The Vicksburg Riverfront Murals project came to a close Friday with the unveiling of the final and 32nd piece of the puzzle that has spanned nearly a decade.

“It’s beautiful, and I hope it brings back memories for a lot of you,” said Nellie Caldwell, head of the mural committee, at Friday’s unveiling of the Jitney-Jungle scene. “My heart is here. Each one is so very special, and each have a story within itself.”

The project to beautify the City Front floodwall has been “volunteerism at its very best,” said Mayor Laurence Leyens.

Sponsored by the Nosser family and friends, the mural depicts Jitney-Jungle, a first-of-its-kind supermarket to open in Vicksburg in 1933, and the owners who opened it, the late Pete Sr. and Bessie Nosser. The grocery store housed a cafeteria, dry cleaners, pharmacy, bakery, toy store and lunch counter.

“My daddy is my hero,” said Nina Nosser Dottley, one of the Nossers’ children.

Grandson Rowdy Nosser said the mural is a way for “their flagship store to come alive again.”

Other Nosser family members taking part in the unveiling included great-grandsons Regan Nosser and Will Hood; Nosser child Lila Lee Nosser McRight; and McRight’s niece Nina Nosser Rocconi.

The guest speaker was former Vicksburg Mayor Johnny Holland, who served from 1957 to 1968.

“This is a homecoming for me,” he said, adding that Pete Nosser Sr. had “an air of knowledge and good sense.”

The Jitney-Jungle mural marks the close of the project that depicts local historical scenes. Each were painted by Lafayette, La., artist Robert Dafford and his team. A ceremony was held after Friday’s unveiling to celebrate the murals project.

The idea came after Caldwell visited Paducah, Ky., where she saw Dafford’s work and suggested a similar project here. Leyens agreed and named her chairman of the committee. The first mural was unveiled in April 2002.

“The community at-large is responsible for it,” said Caldwell.

The murals have cost from $15,000 to almost $20,000 each and the City of Vicksburg has landscaped, fenced and lighted the area. What was supposed to be a 10-year project took eight years to complete, and $500,000 in sponsorship money was raised.

“It’s been a long wonderful trip,” said Dafford, who has been painting murals on floodwalls across the country since 1971. “It’s been so great to be welcomed into your community over and over again.”

The Vicksburg murals, are “one of my favorite works in my life,” he said. “It’s like a child — each mural has a different meaning to you.”

The historical scenes were created with an industrial-grade paint made to last at least 18 years, and coated with a UV finish. Touch-ups will be done.

“They’re fabulous. It’s a tremendous draw to the city of Vicksburg,” said Lenore Barkley, former director of the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, who attended the unveiling. “It’s a good way to get a history lesson in a nutshell. We all gravitate to a picture.”

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At a glance

The murals and when they were unveiled:

• Vicksburg Waterfront — April 12, 2002.

• Washington Street, 1912 — Dec. 11, 2002.

• Welcome to Vicksburg — Jan. 31, 2003.

• The Famous Bear Hunt — May 3, 2003.

• Joseph Biedenharn, Coca-Cola — May 24, 2003.

• Jefferson Davis at Brierfield — June 3, 2003.

• Nogales — Dec. 5, 2003.

• Sisters of Mercy — Jan. 17, 2004.

• African-American Contributions —  May 7, 2004.

• Crossing the Mississippi, Last of the Ferries — May 13, 2004.

• Vicksburg National Military Park — Jan. 11, 2005.

• The Sultana — April 9, 2005.

• Cities Before Vicksburg — May 12, 2005.

• Logging on the Mississippi — June 11, 2005.

• Siege of Vicksburg — March 18, 2006.

• 1953 Tornado — April 18, 2006.

• Brothers of the Sacred Heart — April 29, 2006.

• Mississippi River Sunset — May 23, 2006.

• Carr Central — Oct. 6, 2006.

• The Steamer Sprague — March 23, 2007.

• Land of Cotton — June 12, 2007.

• Willie Dixon — June 28, 2007.

• The Founding of Vicksburg and Methodism — Feb. 4, 2008.

• Gold in the Hills — March 28, 2008.

• Rosa A. Temple High School — May 8, 2008.

• Vicksburg Garden Clubs and Planter’s Hall — May 29, 2008.

• Miss Mississippi Pageant — June 27, 2008.

• Koestler’s Bakery — Dec. 13, 2008.

• Flood of 1927 — April 1, 2009.

• The Fordices — May 8, 2009.

• R.G. LeTourneau — May 15, 2009.

• Jitney-Jungle — May 29, 2009.

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Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com