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LAST MINUTE MUSINGS: Stop and smell the bluebells at the mural
If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.
That simple statement was passed down to us from my favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut. Amid his particular brand of sardonic humor, our fellow Hoosier was telling us to practice gratitude — if you’re happy, take notice.
As Vonnegut tells it in a 2003 essay published by In These Times, the saying came from his uncle and was later passed down to his own family. The author encouraged his readers to take notice during the simple moments of happiness in their lives, taking time to say the sentence out loud: “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”
These words came back to me Friday while standing in the street in front of the newly-completed Greencastle bicentennial mural. In our group we had muralist Damien Mitchell; the four spearheads of the Putnam County Mural Project — Alex Chamberlain, Chris Flegal, Kristin Fuhs-Wells and Kate Knaul — six terms worth of Greencastle mayors in Mike Harmless, Sue Murray and Bill Dory; county history nuts Larry Tippin and Jinsie Bingham; and various other people who helped the project come to fruition.
These people care about Greencastle. With the exception of Mitchell, we’ve chosen to make this place our home. And before us stood this beautiful new addition to our community, one that already seems to be the most treasured of the seven murals installed by the Putnam County Mural Project since 2019.
Let’s be honest, the reviews of some of the others have been mixed. I’ve heard the grumblings. Heck, some people in this community seem to think that I am responsible for the design that wraps around more than half of the Banner Graphic building.
But I don’t really care. As Mitchell told the Greencastle Rotary Club last week, “If all art was loved by everyone all the time, there wouldn’t be any art.”
By the way, I like the Banner mural even if I’m not responsible for it.
I won’t repeat the complaints here because I’m practicing gratitude, remember? Besides, that’s not the point.
The point is that I’ve not heard a naysayer about this latest mural. Not one.
I’m sure some have quibbled over the choices of individual subjects of the mural, but people seem to love it.
What’s not to love? It has to be a daunting task to pack 200 years of history into 1,900 square feet. Yet the historical ideation committee appointed for the mural and, ultimately, Mitchell made it happen.
If we work our way from north to south, we see a streamlined diesel locomotive motoring its way up the hill, commemorating the Monon Railroad, which ran from New Albany to Michigan City, along the way serving seven different institutes of higher learning. Most important for our purposes are arch rivals DePauw University and Wabash College, though this particular engine is most assuredly newer stock than the one from which the fabled Monon Bell was taken.
Above we have a burst of Virginia bluebells, one of two sets of native plants that punctuate the colors of the mural, along with purple milkweed and swamp milkweed near the north end. Between them at the forefront of the scene is an eastern bluebird perched on a leafy branch, seemingly beckoning us to take a closer look at our own history.
Just beyond the nose of the locomotive, we have the Chewing Gum Lady herself, yes, Edith Browning, the longtime staple of Central National Bank who became a local legend. For more on Edith, check out Eric Bernsee’s “Daze Work” column for today.
Peeking out from behind Edith is Eli Lilly. Long before Lilly’s name became a giant in the pharmaceutical industry and Hoosier philanthropy, he was a Maryland native who moved to Greencastle as a teenager in 1852. He opened his first drugstore here in town in 1861. After going off to the Civil War and rising to the rank of colonel, Lilly later ended up in Indianapolis, where he established the business that grew into the drug manufacturing behemoth of today.
As Lilly looks off to the south, we also move that direction, where we find three prominent buildings to the community. First on the list is the old IBM plant that is now home to Area 30 Career Center and Ascena Retail Group. But for 33 years, the building was the home to IBM’s Plant Number 5.
So why commemorate a plant that the tech giant ultimately closed? The shadow of that old plant continues to contribute to the local culture long after 1987. The building and land were donated to the community, along with three years worth of United Way contributions, three years worth of IBM’s property taxes and help with the sale of hundreds of homes that quickly flooded the local market. After recovering from the initial shock, the city made concentrated efforts that successfully recruited new and diverse industry into the community.
Next to IBM, on the painting if not in reality, stands the Hazel Day Logden Theatre, the physical structure of Putnam County Playhouse. Founded in 1961, the group’s goal was “to provide the people of Greencastle and the surrounding area with the opportunity to participate in and enjoy live theater.” The building itself represents local philanthropy, as the theater’s namesake donated the parcel of land and two barns to the Playhouse. The larger barn was converted into a 220-seat theater in 1983.
Next to this we have East College, the signature building of DePauw University. Founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College, the school was a partnership with the community from the beginning, with citizens pledging $25,000 to help locate the school year. The East College building cornerstone was placed in 1870 and was again funded by the citizens of Greencastle. The partnership between the city and the university now stretches to 186 years.
The placement of East College on the mural also creates my favorite quirk of the piece, as just behind East College we find ... East College? But more on that later.
Zooming into view in front of East College we find three cyclists on the People Pathways system. Putnam Parks and Pathways is the ongoing evolution of the project to expand outdoor recreational opportunities for walkers, runners and cyclists in Putnam and connecting to Hendricks and Clay counties. The Greencastle People Pathways project started in 1995 and now has more than 20 miles of an interconnected pathway system.
The trio seems to have emerged from an unnamed covered bridge. Although none of the pathways actually run through local covered bridges and the bridge itself is not identified, this element represents the nine covered bridges that dot the Putnam County landscape. Dunbar Bridge is the closest of these structures, located just northwest of the city.
At the far right we find 1920 DePauw graduate Percy Julian, who was a research fellow at the university when he first synthesized the drug physostigmine, making it readily available for the treatment of glaucoma. He is regarded as one of the most influential chemists in American history.
At the center of the mural, behind the three featured buildings, we find the city seal, which in addition to the smaller version of East College contains another artist’s rendering of the town set amidst rolling farmland. That artist was Richard Peeler, the DePauw art professor and potter who designed the seal, then sculpted and fired 20 clay versions of it. Wife Marj, an accomplished artist in her own right, then hand painted each of them.
But why, you might ask, did the city need 20 ceramic seals? As former Mayor Harmless tells it, the idea started with Larry Ingram, the Japanese consultant for the state of Indiana, who educated the mayor on the Japanese custom of exchanging gifts. This was in 1988, prior to a city-sponsored trip of local leaders to Japan.
So, with the custom Peeler pieces in tow, Harmless was able to avoid an international faux pas, and have a few special gifts on hand from the city to dignitaries. They were presented to U.S. Ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield as well as Vice President Dan Quayle and Congressman Lee Hamilton when they returned to the city to visit their alma mater.
Harmless was even able to give one to 41st U.S. President George H.W. Bush when he was at the White House in 1991 to receive Greencastle’s All-American City award.
And why did our fair city win such a prestigious award, you might ask? It was for the remarkable recovery the city had made since the devastating news of IBM’s departure came down just four years earlier. How’s that for coming full circle?
“Every great city should have a city seal,” Harmless said. “Greencastle is well served by our very personal city seal. Dick and Marj Peeler have passed away, but their legacy Peeler pottery and the Greencastle City Seal live on.”
So there you have it — art, chemistry, history, leisure, nature and even chewing gum. I love the new mural. As I gaze up at it, I think the same thing I hope Mike Harmless was saying that day in the White House Rose Garden:
If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.