ELDRED — Eldred has a familiar face that will now be welcoming people into its town.
“Rosie the Riveter” took up permanent residence on the side of the Eldred Area Free Library and Historical Society Tuesday thanks to the efforts of many individuals.
The mural project was suggested by Linda Devlin from the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau. From there many organizations in town and the community helped make the mural a reality. The painting event was funded in part by a grant provided by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, Behr, and the Home Depot through the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Fresh Paint Days Pennsylvania Program.
In addition to the grant, funds from local individuals were collected at the Eldred Supermarket and from a Go Fund Me page. Local donations were a huge help with the project. In addition, it was a significant donation from the McFadden Family in honor of their mother Annie Bell, an original “Rosie,” that completed the last chunk of funds needed to make the project happen.
The members of the Eldred Revitalization committee were instrumental in the organizing the project. The committee of Mo Raught, Lou Ann Hurrle and Lisa Hannahs felt the design featuring “Rosie” would be appropriate to honor the National Munitions Company that was once located in the Eldred area during World War II. The area where the National Munitions Company once stood is now the home of Camp Penuel East, a non-denominational Christian camp.
Charlotte Stoughton, a representative from Eldred Area Free Library, helped with obtaining permission on the use of the library building for the mural. The wall was prepped and repaired by Brad Urbatch of Urbatch Building at no cost. Burleson’s True Value helped with discounted equipment rental.
The mural artist, Vinny Alejandro, and his wife Jessie started work early Tuesday morning.
Alejandro explained that they were originally planning to project the image onto the building, but limited rooftop space made that impossible. Therefore, he free-handed the entire piece while looking at a picture for reference. The duo worked all day on the mural and finished up around five in the afternoon.
Alejandro is a full-time artist from the Buffalo, N.Y., area. He has always had a love for painting, which started with spray paint as a kid. He attended art school and worked as a mechanic for 17 years, but for that last three years has been painting full-time as Urban Inspirations.
A majority of his work can be found in Buffalo, and he was excited bring his artistic abilities to Eldred.
