Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
A Husky now presides over Sweet Home High School sports from a new perch on the wall of the main gym.
David Lamb completed the painting the weekend before Christmas using a Husky sketched by high school senior Mary Bond.
He placed the sketch on an overhead projector to paint it. Using lifts provided by School District 55, firefighters Tim Walker and Thomas Namba helped charcoal the lettering, “Home of the Huskies.”
“The Booster Club started talking about it last year, but it didn’t work out (to have it done last year),” said Karla Burcham, who is club co-chairwoman along with Connie Moyer and Star Walker.
After Booster Club members voted to get the husky logo painted, they checked around the area to find someone who could paint it.
Lamb agreed to do it for $1,000 and then donated $100 to give to the artist who drew the Husky.
The Booster Club looked at husky pictures on the Internet and some art that the school had, Burcham said. They went to the art class and asked for submissions.
Bond said she heard about the opportunity from another student who suggested that she talk to Athletic Director Dave Goetz about it.
She said she based her drawing on the husky printed on the cover of the student handbook.
The club’s decision came down to five different pieces of art, two from high school students and three others, Burcham said. The club selected Bond’s piece.
“There was no question,” Burcham said. “Everybody voted for that one.”
“It’s quite an honor,” said Bond, who is considering pursuing a major in the creative or literary arts in college.
“Even though I’ll not be a (high school) student any more, that mural will be up there as long as the gym will be. It was blank space so now students can feel a tie to it.”
For herself, she said, it will be a tie to her alma mater.
“When I come back to the gym with my family and friends, I’ll be able to look up there and see it,” she said of the logo.
Lamb painted the Husky the weekend before Christmas before the school had the floor refinished, Burcham said. “He was so willing to jump in there and work on it. We just really appreciate David Lamb.”
The new painting adds atmosphere to the main gym.
“The main gym looked bare without it,” Burcham said, and it “promotes school spirit.”