West Liberty teachers Shawna McLeod, Steph Paulsen and Kelly Morrison pose in front of the downtown mural they created the past several months. The 80-foot long by 25-foot high painting on the side of the I.O.O.F Building at 125 E. 3rd Street, on the corner of Third and Spencer streets owned by Jose Zacarius was completed this past week with a cover varnish coating to protect the painting. The ladies, with a lot of support from the community, took on the project amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, giving them an opportunity to give back to their community after not being able to be in the classrooms to teach students late last school year. Now, Rosa-Conrad Frausto, who owns a local part-time business, has created a shirt to go with the mural which will be available at West Liberty Foods' outlet store/restaurant on Third Street in a couple of weeks and hopes to get the merchandise in other local stores as well. She launched her silk-screening business just eight weeks ago from her home, offering the shirts, which the ladies are wearing, in a variety of colors and sizes. Frausto, who also works at West Liberty Foods, can be contacted at rosafrausto1970@gmail.com The mural was the brainstorm of McLeod, an art teacher at the West Liberty Middle School. Residents and visitors are encouraged to get their picture taken at the mural.
Photo contributed.