Text and Photos
By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

ETNA GREEN — Three years in the making, and three days of painting culminated Saturday morning, July 12, in Etna Green with speeches and a community ribbon cutting for the newest mural in town.

Townspeople gathered at Remembrance Park to hear from Justin Vining, Etna Green native and artist; Heath Roberts, town council president; Cary Groninger, county commissioner; Suzie Light, former Kosciusko Community Foundation executive director; Amy Roe, Kosciusko County Community Coordinator for Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program; and Cori Humes, Kosciusko County Convention & Visitors Bureau director.

Justin Vining during an emotional moment of his speech.

Following the speeches, everyone gathered at the mural for two official ribbon cuttings. One featuring persons involved in the planning, and the other with all residents present. Following the final ribbon cutting, a train whistle was sounded as if the train in the mural was coming through town.

But an added gift was the ability for children and adults to add brush strokes to the bottom border. Vining purposely left a portion of the bottom border unfinished for others to have a part in the mural.

Vining gave an emotional speech, pausing several times to fight back tears of gratitude. “Thank you to everyone for being out here. I probably could have picked a cooler week to do this. I see so many familiar faces who followed from Monday, to Tuesday to Wednesday,” he stated.

He noted he could always be found at one of two places — painting or sitting on the tailgate of his truck drinking “a gallon of water.” He was also reminded there was a third place — under the awning by the town hall in the shade.

He recapped how three years ago Suzie Light came into his Indianapolis studio and mentioned the possibility of doing a mural in Etna Green. “Almost immediately I became territorial. I felt the list of potential artist to do this was short, probably me or Jeff Klinefelter and I feel like being from Etna Green, I really wanted to do it.”

He kept pursuing it and met with Roe. “She is tough, relentless and gets things done. There were so many times over the last three years, I wasn’t sure this would become a possibility but through her perseverance it came to be and we’re standing here today.”

County Commissioner Cary Groninger.

He shared his experience of the past week. “I’ve lived in Indianapolis for 20 years … I wondered if I would be received as an outsider,” he said pausing to hold back emotions. “Being gone for so long, you don’t know and this week I felt love. I felt the love from this town. I barely had to bring any food, water, meals, sandwiches, ice cream, Popsicles … This town came out.”

He concluded stating “I had so much fun. … It’s a little bittersweet to be done at this point. Thank you everyone.”

Roberts, who welcomed everyone to the event, stated it was an awesome event. “I’m glad everybody has shown up and we’re having this big community event.” He thanked Vining for all his hard work in painting the mural and to the many sponsors, which he named. “We’ve had good weather. It’s not raining today.”

Groninger acknowledged Roe playing a big part of the project, noting how three years ago, “we walked through how we could really create and just allow each one of our small communities to just become all that they can become.” He stated he often describes the county is like a flavor of ice cream. “Kosciusko County is blessed to have 14 small communities in our county and I think each community has its own flavor. So we look at it, whether you like vanilla/chocolate, whatever, we’ve got a community for you.

“I just really think its cool that Etna Green’s kind of continued on with its murals. This is just another opportunity to have that distinct difference of each community in our county and I’m just excited to see that this will continue to grow and prosper and make Kosciusko a great place to be.”

He noted how Roe is his chief cat herder, keeping all the small communities aware of opportunities available and how each community might be able to improve their community. While H.E.L.P. is winding down, the Community Amenities Program, established through the Orthopedic Industry Retention Initiative is beginning. “I’m excited to see other opportunities in our small communities around the county.”

Heath Roberts, town council president, welcomed everyone to the event.

Light, who was at the community foundation when in 1996 one of the first grants made was for Etna Green’s bandstand at Remembrance Park and the mural, helped Roe with the Quality of Place endeavor. She praised Etna Green for its representation. “Art and Culture are important to Etna Green,” she noted with its representatives indicating “we’d like to be maybe even the mural capital of Kosciusko County.” She added Etna Green is a “big community,” and residents “have a big heart for your community. She thanked a number of individuals for serving the community on the committee, representing the town on the town council and other areas.

The final speech came from Humes, who has driven by the mural on a daily basis and observed the progress. “For us at the visitor’s center in Warsaw, we’re happy to be able to continue to promote our art and culture to visitors and residents through this mural and continue to showcase why art is so important in our communities and showing that quality of place.” The mural will be added to its arts and culture public art trail and art spaces brochures. “Thank you all again. We’re so glad to be adding more and more art to Kosciusko County and thank you Etna Green for all your support from all of us. You are the champions to make us be able to have these great things to promote throughout the county.”