With brush in hand, artist Berleen Wobeter was nearing completion on Monday, April 27, on the reverse side of the King Tower Cafe souvenir sign which graced the U.S. 30 - Lincoln Highway route into to Tama for many years. What you see above is not the completed work- Berleen invites you to see it in its finished form when it again is on display at the restaurant on Tama’s east side. News-Herald/John Speer

“Staying true to the original design” Berleen Wobeter says is one of her goals in the restoration and repainting of the iconic King Tower Cafe souvenir sign. The well-known local artist has been wrapping up her work on the two-sided highway advertisement this week.

Larry Thomas and Drew Clayton of the Thomas Co., Tama, delivered the sign to Wobeter’s rural Toledo home in January for the project.

Since then, “design work, preparation by sanding and repairing holes,” has taken up time before the actual painting portion of the artistry began, Berleen says. She admits to having untold hours in the restoration and painting of both of the sides which measure five feet in diameter.

The original sign had featured a neon outline of the Native American head dress. While restoring the neon was considered, it was found not only expensive, but judged impractical due to weather damage the sign is subject to. Acrylic shields were also considered to shelter the neon lighting if it were replaced. But the decision was settled upon to light the sign at night with. modern halogen lighting.

Exterior acrylic paint was decided upon as the best medium to use she said after consultation with local painting contractor Joe Murphy.

Berleen Wobeter with historic King Tower Cafe sign on Monday, April 27, at her rural Toledo home and studio. News-Herald/John Speer

She discovered the images on the sign when delivered were not the first. Another layer of work lay underneath. Berleen says it needs to be noted the image is not intended to be representative of the local Meskwaki Tribe but is created as a tribute and representative of all Native Americans.

It has been a fixture on the U.S. Highway 30 – Lincoln Highway route – now Business Highway 30 – in Tama for many years. A postcard photo with 1950s-era vehicles displays it prominently. Some early views of the interior of the cafe show souvenir cases with items devoted to Native Americans and their art work.

When sought to do the art work, Berleen said it fit in with a new interest. With her husband, Pete, they had visited their daughter in Colorado and then traveled on to Medicine Bow, Wyo.

There they stayed a “The Virginian” which she described as “a truly-old-fashioned cowboy hotel.”

Next door was The Lincoln Highway Garage which sparked an interest in the highway and its history back home as well.

ABOVE- a photo postcard from the 1950s shows that eras version of the well-known souvenir sign at the King Tower Cafe on then U.S. Highway 30 in Tama. Upon completion of the restoration, Thomas Company, Tama, will remount the historic sign in the same location.

The King Tower Cafe was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March of this year and it is expected the sign, when again in place will only bolster that status.

King Tower Cafe owners Jimmy (Vlaznim) and Lejka Arifi have welcomed the project and the Mansfield Foundation has funded it,.

Wesley and Irene Mansfield were the founders of the King Tower One Stop in 1939.