June 2025.
Rock Rapids, Iowa.
Last week’s Cellpic Sunday featured D.G. DeWaay, one of several people we saw depicted on murals during our recent trip to Rock Rapids. The city’s public art initiative honors local entrepreneurs and professionals. This week, we move just a few blocks away to the side of the Rock Rapids Theater, where another towering mural commands attention. The artwork honors a man whose empire was built on cattle, semis, and sale barns.
At first glance, I mistook him for John Wayne. The hat, the stance, and the dramatic sepia tones all felt straight out of a Western. But this isn’t Hollywood. It’s Tony Jansma, a real-life cattle buyer whose reach stretched from coast to coast. His mural doesn’t romanticize the frontier: it documents a life of relentless motion, sharp deals, and Midwestern grit. Jansma didn’t play a cowboy; he lived it, in boots and spreadsheets.
The mural paints a tableau of his life and the machinery behind his success. To the side, his father, Walter Jansma, offers a quiet nod to the business’s roots, the cattle, and the feedlots’ generational roots. A semi-trailer emblazoned with the Jansma name rumbles across the wall, symbolizing the thousands of miles crisscrossed in pursuit of cattle deliveries. Above it all, a company plane soars skyward; a reminder that Tony’s reach extended far beyond Iowa’s borders. Each element forms a visual ledger of a life spent in motion.
If Tony Jansma ever needed to cool his heels, he wouldn’t have had to go far. The old Rock Rapids Jail sits just a brick’s throw from his mural. Tucked beside the theater, this historic structure once kept the peace in town, one cell at a time. These days, it’s more of a backdrop than a booking station, quietly lending its charm to the mural’s Western vibe. No cattle rustlers here; just a reminder that every good cowboy tale needs a sheriff’s office within shouting distance.
About the photo: I captured the image in Pro Mode on my Samsung S23U, then imported the DNG file into Adobe Lightroom Classic. Using the Adaptive Profile, I adjusted exposure settings, then I cropped and straightened the image. Next, it was off to Luminar Neo, where I made a tweak with its Smart Contrast and Accent AI adjustment tools to complete the edit. If you’d like to examine the image in greater detail or check its metadata, click the image to view it on my Flickr site.
I invite fellow bloggers to join in by creating their own Cellpic Sunday posts. There’s no set theme—the only rule is that your photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or other mobile device. The second rule is simple: link your challenge response to this post or drop a comment here with your link so others can find it. And remember, despite the name, there’s no penalty for sharing on a day other than Sunday.
John Steiner
Journeys with Johnbo 
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Another good mural with historical significance John
It truly tells a story of one of the city giants in agriculture.
Great story to go with the mural John, I like to find out more about the people I see in the murals too
These are the first murals I’ve seen that honor city locals. I’d like to see more of this style.
Yes I agree, good way to learn the history, there’s a quite a few in Australian country towns
[…] week, I sought something distinctive in John’s Cellpic Sunday. While the quality may not be top-notch, I genuinely relished the challenge of capturing the […]
Tony Jansma does look like John Wayne, in a style akin to Wild West movies, I agree. Lovely capture of the mural, John. I love how the nearby brick wall blends into the mural’s color palette. Great information on processing as always, John. Much appreciated. Thank you.
Thanks, Suzette!
I like the soft sepia colours of this mural, it suits the subject well 🙂
It does, indeed. I am remiss in not finding out who the artist is. It’s a large and complicated story of a larger than life businessman.
This mural has big “John Wayne wandered into a spreadsheet and came out richer” energy. Love how the wall itself seems to be hustling—cattle, semis, planes, and a jail nearby just in case the capitalism gets too rowdy. Fantastic eye and storytelling here, John—this one moos, roars, and flies all at once. 🤠🎨
The mural is truly a storyboard on the life of a prominent Rock Rapids businessman. I am remiss in crediting the artist who painted the mural. The artist is Curt ‘Signman’ Nelson, one of the artists behind several of Rock Rapids’ public murals.
Thanks, Chuckster, for reminding me that the artist is telling the story.
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Tony does look like John Wayne, I’m sure he’d be proud to be in Wayne’s company (or vise-versa!). How nice to feature locals on the mural, and great capture and edits, John! Here is mine this week:
https://secondwindleisure.com/2026/01/25/sunday-stills-riders-on-the-storm/
Indeed! It’s a great way to honor civic leaders.
Murals are a great way to honor those who have made a difference. Thanks for the back story John.
When we first moved to Fargo in 1978, I was surprised to see Jansma trucks on their way to the processing plant in West Fargo, about 4 hours from Rock Rapids.
Murals are such fine art. I like photographing them, too. Here’s a different entry for my Cellpic Sunday:
https://throughbrazilianeyes.com/overnight-storm/
Indeed, they honor the subject in several ways.
John, what an awesome mural and story!
Indeed, a story of a giant in agribusiness.
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John Wayne, indeed. If I didn’t know any better, I would have figured that John was born there. This is my favorite line, “Jansma didn’t play a cowboy; he lived it, in boots and spreadsheets.” Fabulous photo. 🙂
John Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa, about four hours drive from the site of that photo I thought was John Wayne. >grin< Thanks, Marsha!
How funny! I didn’t know that fun fact either!
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