Businessman and cartoonist Bob Wilson has passed away.
Robert Dennis (Bob) Wilson
May 20, 1933 – October 16, 2021
While in college, a job opportunity arose that directed his career path. He bought J.J. Construction and built many homes in Indian Hills. He opened Mid-State Lumber Company in Cuba, Missouri in the mid 1960’s.
Later he began Mid-Mo Truss. After a while, it became a separate entity he and his family operated. He owned United Redi-Mix a short while. He built and owned Fountain Place and Hickory Place Apartments as well as built and developed the Village at Four Condominiums.Over the years, with his wit and love of country, Bob created and wrote comics for his companies’ advertisements and for the local newspaper. He was well known for “Stirrin’ the Pot”.
From a circa 2007 Cuba Free Press profile:
For over 40 years, Wilson’s cartoons have covered everything from his business advertisements to politics and social issues occurring on both the local and national level.
“I started cartooning for the Mid-State Lumber ads in the 1960s,” Wilson recalled. “We were portrayed as ‘#3’ in those cartoons.
“I did it to bring some attention to us since we were the third lumber yard in town.”
“After I quit, people would ask me about my cartoons and that got me fired up again,” he recalled.
Percy Pascoe, the former owner of the Cuba Free Press and often the brunt of Wilson’s drawings, commented on Wilson and his editorial cartoons.
“He would usually comment on some government, city council or school issue,” he said. “He picked on probably every mayor that we had.
“I always wanted to do better caricatures, but I never could do that and sometimes I worry that the cartoons don’t look like the people they’re supposed to,” he said. “I’ve always drawn myself with a trademark hat and mustache.
“On of my secrets is that I never could draw eyes and make them look decent, so I use the hat to hide the eyes.”
Over the years, Wilson has done hundreds if not thousands of cartoons.
Here is an archive of Stirrin’ the Pot by Bob.
