Johnny Cash's 1968 proposal to June Carter in London, Ont., immortalized on new mural

It was a legendary moment in music history when Johnny Cash stopped a show in London, Ont., to ask June Carter to marry him. That moment, which led to a 35-year marriage, is now a permanent painted fixture on the city's current music stadium.

The date was Feb. 22, 1968 when 7,000 fans packed into the London Gardens witnessed the The Man in Black propose. 

The engagement was caught in a photograph that's now being painted on the north side of Budweiser Gardens.

Montreal artist Kevin Ledo, who painted the Leonard Cohen mural in his home city, was commissioned to create the mural, alongside artist Dave Tadaro. The official unveiling is Tuesday and the artists have been told not to grant interviews.

But those who were there the night of the proposal 55-years ago had a lot to say about the new piece of public art. 

Jim Allen was 22 years old when he was given free tickets to the show, five rows from the front of the stage.

"I was there when he proposed to her. I vaguely remember what the words were, but he asked the crowd, 'Do you think that June and I should get married?' And of course, everybody went wild," said Allen.

"So he turned to her and he said, 'Well, these people think we should get married.' So he said, you know, 'Would you marry me?' And of course she said, 'Yes.'"

Jim Belton was also there, and while he couldn't see the proposal from where he was sitting, he remembered the crowd going wild.

"To know that Cash was the star that he was and being in our small town at that time, I thought it was very exciting and it was great for us," said Belton, who also questioned whether the timing of the new mural is a few decades late.

"I'm not sure how many people today are going to understand the significance of it."

Henrietta Mulder-Olthoff was 20-years-old when she went to the concert that night and vividly remembers that special moment on stage. She met Cash afterward and he signed her hand, which she jokingly remembers saying she would never wash again. 

"Awesome," Mulder-Olthoff exclaimed when she heard Cash and Carter were the subjects of a new mural. Now living in Ingersoll, she said she's looking forward to visiting London to see the finished mural.

"Johnny Cash was, of course, the big draw," she said. "I was a big Johnny Cash fan and I didn't go to a lot of concerts, but that one, because Johnny Cash was a big hit, we went to that one. I remember him singing. I remember him proposing to June."