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Tulare"Little City with a Big Heart" |
Taken in part from newspaper article written by Crystal Pugsley
The idea for a mural developed when a few people were talking about having something special done in the community. Jan Murphy, 5th grade teacher at Tulare Elementary, and several other individuals from the community attended a workshop sponsored by BASEC (Beadle and Spink Enterprise Community) on rural development and community service where they were told they could apply for mini-grants to enhance their communities.
The mural was funded through two mini-grants from BASEC, as well as funds from the South Dakota Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, plus donations from the community.
Because the whole community was to be included, the idea developed to let the students in grades K-12 from the Tulare School help map out the content of the mural. Each student made a drawing of what Tulare represents to them and these were all presented to Steve Troy.
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Out of the 150 drawings submitted, Troy picked out things he liked and drew the final concept. Students were able to help create the mural on the wall, taking only three and a half days to complete the entire project. |
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The whole community is proud of their accomplishments in getting the mural project off the ground and completed. The kids look at the painting and can say "That's my corn" or "That's my sun" or "That's my tractor". They have that feeling of pride and ownership.
Steve Troy says he has been interested in art for as long as he can remember. Besides the mural at Tulare he has also created a mural called "The Great Race" on the wall of the Sportsmen's Bar in Huron SD and a beautiful fall scene in the American State Bank in Wessington Springs.
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