By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — It started with the power boxes earlier this year and now the Main Street Greenville Mural Committee has moved on to the installation of the first of four full-sized murals. The Greetings from Greenville mural is located at the corner of Washington, Broadway and Martin Streets on the building that houses The Daily Advocate/Early Bird. The building is owned by Andrew Riffle.

Committee Chair Eileen Litchfield equated the length of time it takes for an elephant to be born to the length of time it has taken to get the first mural up. She said the mural committee began working a year and a half ago.

This mural is based off a vintage post card found in the microfiche collection at The Garst Museum. The postcard was in a group of postcards provided by Dick Brown. Another local person, Phil Crawford, had the actual postcard and with the help of Tim Wells, the committee was able to have it digitized for the 20’x50’ reproduction.

Litchfield praised the committee and the others who assisted with making the day a reality. “Joe Wintrow is amazing. He is donating all of his labor to put this up. Fitzwater and the City of Greenville are helping by donating their bucket trucks. This has been a day we have been waiting for, for a long a time. To have public art for the whole community,” she said. Wintrow owns Wintrow Signs & Designs.

She has heard from several members of the community who are excited about what is taking place in downtown Greenville. She’s heard others say, “We’ve been waiting for murals for so long. We’ve travelled to other communities and there’s murals everywhere and Greenville needs some. That’s what our committee thought about. We have a great team.”

April Brubaker, executive director of Main Street Greenville, said, “I think this is a great asset for downtown Greenville. It’s just a prime example of what you can do with a committee. It’s just an amazing feeling to bring the community together.”

Jen Overholser, a committee member and Main Street Greenville board member, shared, “I think it will be a great entry point when people come down the side street and enter our downtown for all the vibrant things that are happening in our community.”

This is not the first large scale mural Wintrow has been involved with and working hand-in-hand with Wells is nothing new. Wintrow and Wells assisted the art students at Mississinawa Valley High School in realizing their goal of creating and installing their mural in 2020. Wintrow and Wells also worked together to install the murals on the power boxes in downtown Greenville.

Wintrow said it is his love of drawing and art that led him to being involved with these projects. He believes being able to install these murals is an extension of that love. He felt that murals would be a great benefit to those in the community. “I knew we could make this happen, we just needed the right people involved,” he said.

The process of installing the mural has taken a lot less time than if a muralist had painted the wall. Wells pointed out that by using vinyl, they are able to get the pure gradient of colors. He also said that because the original postcard was printed in the 1950s in halftone, they would not be able to get the same look and feel of the vintage postcard with paint.

After installing the panels, Wintrow and his crew heat sealed the mural and then added a sealant over top to protect it from water damage. Wintrow added that it took 20 hours to print the panels.

A celebration was held during the installation that featured hot dogs and chips from The Merchant House and music by the Wavaires. Donors for the event were also recognized. Those who have made the murals possible include the Harry D. Stephens Memorial, Inc., Ohio Arts Council, Wintrow Signs, Fitzwater Tree & Lawn Care, Darke County Endowment for the arts, Lydia E. Schauer Memorial Trust Fund, Brown Family Foundation, Darke County Foundation, Ketrow Foundation, Timothy Wells Arts Consulting and the City of Greenville. The committee also received support from Roof Maxx who power washed the building and McCabe Painting who provided a bucket truck and helped tape off where the mural would be installed.

The next mural installation will be held on Nov. 3, weather permitting, at the Sure Shot Tap House. Two additional mural installations are planned in the spring.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].