization was 100 years old when the mural was painted, and the 4-H organization is important to Crawford County kids.
Today, and every day in Cuba, we honor our Missouri President Harry Truman. And as for the question Is it Harry S. Truman or Harry S Truman, read the answer here.
Viva Cuba placed its Truman mural on the wall next to the one-time Methodist Church, where Truman initially tried to speak to the citizens of Cuba.
Last night was the Basketball Homecoming in our small town of Cuba, Missouri. I usually don’t attend these any more, but because many of my ex-students had been writing for weeks on Facebook about their getting together, practicing, and anticipating the performance of their old Pep Band under the direction of retired band director Stan Moore, I decided to go to see them perform. Cuba has a tradition of good music.
There is a musical tradition in Cuba, Missouri.
Home coming was great, the kids were excited about the game, the coronation of Homecoming King & Queen, and the dance later. Having taught in the district for 30 years, before retiring, I noticed a few things that point to the health and well-being of our town of 3200+.
1. Some of the students went away to get an education and have returned to teach in the district. I noticed at least three of them on the floor between games setting up for the coronation. All three had lived in larger cities or worked elsewhere in bigger schools or worked in the corporate world. But they came home to teach. They aren’t the only ones who have returned and have roots in the community. One of the alumni players is the current director of the band. She is Stan Moore’s daughter. The tradition continues. That’s a good thing.
2. Other young people have returned to work in the area and raise their families in Cuba. Some of the same last names were on the programs that were on their 20 years ago. Some moved away for education or jobs, but they have returned. That’s a good thing too. It says that there are opportunities for them, and they want to raise their families here.
3. The Alumni band members are from all walks of life: moms, dads, doctors, law enforcement, sales, teachers, a principal, jobs of all descriptions. But they have been taking their time (some traveling from a distance) to come to Cuba to practice for last night’s performance. They have been practicing at home and with the group. Some have been out of school since the 70s and 80s. But their memories of Cuba and their band director Stan Moore brought them to last night’s performance. They are still good. They still have pride in what their group can do. That’s a good thing.
Last night was just a small slice of our small town pie. But it shows that even tough economic times, good things are still happening in our country even it’s one small town at a time.
The alumni who returned for last night’s performance are talking about keeping their group together, maybe playing at other community events, such as Cuba Fest in October. I hope they do and keep that beat going. It makes a better town.
Here are few slides of the group last night. I wish I had recorded some of their own music to go with them, but this is a long time favorite song of Cuba’s Pep Band. It’s “Hey Baby” by Buckwheat Zydeco.
