A dedication ceremony was held Saturday for the Love of Merrill mural painted by Merrill High School artists over the summer on the side of the Blooming Wishes building at 820 E. First St.
The event included the presentation of plaques to the student artists who painted the mural, which depicts Merrill’s historic trolley.
A special feature of the mural is Jack the Trolley Dog, a legendary Merrill canine who rode the trolley to visit his girlfriend. Smokey, submitted by Linda Bergh, was chosen through a contest to represent Jack on the mural.
The project was a cooperative effort of Blooming Wishes, UW-Extension, Merrill Historical Society, Merrill Chamber of Commerce and the Merrill High School art department.
Funding for the project came from Church Mutual and the Merrill Area Community Foundation, along with proceeds from the Jack the Trolley Dog contest.
Lincoln County University of Wisconsin-Extension Community Development Agent Art Lersch explained the history of the mural project.
In summer 2013, Lersch coordinated a series of forums for Merrill to explore issues of the community. About 60 people attended a “For the Love of Merrill” session.
“Basically, what we did was design some projects that day… and one of them was a mural for the downtown area,” Lersch said. “It wouldn’t have come about without the support of the Chamber, Lincoln County Economic Development Corporation and all the funding comes from MACF as well as Church Mutual.”
Merrill Ace, Skipper’s Restaurant and First Street Coffee Station also provided contributions.
He said the project is a cooperative effort of many in the community.
“This is truly a community project and the talented students, just a tremendous thing that’s happened here,” he said. “We’re hoping that more building owners, particularly in the downtown area, look at this and continue to do things like this around Merrill.”
Lersch also thanked Linda DeBroux, MHS art teacher. “Thank you for guiding these students in their talents.”
Brenda Wendt of Blooming Wishes presented a plaque to Debbe Kinsey and Cheryl Skoug of the Merrill Area Chamber of Commerce.
“They do a lot for our community behind the scenes that none of us ever realize,” Wendt said. “Thank you for your involvement in our town, Merrill, and for loving Merrill so much.”
Wendt also presented a plaque to Mayor Bill Bialecki.
“There are a lot of us who do not realize what you do for our city,” Wendt said. “He does an exceptional job.”
“It’s not just me, there’s a whole team of good people in this town that make these things possible,” Bialecki replied. “I think this is great. If you think back four years ago, we had an old falling-down bakery building here. We removed it and thanks to these folks (Blooming Wishes owners) and these young people, we have a beautiful building here to enjoy.”
Wendt said she and co-owners Tanya Kleinschmidt and Maxine Plamann are all Merrill natives, but have learned a lot about Merrill’s history from their involvement with the Merrill Historical Society.
“We never knew what Merrill was about until we became Blooming Wishes and started this project,” she said.
Pat Burg of the Historical Society said, “We’ve had several partnerships with Blooming Wishes and they’ve done a wonderful job with fundraising and helping. Any crazy idea, they jump right on board.”