As downtown Paris continues to flourish through its revitalization, Cheri Bedford with the City of Paris, said with the help of Dr. Pepper, a new mural is set to brighten smiles downtown.
“We have been working on this project for about a year and a half now,” said Bedford, “Chris Corbitt with Dr. Pepper contacted me in hopes of the city and the soda company working together on a project.”
The new mural, which will see some old school vintage advertising by Dr. Pepper combined with the history of Paris, be on display just off the corner of Clarksville St, on 1st St.
“David Freeman is the artist who was commissioned by Dr. Pepper to complete our mural in Paris,” Bedford said.
The Dr. Pepper restoration project is a brick advertisement located on the side of a downtown building that brings back a little history to each town the project visits.
Mount Pleasant is where Jo’s Downtown, the largest hand-painted Dr. Pepper advertisement in Texas, resides.
During the time of its restoration, the building was owned by Jo Campbell and was the home to her business Jo’s Antiques. For many years she tried to get the billboard redone until finally making contact with Main Street Director Jacob Hatfield, who opened the door to Dr. Pepper by calling the Dr. Pepper headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
Scott McDowell, Division Sales Manager soon returned Jacob’s phone call for Dr. Pepper’s Heartland Region and Dr. Pepper got involved right away.
“We were very interested in helping re-do the mural,” said Scott McDowell. “We thought this was a good fit for Dr. Pepper to work with the City of Mount Pleasant to make this happen and bring the mural back to reality.”
“Restoration of this mural helps restore a piece of our city’s history,” said Jacob Hatfield.
“It truly was a joint effort,” Jo Campbell said. “One person couldn’t get it all done. It took everyone pulling together.”
Now that same enthusiasm is about to begin in Paris. Not only will Dr. Pepper feature in the ad, but also our famous Eiffel Tower.
“Once this is completed, it will be a great new attraction for every local to enjoy, and every visitor to have another reason to visit our beautiful downtown area,” Bedford said.
When it comes to the catchphrase, “Raise a Smile,” Bedford said that the word smile is more than just a word to Paris, Texas-it is as prominent as the Eiffel Tower to the town.
“After the 1916 fire, people were told to pick up their chins and smile as they got to re-building the city,” she explained, “then there is the billboard we had, and the more you look into our towns history, the more the word smile comes up. So it really is so fitting to have that word in the new mural.”
Bedford said there wasn’t a competition date set, but the new mural will be ready for plenty of photos with locals and visitors come the new year.
