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The following article was taken from the Ozarks Monthly website and can also be viewed at: ozarksmonthley.com/artists
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The wall seizes your attention. Its brilliant colors draw you in. Life-size characters play their historical roles, casting a spell on those who explore the countless details in the 20-foot high paintings. For more than 150 feet, the Ozarks' past come alive through gifted brush stokes. Hidden from passersby, the mural is a startling discovery for first-time visitors to the Family Budget Inn in Harrison, Arkansas.
Terena Terry began the project through her husband's coaxing. Kent promised to buy her a computer if she would paint the retaining wall guarding the south parking lot of the motel they owned. He wasn’t looking for a whitewashing – the wall was a perfect place for her to display the talent he knew she had.
Today, as guests pull down into the motel property, their eyes are immediately drawn to the huge murals that adorn the wall. The region’s history has come to life through Terena’s brushstrokes. Inside the office, the paintings that hang behind the front desk are further testament to her gift.
The Artist
“ I’ve always known I had it; my mom always encouraged me,” Terena recalled. “As long as I can remember, since I was able to hold a pencil, I was drawing.”
Though the discovery of her talent predates her memory, she recalls selling her work at a very young age. “I would do these pictures, and then all my aunts and uncles, and grandmas and grandpas were always asking for one, but I think I sold one at school for a quarter or 10 cents or something to another kid.”
Terena immediately embraced Kent’s idea of an “Ozarks Historical Mural” on the “ugly tan” concrete wall. But before she could begin painting, there was much research to be done. One of the main sources she and Kent used was a history of Boone County by Judge Robert Logan. They both enjoyed their forays into the area’s past.
“What is exciting about the mural is the richness of our heritage here in the Ozarks,” Kent said.
It was actually Kent who lent the first strokes to the wall. He primed the wall with white latex exterior wall paint. The first color went on the wall in 1998.
“I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do: the most significant things that had happened in this area. But I didn’t have a sketch for each one until it was time to do that one.”
Crooked Creek
The area that is now Harrison was called the Crooked Creek Community in the early 1800s. It was the building of the community’s first church in 1834 that Terena chose for the first panel on her mural.
“Nobody had pictures or drawings of it. I had to call Judge Logan and ask him how they built it. I thought it was so neat how people would get together to help each other build churches or homes or barns.”
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Trail of Tears
Next to the dominant greens of that depiction are the earth tones of the Trail of Tears. In 1838, 1,200 Cherokee Indians were militarily escorted from their homes in Alabama and force-marched in the winter to Stillwater, Oklahoma. They passed through the Harrison area. Historians believe that about 10 percent of the Cherokee people perished during the journey. They named the trek “nu na hi du na tlo hi lu icomma” the trail where they cried.
“There were pregnant women who had their babies right there on the trail,” Terena said somberly. “It was just really a sad time in our nation’s history. That one was a really hard one to paint.”
Cave Mountain
A huge Confederate flag directs the eye to the rendition of Cave Mountain, where several battles were fought during the Civil War over the saltpeter used in gunpowder that the cave yielded.
“That was from a little black and white picture in this history book,” Terena said. “We went and visited it but it doesn’t look anything like that today.”
Nave’s Ferry
Next on the wall is a portrayal of the Nave’s Ferry, which was located on the White River north of what today is Diamond City.
“They used to ferry their horses and carriages and people, and they are still doing it down there.”
Talking to Terena, it is easy to get the impression that the mural will never really be finished. She is currently searching for a picture of the 110-foot steamboat, “Lady Boone,” so that she can add it to the Nave’s Ferry portion of the mural.
Connerly Hotel
Next on the wall is a stagecoach arriving in front of the old Connerly Hotel around the turn of the century.
“The mail came in every day from Eureka Springs,” Terena said.
Kent kidded that rates at the Connerly were a little cheaper than at the Family Budget Inn. “It was 10 cents a night and 5 cents for breakfast.”
Railroad
On March 22, 1901, the St. Louis & North Arkansas Engine No. 3 rolled into Harrison for the first time. A record of that event is the next piece of history on Terena’s mural.
“It was a big deal. People are still mourning (the loss) of the train here; it brought in so much industry,” she explained.
The name Bower is still prominent around Harrison today and is represented on the mural with an image of the sports buggies that the Bower brothers manufactured in Harrison.
“I love horses,” Terena said. “When I saw a picture of a sports buggy which was one of Harrison’s first industries, it was really interesting to me. That’s why I chose that one. It may not have been the most significant industry in Harrison.”
Finally, the cliffs of the Buffalo River climb the west end of the wall in commemoration of the river’s designation as the first national river in 1972.
Familiar faces
If a guest checks into the Family Budget Inn before exploring the mural, he may well find something familiar about the scenes. Terena has incorporated employees in the paintings. Two of the motel’s housekeepers were the first to go on the wall.
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“The first time I did that was on the Connerly Hotel because they have been here longer than we have … for almost 30 years. Then I put Kent and me in there with a little boy, and then I had the baby so I had to stick a baby in there. A couple of the Indians are housekeepers and a couple of our desk clerks are in there. There are a little boy and girl that go to our church in another one … I just work better with models.”
Both Terena and Kent have reaped far more than they had anticipated from the project.
“It turned out 100-fold better than what I had envisioned,” Kent declares proudly.
For Terena, the mural has created a connection to the past that she cherishes. “It has given me a whole new appreciation for the people who lived here and eked out a living in these mountains.”
Though the couple’s enthusiasm about their journey through history comes through loud and clear, Terena holds steadfast to her humility.
“We had a wall … we painted it. I did something I love.”
Steve Brigman is a fulltime freelance writer living in Southwest Missouri. He writes a weekly column, “Out in the Ozarks” for the “Springfield News-Leader” and also contributes to a number of magazines.
