Popular 'Never Rip Overalls' mural at central Utah mercantile restored

KOOSHAREM, Sevier County — For generations, a colorful advertisement painted on the side of the Grass Valley Mercantile has been part of the scenery in the central Utah community of Koosharem.

So when it suddenly disappeared behind a wall of white paint, lots of people got upset.

"Oh, yes. They did," mercantile manager Jill Stewart said with a laugh. "People have definitely noticed that it's gone right now and have been (saying), 'You better put that back.'"

It was the iconic "Never Rip Overalls" mural, featuring a man in blue overalls and the words "Big Deep Bend."

The mural has been a familiar sight along Koosharem's Main Street for more than 100 years.

Even though the overalls haven't been manufactured in decades, the advertisement has remained a popular attraction for people passing through, as well as locals used to seeing it there.

"It's such a part of history and the nostalgia of it that we just don't want to let it go," said Terrin Hampton, who owns the Grass Valley Mercantile.

The mural dates to around 1920, according to Hampton, and originally advertised Never Rip Overalls, a brand of work clothing manufactured by John Scowcroft & Sons in Ogden.

Over the years, the paint faded, the wall cracked, and the overalls themselves disappeared from store shelves.

But the mural never lost its popularity. In fact, it developed a rather unusual tradition.

Visitors began posing for photographs in front of the advertisement, often bending over to match the "Deep Bend" slogan of the overalls.

"Well, that's the funny part about it. People will come up and they will get their picture taken and bending over and showing their buttocks," Hampton said with a laugh.

The tradition has even attracted a Hollywood celebrity. Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank shared a photograph on Instagram of herself doing the Deep Bend while passing through Koosharem.

"It's just fun all the way around," said Hampton.

Even though the overalls are long gone, Hampton said customers still ask about them.

"We keep on toying with the idea of selling some overalls here because people come in and ask all the time, 'Where's the overalls?'" he said.

Even though the overalls are gone, the mural remained.

However, time has not been kind to the artwork. The paint was fading, the stucco was deteriorating, and sections of the wall were falling apart.

"It was very obvious at that point that something needed to be done," Hampton said.

An opportunity came when Koosharem's mayor approached Hampton about a grant intended to help beautify rural communities.

The project would allow the store to make improvements to its exterior, including the area where the mural had been painted.

However, restoring the building meant dealing with more than just old paint.

"That stucco was just cracking off so bad. It's a hundred and something years old. So we pressure washed it, and the amount of stucco that came off, it required us to re-stucco the entire thing," said Stewart.

The repairs meant the remaining mural would have to be covered. And when the wall suddenly turned completely white, some residents feared a piece of their town's history had been erased forever.

Hampton said he even had a little fun with their reactions.

"Oh, yeah. They were really upset. 'You're going to repaint that, right?' I've even joked with them and said, 'No, we're not going to repaint it,' and they would absolutely come unglued," he said. "We knew that we'd be in deep trouble if we didn't restore it."

Of course, bringing back the mural had been the plan all along.

Before work began in September, Hampton and Stewart made sure the original artwork was carefully traced onto plastic. That tracing would serve as a stencil, allowing them to recreate the mural in its original location.

For Stewart, it was quite the responsibility.

"I do get to be the one that's painting it, yes," she said with an almost nervous laugh. "I'm really good at filling in the lines."

The goal wasn't simply to repaint the faded advertisement as it had looked in recent years. Hampton wanted to bring back the brighter colors and appearance it had when it was first painted.

"It had been painted several times, and we wanted to go back to its original look," he said.

The finished mural now features vivid colors and refreshed lettering, giving the familiar advertisement a new appearance while preserving the design generations of residents have come to recognize.

Hampton hopes the improvements will last for decades.

"I anticipate that this paint and this fix will last for the next 30 years plus," he said.

For Hampton and Stewart, the restoration is about something larger than an old advertisement.

The Grass Valley Mercantile has been a fixture in Koosharem since the 1800s.

Stewart said the original store was built in 1879, with the portion of the building featuring the mural constructed in 1917. The business has remained in the same family throughout its history. Today, it continues to serve as one of the central gathering places in Grass Valley.

Inside, customers can find groceries, hardware, fishing supplies, camping equipment, ice cream, a post office, and almost anything else someone might need.

But the store also provides something that can't be purchased: Connection.

"To have a central hub to the community, I think it's really vital to the life of the community," said Hampton. "I don't want the community to basically dry up and not have a place to rub shoulders, get information."

He said people frequently stop by just to visit, share news, or check the community advertisements posted around the store.

Stewart has her own personal connection to the building. She has lived in the community for 18 years and worked at the mercantile for most of them.

"My babies were babies in here. They're not babies anymore, but they would run around in their walkers," she said.

For her, preserving the store is about keeping those kinds of memories alive for future generations.

"It is so important. So many people come into the store remembering stores like this from when they were little, and they're not around anymore," she said, "So we are trying our absolute best to keep it and have it be here for generations to come."

The beautification project has helped with that effort. In addition to restoring the mural, Hampton said the improvements included new asphalt and concrete around the gas pumps. The upgrades are intended to help the longtime business remain a vital part of the valley.

Now that the mural has returned, Hampton hopes it will continue to be a source of pride for locals and a place for visitors to take more pictures.

"I think it'll have a long life now, and hopefully the next generation wants to preserve it as well," he said. "We just want to keep it going."

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