When Alex “Hambone” Brown was asked if he ever expected his face to be on a mural on the side of a building, he nodded, smiled and said, “yes sir.”
That response is 100% Hambone, and it drew a lot of laughs during this past Tuesday evening’s dedication of the mural that was recently painted on the side of Turner’s Downtown Market with multiple likenesses of the local Indianola legend.
Now 86, Hambone has been one of downtown Indianola’s pillars for 74 years, he said.
He is now enshrined with a colorful mural, which features a triune look at Hambone over the decades, surrounded by even more things that make Indianola unique, like Indian Bayou, sunflowers and more.
His nickname, he said, came from Mac McGregor, who for years managed the Piggly Wiggly store where Turner’s is now located.
“He gave me that nickname,” Hambone said smiling, as he sat in front of his mural.
The idea for the mural started with another local legend, Bob Buchanan.
He approached Mayor Ken Featherstone earlier in his administration with the idea of naming a street after the kind-hearted icon.
“Everybody has a Hambone story,” Featherstone said on Tuesday. “He is a generational icon from the city of Indianola.”
Featherstone agreed, and the city board eventually voted to name the alley next to The Crown Restaurant – another place one is likely to run into the local legend -- Hambone Alley, with the idea at the time of having a mural drawn there.
Ward 5 Alderman Sam Brock told the crowd on Tuesday night that he knew immediately that was not the place for the painting.
It needed to be in a place where people would be able to see it, and it needed to be on the side of the building where Hambone spent so many years, that former Piggly Wiggly building.
Earlier this year, the city advertised bids for the job, with a budget of $25,000. Jackson-based artist Chris Windfield won the bid and started work during the late summer months.
“When I first came to Indianola, I was blown away,” Windfield said, later adding, “I definitely enjoyed meeting Hambone and painting him. I enjoy painting everyday, local people.”
Featherstone noted on Tuesday night the importance of the community being able to honor Hambone where he can enjoy the mural and see it every day that he is downtown.
While visitors to Indianola may wonder at first glance about the face on the side of Turner’s Downtown Market, if they walk inside the store, they may just run into that gleaming smile and kind spirit.
“Hambone, thank you for being Hambone,” Bob Buchanan told him on Tuesday night. “If the whole world was like you, with love in their hearts, it would be a whole lot better place.”
