Memorial Art Co. Then and Now

507 S Second Avenue – Dodge City, Kansas

Memorial Art Co. was founded in Salina by Vincent E “Pete” Peterson and Arthur J Cleveland in 1928*. Cleveland was killed in an automobile accident the following January and his son, Clarence, took over his stake in the partnership. Peterson bought out Clarence’s half of the business around 1937.

In January of 1946, the company announced it had opened a new location in Dodge City to be managed by Pete’s brother, Milton T Peterson. In addition to the main facility in Salina, there were also operations in Hutchinson, Kingman, Abilene, and Norton. Milton and wife Hazel moved their family into a bungalow which sat at the north property line of the one-acre lot just south of Lindas Lumber Company.

As with the other locations, this was a family business. Daughter Betty worked as a bookkeeper and son Rick worked as a salesman and stone setter. Milton and Hazel were listed as owners of the Dodge City location by 1950.

Memorial Art Co. was photographed on March 24, 1950 with its sample stones in front of the building.

The business and Peterson home were not spared from the big flood in June of 1965.

Rick worked his way up to shop foreman and later owned the business.

Rick and Joy (Cline) Peterson’s son, Kirk, represented the third generation in the family business, which closed around 2010. The Salina-based company founded by Milton’s brother is still in operation with locations in Great Bend, Hutchinson, Abilene, Minneapolis, and Ardmore, Oklahoma.

Sample stones still adorned the property in October of 2023.

I spoke to Kirk in October of 2023 and he indicated that the neighboring car lot was interested in purchasing the property for expansion. That sale went through and cars were soon parked along the sidewalk. A demolition permit was issued in August of 2025.

This is how the former site of Memorial Art Co. looks today:

When I was a kid, I was convinced the property was a real cemetery, despite my parents’ attempts to convince me otherwise. I tried (and failed) to preserve that glorious 1940s neon sign. Kirk had sadly passed and I was unable to get in touch with his sister, Kimberly, before it was too late. Hopefully, it ended up in a good place.

*The company website advertises being around since 1927 but an article in The Salina Journal on November 13, 1958 stated the company, founded in 1928, had just celebrated its 30th anniversary the day before.

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