Muralists Recreate Montana History

Due to burgeoning railroads and abundant gold deposits, Helena, MT attracted more millionaires per capita than any city in the world by 1890. Although the gold in the hills gradually diminished, the town and its citizens persevered, and the city’s grown into a handsome state capital.

In 1910, Eddy O’Connell bolstered the city’s economic growth by founding Eddy’s Bread downtown, and the company evolved into a prominent baked-goods purveyor throughout Big Sky country and the Northwest. At its peak, the company entailed 20 bakeries that produced one million loaves of bread weekly. The company was eventually shuttered in 1978, but remains an important part of local history.

To proudly tout the company’s legacy at Last Chance Gulch, the name given to an iron-fronted building downtown, O’Connell’s descendents commissioned the painting of a mural. Kevin Keeler, a friend of the O’Connell family, was advised by local veteran signpainters to contact the Walldogs, a group of traditional wall muralists. The group recently bedecked Arcola, IL with new wall murals (see ST, September 2012, page 72).

He eventually discovered muralist Nancy Bennett and Dannco, the Centerville, IA-based business she owns with her husband, Dan. After they agreed to undertake the project, Keeler set up meetings with the community-development director and local historic-preservation board. After it approved the project, the group set up road detours and made other logistical arrangements to facilitate the project. Bennett and local signpainter Dan Oskaw executed the project’s painting over three, 10 to 12-hour days.

Keeler said, “The way this community came together to help recapture a piece of local history is amazing. Nancy, Dan and their team have done remarkable work, and we’re proud to again have such a vital piece of local culture vibrant again. Our ‘tour train’ passes through downtown, and this will be a key attraction on the route. Montana’s handsome, small cities and wide-open spaces make tourism a big part of the state’s economy. Thanks to this project, our community now has great interest in ghost signs as public art, and wants to help preserve these pieces of our past.”