“We’d had problems with graffiti on the shelter house, but it really peaked last winter,” said Patterson Park Neighborhood Association president Evelyn Davidson. “We called the police and met with its graffiti task force about what could be done.”
County employee Lauren Strukenborg, a resident and trustee in Patterson Park’s neighborhood association, told the group about Spire Arts, a program within the county’s Human Services Department for people with developmental disabilities.
“I presented Spire Arts to do murals as an option,” said Strukenborg. “They followed up, and it was really nice to see the interaction between the artists and residents.”
The mural was unveiled on Oct. 7.
Ruthie Kennedy, who coordinated the artists, met with residents to discuss what they wanted on the four sides of the shelter, poles and trashcans.
“We wanted it to reflect our neighborhood,” said Davidson. “Since the park was named for the first baby born in Dayton, we wanted a picture of her, John Patterson, the cash register, gas lampposts, other Dayton symbols and the park’s albino squirrels.”
Wayne Fishbaugh was in on the planning, and another neighbor drew a map of Patterson Park to be included.
Fishbaugh, Strukenborg, John Zaidain and others spent at least 100 hours scraping graffiti off the cement block, then primed the areas to be painted, according to Davidson. “And about 30 of our local businesses and families donated funds for the paint, supplies, and plaques recognizing Spire Arts and donors.”
The mural got underway in June, with Kennedy leading 30 Spire Arts artists. “While they worked, people in the neighborhood came out to see the progress, and many of them started painting, too,” said Davidson.
“Jim Cook walks his dog, Mattie, in the park every day and wanted to help, so Mattie — with one blue and one brown eye — ended up in the mural. By the time they finished in September, about 25 neighborhood residents had helped paint.
“We got much more out of the project than we anticipated. It really brought people together. The artists with disabilities loved being there, and their presence encouraged the community to participate.”
Neighbors wrote a proposal for a Keep Montgomery County Beautiful grant to provide a clear, anti-graffiti cover coat, added when the mural was completed in September.
When the dedication was held in October, “and the Spire Arts artists were there to cut pieces of the ribbon to take home — there were lots of tears and hugs,” said Davidson.
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