New paint job on Singing Hills water tank celebrates city's past

A new paint job on the Singing Hills water storage tank, which sits prominently atop a hill in Sertoma Park, now touts Sioux City as the "Home of Sioux City Sue."

Painted in maroon block-style letters with a line of musical notes wrapped around the base, the design hails back to the 1945 folk song written by Dick Thomas and Ray Freedman about a red-haired, blue-eyed woman named Sue who fell in love with a cattle herder as he was "passin' through" Sioux City. 

After its release, "Sioux City Sue" took off and was performed by several musicians including Bing Crosby, Willie Nelson and Gene Autry. Autry starred in a 1946 movie of the same title.

A May 14, 1946, article in the Algona Upper Des Moines newspaper said the woman in the song "is giving Iowa more publicity than anyone has been able to do since Herbert Hoover walked into the White House." 

Capitalizing on the popularity of the quaint tune, the city held a "Sioux City Sue" contest in 1946 for females with natural red hair and blue eyes, like the title character. It held more such contests in subsequent years. A B-17 plane was also named "Sioux City Sue" the same year the contest began.

Councilwoman Rhonda Capron, who served on the committee that came up with the idea, says she had hoped the reference would capture and draw attention to this part of Sioux City history.

"I wanted it to be something people would remember when they're passing through Sioux City," she said. "All you have to do is look it up and the song will be there and the history of it will be there."

The idea came as the tank was overdue for its first new paint job since its construction in the mid-1990s. The City Council wanted something distinct, and a committee formed to discuss the options. 

Capron sat on the committee along with special assistant to the city manager Rick Mach, Cindy Waitt and local artist Steve Avery, who wanted something that traffic passing by on Interstate 29 and the Highway 75 bypass would notice. 

Ideas brainstormed by the committee included a carousel, a fishbowl and a bubble gum dispenser, but the musical notes -- also a creative nod to the "singing" in Singing Hills -- won over the members. The new paint job includes rustic maroon block lettering on a shade of tan -- a stark contrast to the former solid light blue paint job. 

Crews finished work on the tower in early June. Capron said the design exceeded her expectations.

Interest is rising in the piece of heritage, Capron said. The new paint job spurred this year's River-Cade to revitalize the "Sioux City Sue" competition, and the winner could be at a ribbon-cutting held later this year. Capron said they have also heard from people representing Autry who would like to take part in a ribbon-cutting at a later date. 

"We're just going to make it a fun event," she said.