Dear Walldog Friends,
Right
now, Kewanee is going through “Walldogs Withdrawal”. The community was
so sad to see you leave but are so grateful that you were here for a
brief bit of time. I had to even console a few hosts who were in tears
after their artist left town. What you left behind in this community
was nothing short of magical. Your murals are so wonderful and
beautiful and they have transformed our downtown. It is so very hard to
pick a favorite and one resident mentioned that his favorite mural
“depended on which one he was standing in front of at a given time”.
They are all so unique and so detailed.
Most
importantly, you all gave Kewanee a sense of pride and an appreciation
for our history. Like many towns in the Midwest, industry began to
leave Kewanee in the 1970s and 1980s and our population declined from
18,000 in its heyday in the 1950s to today’s
13,000. Your murals have given us a newfound hope for the future and a
recognition that we really do love this community and want to make it
grow and succeed. We have been on an upward trajectory lately but you
have pushed us way up that curve!
Everyone
has commented how much they enjoyed you as a group and as individuals.
As I mentioned at the “Walldogs Birthday Bash” on Saturday
evening, there were times that I felt like I was not going to get the
residents to understand what this meant for our community and the
naysayers seemed louder than the supporters, but everything went 10,000
times better than I expected and you absolutely enthralled the community
and our visitors. To us, in Kewanee, you are ROCK STARS!!!!
And…please don’t ever think you are not!
A lot of reminiscing took place over your four day visit, inspired by your creative murals:
· The
family of the gentleman depicted in the “Cornhusker” mural came to town
and were in awe of the mural. In fact, the gentleman’s great
granddaughter led tours of the murals on Sunday.
· The
lady who was the original “Sandy’s Girl” and who was the model for the
company logo stopped by to see her likeness at the “Sandy’s” mural. She
was so tickled that the company was honored in this fashion.
· Ronelle
Spiegel, one of our wall sponsors, stopped by the “Woodland Palace”
mural and mentioned that she could not stay away from the downtown. Her
grandmother had been Fred Francis’ housekeeper in the early 1900s.
· The
Lay Family, also wall sponsors, toured the murals and were blown away.
The Lay Family owned the building where the Great Kewanee Fire started
and also were the original founders of the Boss Manufacturing Co.
depicted on the “Cornhusker” mural.
· Larry
Cole, the son of one of the original “wing walkers” from the Cole
Family Air Show had the honor of actually painting on the mural where
his father, Marion, was depicted.
Everyone
in Kewanee wants to capture the excitement and atmosphere that you
created and replicate it again. We are beginning to plan events
surrounding the murals and we’ve already had a couple of businesses
mention that they would like to sponsor one or two murals again next
year (some of you might need to get the paint brushes out!).
I
cannot tell you what this has done for Kewanee –the vibe is electric
around here now. Please know that all of you are welcome back to the
Kewanee anytime and we expect visits!
By
the way, a big THANK YOU to Cornbread for his guidance and humor
throughout the past 2 ½ years. Thanks for talking us down from the
ledge on numerous times when we felt like we could not do this or that
we were not organized enough. Sorry for being a grump sometimes!
On
behalf of Dianne and Dennie Packee, the entire Walldogs Host Committee
Team, the hundreds of volunteers that helped us, and the 13,000
residents of Kewanee, I want to make sure you all know that you have
open invitations to come back to Kewanee anytime!! You are all true
“Community Developers”!
THANK YOU for EVERYTHING!
Russell Medley
Executive Director
Kewanee Economic Development Corporation
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