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WWilbur Vaughn was a young man when Bette Davis visited Cuba,Missouri in 1948. But on that fateful day the mega-star’s destiny would become entwined with Vaughn’s. He would tell the story of what happened that day many times, often with great humor. Artist Ray Harvey would paint a mural on the Cuba Free Press building that commemorated the events of that day. Journalists videoed Vaughn telling his story, and he would often show off the camera that he used to take the photo. Articles recounted his encounter with Bette Davis. Although Mr. Vaughn’s telling of the story draws to a close with his passing, his part in our town’s history remains for all to see.
Bette Davis, award winning actress, and her husband cruised into Cuba on Route 66 in their Packard Station Wagon. The actress would dine at the Southern Hotel and her husband would engage in a footrace through the streets of Cuba with a local newsman/photographer Wilbur Vaughn. Vaughn’s photo that sparked the footrace would appear that [...]
Cuba, MO will soon have even more public art. For a small town of 3500, there’s an abundance of art both inside and outside. One of the offshoots of the Viva Cuba’s Mural Project is that the community has embraced art in a big way. Missouri rtist Ray Harvey is no stranger to Cuba’s art [...]
This week’s photo comes to us from Chris Case at the Cuba Free Press. As soon as he spied, the vintage Packard station wagon, he realized that it was like the one in the Bette Davis mural atop the Cuba Free Press building. Case grabbed his camera for this photo opportunity. It seems that the [...]
Viva Cuba members met six members of the Society of American Travel Writer members and three officials from the Missouri Division of Tourism at the World’s Largest Rocker. They were interested in Route 66. Here’s what they focused on as we toured: 1. The Rocker and meeting Dan Sanazaro, owner of the Fanning US 66 [...]
In Cuba, Missouri, Missouri artist Ray Harvey painted the interior murals at the Victorian Manor assisted living facility and inside the Catholic Church. He painted the Bette Davis Mural, the murals on the 1931 Phillips 66 Station on Route 66, and the mural of Jesus on the Catholic Church School building. In 2009, he painted [...]
from the Joe Sonderman Photo Collection I don’t know about you, but I love to look at old photos, especially ones with old signs, cars, and buildings. The above photo has it all. One can see the Cuba Theatre where Wilbur Vaughn and others from Cuba use to work. Probably a lot of budding romances [...]
On Saturday and Sunday June 20-21, two reporters from KBIA public radio in Columbia, Missouri visited Cuba to view the murals, interview locals involved in the project, and get an overview of the mural project. The two reporters, John-JJ- Stankevitz and LaurieAnn Wojnowski are convergence journalism majors at the university. Convergence journalism majors produce print, [...]
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