Webb City mayor wields artists' brush to restore mural - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

Joplin Globe - 13May2015

WEBB CITY, Mo. — As John Biggs stood at the corner of Main and Daugherty streets in Webb City talking with a visitor about the mural on the wall of Bruner Pharmacy, a woman in a pickup truck stopped and looked at him.

“Thank you, John, for brightening it up. I love it,” she said and then drove off.

Biggs smiled for a second and then went back to chatting with his visitor. Being recognized on the street is something Biggs is used to. He's been on the Webb City council since 2002 and has been the town's mayor since 2006.

Not long ago, the Bruner Pharmacy mural had faded to the point that it was almost unrecognizable. Biggs decided the mural used to. He's been on the Webb City council since 2002 and has been the town's mayor since 2006.

Not long ago, the Bruner Pharmacy mural had faded to the point that it was almost unrecognizable. Biggs decided the mural needed to be updated and, as mayor, knew exactly who to turn to: Himself.

It was Biggs who painted the mural in 1993, which shows historic Route 66 from Chicago to St. Louis to Webb City.

Born and raised in Webb City, Biggs graduated from Webb City High School in 1959. After a stint in the U.S. States Army, he settled on the West Coast and worked primarily in sales and marketing positions in the auto parts industry.

Biggs said he painted his first mural on an NCO club at the request of a sergeant he served under at Fort Detrick in Maryland. He continued to paint even while working for companies like Western Auto and NAPA.

Biggs and his wife returned to Webb City in 1991, and he eventually opened a custom frame shop that also served as his art studio.

In 1993, Todd Loudis who, at the time, operated the Bradbury Bishop Deli directly across the street from the pharmacy, talked to Biggs about painting a mural on the deli’s building. Unable to work out a deal with the owner of the building, Biggs, instead, painted the mural on the east wall of Bruner Pharmacy.

“It worked out better,” Biggs said. “Todd’s customers could see the mural from the deli.”

The mural is based on a painting that Biggs did. In the background, you can see the outline of the downtown Chicago skyline as well as downtown St. Louis and the Gateway Arch. In the middle of the painting sits the Jasper County Courthouse with the historic Webb House in the foreground. The Webb City Praying Hands statute is also included.

Postcards of the painting were printed and sold to pay for the cost of the mural. Those postcards are still being sold today.

Biggs began working on the mural in the summer of 1993. Because Biggs was known to stop and let passing school children help him paint the mural took several months longer than it probably should have to complete.

“But it was a lot of fun. It was like a block party,” Biggs said. enovating it, looks almost ghostlike.

For the renovation, the first thing Biggs did was have the mural gently power washed to remove dirt and grim from the wall.

Then he began to repaint the faded portions of the mural. But, like most artists, Biggs wasn’t contented with just painting over his work.

In the original mural, the trees reflect the colors of fall. For the updated mural, Biggs changed them to the show the colors of spring. He also made the tops of the trees slightly more pointed to reflect the roofs of the Webb House and the Jasper County Courthouse.

But, beyond those changes, the mural looks exactly the same.

Biggs finished most of the work on the mural a couple of weeks ago but there was one thing missing.

On Dec. 3, 1994 Biggs signed his name on the mural its formal dedication. On Tuesday, May 12, Biggs signed his name on the newly renovated mural.

The dog

In the Webb City mural there is a small dog pictured in the midst of some trees. When asked about the significance of the dog, John Biggs smiled.

“I let one kid help and he made a splotch right there so I turned it into a dog,” he said.