“In about 1910, a strapping, hard-drinking shepherd called Irish Dick traded a pet bear cub to a Toppenish saloon-keeper for whiskey. Some months later, the rowdy shepherd was in town when his grown-up pet escaped, panicking townsfolk. He offered to return the bear to its tether. A terrible fight on mainstreet ended when an unharmed bear was returned to saloon servitude and a brave and bloodied Irishman was taken to the hospital. The mural, painted by Bill Ross and Jan Sovak, is on the 88 Cents Store building at Washington and Toppenish Avenues.”
Paintings and murals serve many historical purposes. They can capture a historical event, but also reveal the overall importance of certain historical narratives within the city or town that created them. The amusing story of Irish Dick could be lost in an archive somewhere, instead it is celebrated and shared with everyone who passes this mural. Toppenish, Washington houses a public history project that I find particularly fascinating. Located within the Yakama Indian reservation, it is a town of about 9,000 people which houses 73 historical murals painted on the sides of buildings. Toppenish launched it’s Mural-in-a-Day program on June 3, 1989 where 15 artists collaborated on one mural entitled “Clearing the Land” and completed it one day before and audience townspeople and tourists. The festival (typically held the first weekend in June) draws over 1,000 people now and adds to Toppenish’s mural count. 
The Toppenish Mural Society presides over this project which includes the Mural-in-a-Day activity and other murals painted by various artists throughout the town who like to spend more than a day. The Toppenish Chamber of Commerce includes a mural map that has a description of the historical significance of each mural. During the summer there are self-guided and wagon tours that showcase the murals.
The murals are intended to convey many things about Toppenish. They celebrate their Western History with murals about rodeos and cowboys. They honor their Native American history with images of the early battles and treaties between the Yakama Nation and settlers from the U.S. The murals also feature influential townspeople throughout Toppenish’s history: Alex McCoy (first Indian judge) and Maud Bolin (first woman to jump from a plane with a parachute and famous rodeo star). The culture and history of this small town are captured in a relatively small area that is easily accessible to almost anyone who passes through Toppenish. The murals are not encumbered with lengthy or tedious signage making them enjoyable for the casual observer to have a taste and feel for what Toppenish asserts is its history. For those who are intrigued about the stories in the murals or about the creation of the murals there are tours and pamphlets available to further interpret these paintings. The Mural-in-a-Day activity invites tourism and encourages local townspeople to take an interest in a project created by mostly local artists.
I like the idea of including some murals in Boise and think that something similar to the murals in Toppenish could easily be achieved in Boise. I have encountered a couple of murals in alleyways in downtown Boise that I find fascinating and bring to mind several questions: when was it painted? what does it portray? why this particular building? how old is the building? I also think that replicating the Mural-in-a-Day program in Boise would be a fun way to include the community in making decisions about what Boise’s history is and introduce public history in an engaging manner. If Boise had several murals a walking or driving tour could be created to further interpret the mural’s historical content.
http://www.toppenish.net/toppenish/home.aspxhttp://www.toppenish.net/toppenish/home.aspx
I think this is a cool idea to have in Boise. What we have downtown now doesn’t particularly depict our past as a city or state. It woud be an awesome way to get the public involved as well!
Very enlightening post. I think a yearly mural a day program would be a great idea. It could be a way to draw attention to many aspects of Boise’s diverse history. Murals would be a good way to engage Boise’s residents with our history, yet help employ public historians to help explain there significance.
This would be a great idea for a tour in Boise. I have the same question about the murals painted downtown. Are they recent? Have they been updated? Did other buildings have these murals and have since been painted over? Why? It would be an interesting scavenger hunt-like tour to find these building and ask the same questions and compare.
I love this idea! Boise does have several murals downtown, so it could catch on fairly quickly. This idea appeals to me after the readings this week because murals can be appreciated without an iPod or smartphone, but an interactive app could be developed that included the pieces of art.