EULESS -- When Robert and Iva Nail renewed their wedding vows in front of the Fuller House fireplace recently, they wrote another paragraph in the history of a city that exemplifies their idea of paradise.
"I love Euless, and anything I can do to project the good parts, I'll do it," Robert Nail said.To hear Mayor Mary Lib Saleh tell it, the Nails, who married in June 1942, exemplify "the kind of people you want in your community. Anyone who's been married 70 years is surely an example for all of us."For most of 70 years they have stepped up to the plate whenever Euless, and especially its First United Methodist Church, needed doers as much as leaders, Saleh said. "If you need something, they're there," she said. "Both of them served on the altar guild, and you could count on them coming in to fix a pew, cut the grass, serve on committees."These days Robert Nail, 90, doesn't cut his own grass and Iva Nail, 88, isn't tempted to join a committee. But they are so woven into the city's evolution that Saleh described them as legacies.Iva Nail was born in the Fuller House, now the crown jewel of an antique building collection in Euless' Heritage Park."Mine was the front bedroom," she said.A disputed distinctionHer father, Homer Fuller, and her uncle Warren Fuller each claimed to be the town's first mayor. Wait for it; the explanation's coming.The two were among the earliest entrepreneurs in Euless. Homer Fuller opened a store in the late 1920s at what would become Texas 10 and Main Street, and when his brother joined him it became Fuller Brothers General Merchandise.Robert Nail joined them about 1949 to make it the Fuller Brothers and Nail grocery. Soon after, he became the town's first postmaster.The Nails' daughter, Linda Pool, said her father tells how a government representative walked into the grocery one day and asked whether anyone was interested in becoming postmaster."He agreed, built a kiosk inside the store to serve as the post office and would work selling groceries until someone came in wanting to mail something or buy stamps," Pool said.A Lewisville native who grew up in Denton, Robert Nail loves to tell about his chosen hometown.He says Euless' 1951 birth was painful, midwifed by Warren Fuller, who was elected mayor."It was a big political fight," Robert Nail said. "There were lots of arguments."Naysayers used a looming property tax of 25 cents per $100 of valuation to generate a recall election that Nail said undid the incorporation.But the Fuller brothers and their cohorts weren't to be denied.Another drive for incorporation succeeded in 1953. Then Iva Nail's father became mayor of the new Euless, creating a dispute between the brothers over who deserved the title of the city's first mayor."They kind of argued about that," Iva Nail said.Bedroom communityThe next big thing was the water system, Robert Nail said. A property tax was levied after all, and residents began to enjoy a municipal utility.The Nails are optimistic about their city's future, though it hasn't grown as fast as a prediction Robert Nail remembers."Back in the mid-'50s the city hired someone to do forecasting for Euless," he said. "I think it was Freese and Nichols who projected such growth that the population would be about 65,000 in 2000. I thought at the time that it was too far advanced, and I couldn't believe it."Nail's disbelief was justified. The 2010 Census found 51,277 Euless residents, and Nail isn't too happy with how they've been accommodated."They keep building apartments, and I hate to see that," he said.Euless is a bedroom community "and always will be," Nail said. "We're fortunate to have the airport and a few other tax generators besides residents."Historic propertiesThe city's also fortunate to have rescued his wife's birthplace when commercial progress threatened the Fuller House, Robert Nail said. He laments that few other historic properties have survived."There's one house on Vine Street that's the oldest frame house in Euless," he said. "It used to be on land where [Texas] 183 is now."The Nails, who are founding members of the Euless Historical Society and have been recognized by the city as Volunteers of the Year, live together independently in the home they built in 1964.Almost 200 people attended their 70th-anniversary party last month at Texas Star Conference Center, and Saleh said the guest list was a testament to how far their influence has been felt during those seven decades."They came from miles around," she said. "I saw people there I hadn't seen in 15 years."This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.Terry Evans, 817-390-7620Twitter: @fwstevansHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
