On the corner of Bacon and Howell streets sits the newest project of Hillsdale’s Ladies Beatification League. Although the 12-foot wall boasts nothing but white cinderblock, the league predicts that Hillsdale residents will make excuses to drive by 32 E. Bacon St. in a month.
The wall on the west side of the building will feature the league’s third mural project in town. Wes Hardin, a nationally-renowned muralist, has worked with the LBL for nearly a year on sketches for the 12-foot canvas. The mural will commemorate Hillsdale’s history between 1854 and 1956, the peak of the town’s railroad era.
Until the 1850s, Spring Arbor was the home of Hillsdale College, then called Michigan Central College. Edmund Dunn, former college president, wanted to relocate the college along the Michigan Central Railroad to increase accessibility for out-of-state students. Possible locations for the new campus included Coldwater and Hillsdale. At the time, 800 people lived in Hillsdale and the village did not have a train station. Although Coldwater was a larger town in both size and industry, the Hillsdale community raised a $15,000 endowment (nearly $500,000 in today’s dollars) for the college. In 1853, the college moved to Hillsdale and soon after changed its name.
Although murals are quick projects, planning the details is complicated.
Laura Smith, an LBL founding member, knew from research that murals were the kind of projects that can influence economic development in communities. With some help from a beautification league in Cuba, Missouri, the LBL was equipped with proper mentorship for constructing a mural.
“These women have turned an itty bitty town on Route 66 into a major tourist destination,” Smith said. “They are telling the story of their city. They were so generous — helping us from the legal set up to the paint you have to use.”
The group from Missouri recommended the LBL contract Hardin, who had already worked for the Missouri chapter.
Hardin has been painting murals since he graduated high school nearly 30 years ago. He paid off his college tuition by painting wall graphics and high school gymnasium floors in Florida, where he went to junior college and art school.
“Murals are something that I keep coming back to,” he said. “They allow you to do a facelift without asking the building owner to redo the building.”
Hillsdale business owners like Julie Kast of Coney’s & Swirls predict that the upcoming project will promote more foot traffic in the community. Kast has owned Coney’s & Swirls, an ice cream parlor, for the past four years. Based on the tourism mustered by the “Return to Splendor” mural from three years ago, Kast said she is confident that the next one will boost business for her ice cream shop.
“We did see an increase in business when the mural went up,” she said. “It brings more people into the downtown area. Coneys and Swirls will be between two murals, so I’m looking forward to it.”
The ladies of Missouri insisted that LBL purchase quality paint for the project. Due to Michigan’s drastic climate changes, the LBL must supply a specific type of paint that can last through hot, humid summers and cold, wet winters. Nova acrylic paint promises a 50-year luminosity, ideal for mural paint jobs. Depending on the color, a gallon of Nova mural paint costs between $17 and $160. Since one gallon of paint only covers about 300 square feet, the LBL knew this part of the project would be expensive and created an opportunity for community members to donate paint to the project.
In the past five years, the LBL has organized two other mural projects, including one at the Field of Dreams and another at Mrs. Stock’s Park. The first two murals allowed locals to participate in a paint-by-number segment of the walls. About 400 volunteers painted the Field of Dreams mural, and the “Return to Splendor” mural near Mrs. Stock’s Park involved more than 150.
This year, the league experimented with a different form of community participation. The LBL made ten portraits available for purchase at $1,000 each. Buyers were allowed to select one portrait for Hardin to incorporate into the mural. The ten portraits range from images of the donors themselves to other individuals they wanted to commemorate. Smith announced the opportunity to donate in mid-August on WCSR, Hillsdale’s local radio station. Within 15 minutes of her announcement, all the portrait spaces were reserved.
“One of the things we want in every mural is community involvement and civic pride,” she said.
