Sean C. Morgan
Not satisfied with the eye-catcher already affixed to the front wall of the VFW Hall, Doug Gibson and a group of volunteers and donors continued working on around the east wall over the last year.
Veterans groups dedicated the new murals on Saturday following the Sportsman’s Holiday parade.
The murals catch the attention of passersby, and it has caught attention around the Willamette Valley, the state and the nation. Travelers often stop their motor homes just to take photos.
Brenda Hollenbeck and Doug Gibson, recently elected commander of the American Veterans, spent day in and day out working sunrise to sunset, Rosemarie Allyn said.
A number of volunteers and donors helped on the mural and the flowerbeds just below it. Among them were Gibson, Hollenbeck, Dale Caviness, Shirley McGinnis, Marty Lovik, Max Delano, Stan Sloan, Steve Koenig, A.J. Mayer, Paul Hennison, Jim Allyn, Rosemarie Allyn, Bill Bass, Weyerhaueser’s Bauman Mill, Home Depot and Jeanne Reves.
“We’d like to thank anybody else we forgot for all the donations and help,” Gibson said.
“Some people would just come in and say, ‘I’m making a donation,’ and walk out the door,” Allyn said.
Gibson laid out the mural and concept, drawing out the eagle on the front wall. Hollenbeck painted the eagle, lakes streams and woodland animals. Gibson added the clouds, mountains and American flag.
Turning the corner, Gibson and volunteers added murals honoring each branch of the military.
“I did the first mural,” Gibson said. “I did the second mural. Dale (Caviness) sketched out Iwo Jima. I penciled it out, then Dale came down and helped me paint it. I did the Airforce airplane.”
McGinnish painted all of the armed forces logos except the Army logo, which Gibson painted. Caviness painted another soldier in honor of a friend killed in Korea, Gareth Bateman, 187th RCT Airborne.
The purpose of the second set of murals is “to pay tribute to each branch of the service serving in Iraq” and to let those troops know “that we support them,” Gibson said.
“This place doesn’t look an empty warehouse anymore,” Gibson said.
“You never even noticed,” Caviness said of the VFW Hall. “It looked like an empty barn.”
Now the building stands out, Jim Allyn said. “”We’ve had a lot of people stop by to look at it. This place has been the talk of the Valley and the talk of this state.”
“It’s never as good as it could be,” Gibson said. “There’s always something you’d want to have done better; but sometimes you have to say enough’s enough.”
Gibson would like to have added elements honoring all kinds of military groups, ranging from the Seabees to the 82nd Airborne and the Corps of Engineers; but the wall only has so much space.
“I think we’ve reached a pretty good balance,” Gibson said.
The paints are varied, ranging from oil-based paints to water-based enamel, Gibson said. A clear coat, donated by the Sweet Home Beautification Committee, will help protect it from graffiti and the weather, but Gibson cannot say how long it will last.
“Every medium known to man is in those murals,” Gibson said. “If it lasts 15 years and it still looks pretty good, we’ll have done pretty good.”
The mural was dedicated during the VFW’s first “Christmas in July” craft bazaar under the new mural. Besides, face painting, crafts for sale and snow cones, Gibson awarded three persons trophies for extraordinary patriotism. They included Debbie Durlan, Stan Sloan and Bill Bass.
“I’m pretty proud of what’s there,” Gibson said. “I’m very proud of it. I’m getting more attention from that than anything I’ve done in my life.”
Eventually that attention will wane, Gibson said, and he’ll be glad when it does.
What will make him happiest is when people continue to stop for a look and to take photos.
“You can’t help but be proud of that,” Gibson said. Just a week earlier, one driver from the Salem area stopped by and gave Gibson a dollar and asked to receive the VFW’s newsletter so he and his family could find out about upcoming events.
The mural is a calling card for Sweet Home, Gibson said. People are interested in it, and that’s a good thing for the local VFW and veterans groups, the economy and the community. The groups contribute to community organizations, like the Boys and Girls Club.
With the VFW, AMVETS and other veterans groups strong, they can give more to the community themselves, Gibson said. “It’s a nice social club, but we do other things.”
Gibson invited veterans to visit the club, drop in for a cup of coffee, watch TV or just talk. For information, persons can call 367-4435.