ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

After months of negotiations, moving from the Mid-America Air Museum to the Coronado Museum grounds and work, the former Bob’s Diner now officially has a fresh coat of paint.

The work was done by Touch of Class Painting, and co-owner Siretta Lemmons said the project has actually technically been in the works for a couple years.

“We’d started working with Lidia [Hook-Gray] about two years ago on this. It was still out at the Mid-America Air Museum, and they gave her a bid on the painting job, and then they were just waiting to get funds,” Lemmons said. “I think it was that spring when I ran into her over at The Flower Coop, and I asked her about it, and she said, ‘Well, we're still waiting on funds,’ and so she asked me if we could make any changes to the the painting estimate. And I said ‘I think I can,’ because Sherwin Williams had just come out with a new product, and I’d wanted to try it, and this was a perfect place. We get special pricing when they first bring out new products, so that cut some of the material cost down, and then I donated a portion of the labor. We started on the actual work about three weeks ago and it took us about two weeks – we did have a day we had to lay off work because of rain. There was also a little more prep involved than we’d expected because it had sat outside for a while and there were some rust issues, and it. The work ended up going pretty smoothly other than that one day, and we got it all done.”

Lemmons said the job overall went very well.

“I think maybe when we got to doing the stripes was my favorite part, because that was when everything really started coming together,” Lemmons said. “It was kind of like when we did the rail car – we started with the old, we got the primer on, and and every step just took it closer to where we wanted it to be. With the signs, we took those out to the shop, and we were really happy with how those came together. It was really when we got down near the end and could definitely see the what it was going to look like – it wasn't just red and white, it was that realization of ‘There's the stripes, and then there's the signs, we're done!’”

The biggest challenges, Lemmons said, came at the beginning of the job.

“The prep is always a bit of a surprise, because when you start getting things prepped, you don't know what you're going to run into. I guess when they moved it, or at some point they they put this black really strong duct take on there to cover like where the exhaust vent was, along with another spot, so we had to take that off in order to paint, and and that probably took the better part of a day,” Lemmons said. “That probably was the biggest challenge because I had not anticipated that. When it was out at the museum, it was all nice and clean, and then of course we had some rust issues because it had sat outside. I had also thought the signs would be a little more of a challenge, but they they actually turned out pretty well – I have a have a talented employee that he free handed some of those letters, and I was really pleased with his work with that. I think the only thing it's missing – and I'll have to talk to Lidia – is in some of the older pictures, there was a malt or milkshake or root beer float machine or something up on that top part, and that might be something to look into. But everybody's been really excited. We have got tremendous feedback on my Facebook because I just kept kind of a step by step on my Facebook page of what we were doing and where we were at.”

Now that the project is done, Lemmons said she is extremely pleased with the work.

“We love how it all turned out. I really like history, so being able to preserve this is almost a privilege,” Lemmons said. “Like I said earlier, it was kind of like the rail car project. The biggest thing was when we were done and we could step back and say ‘Wow, all that work was worth it.’ I would encourage people to go to the museum itself and the diner and the other exhibits they have, because there's just so much history out there. I kind of hope at some point in the future the museum will put together a little pamphlet or something with the history of the the the diner, the manufacturer, etc., so they have a backstory on it.  Not everyone knows the the history of Bob’s Diner or even the Valentine diners. I didn't – I've lived here forever, and it wasn't until we got into this project and I started researching what they called the Valentine diners, and there are still some up and running even today.”

Lemmons said it was a privilege to be given the project.

“It's kind of an honor to be able to do something like that for the city, the museum, and the historical society and everyone else involved. I'm kind of transplanted, but at a very young age, so I've seen Liberal grow,” Lemmons said. “I've known of Bob's Diner forever, and like a lot of people, I was kind of sad when it closed down. But I think with this one having a little more of the historical element, there was was more local importance. I enjoy doing projects like that because, like I said, I'm a history buff, so it was an honor to be able to do that and keep it preserved for the city and the county.”