[The Welcome Sign]

Description

The WELCOME Sign (shown here) was fostered in 1922 by George Holmgren, the Texas Rotary Club's Governor, following a convention of the Rotary Club in Mineral Wells. The twelve-foot letters were built in Mr. Holmgren's San Antonio iron works by Mr. James Calvert, who was 17 years old when he and his father were commissioned to forge the letters. Mr. Calvert had played trumpet in the "F" troop cavalry as well as playing in the Frank Bird Orchestra in the Baker Hotel. Mr. Holmgren then gave the sign to the people of Mineral Wells with the understanding that they would … continued below

Creation Information

Creator: Unknown. 1972.

Context

This photograph is part of the collection entitled: A. F. Weaver Collection and was provided by the Boyce Ditto Public Library to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It has been viewed 701 times. More information about this photograph can be viewed below.

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Boyce Ditto Public Library

Located in Mineral Wells, the Library holds over 50,000 materials and is dedicated to providing free access and services for the community in a friendly and professional manner. Because of the work of the Boyce Ditto Public Library, residents of Palo Pinto County have access to books, online resources, events, and much more.

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Description

The WELCOME Sign (shown here) was fostered in 1922 by George Holmgren, the Texas Rotary Club's Governor, following a convention of the Rotary Club in Mineral Wells. The twelve-foot letters were built in Mr. Holmgren's San Antonio iron works by Mr. James Calvert, who was 17 years old when he and his father were commissioned to forge the letters. Mr. Calvert had played trumpet in the "F" troop cavalry as well as playing in the Frank Bird Orchestra in the Baker Hotel. Mr. Holmgren then gave the sign to the people of Mineral Wells with the understanding that they would maintain what was, at the time, the world's largest non-commercial lighted sign.
The original incandescent bulbs were later replaced with lower-maintenance red neon lights by the Mineral Wells Jaycees.
A Warrant Officer Company from Fort Wolters moved the sign from its original site on East Mountain to the east side of Bald Mountain (now called Welcome Mountain), overlooking Elmwood Cemetery, in 1972. It remains there today [2008], lighted at its base with flood lights, to greet visitors coming from the east.
This is a picture, taken in 1972, of the restored sign.

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This photograph is part of the following collection of related materials.

A. F. Weaver Collection

This colorful panorama covers Mineral Wells' founding and its mercurial growth as a resort center and army town to the present. Photos are from local historian and photographer A.F. Weaver, local families and research sources.

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Creation Date

  • 1972

None Date

  • February 26, 2007

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Added to The Portal to Texas History

  • Oct. 17, 2007, 2:37 p.m.

Description Last Updated

  • Oct. 9, 2017, 9:47 a.m.

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Past 30 days: 2
Total Uses: 701
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[The Welcome Sign], photograph, 1972; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29410/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boyce Ditto Public Library.

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