American Legion Post 245 in Seguin collaborated with local high school art students to paint the outside of the post.
The outside of American Legion Post 245 in Seguin, Texas, now evokes pride in veterans. It’s the feeling Legionnaire Don Ingram had in mind when he reached out to the Seguin High School visual arts teacher Paricia Bernaden asking if students would paint a mural. Now, six servicemembers from each service branch, the U.S. flag, Texas flag, fireworks and the bluebonnets state flower brightly adorn the front entrance of Post 245.
“It shows pride,” said Ingram, Post 245 judge advocate and sergeant-at-arms for the Legion Riders chapter. “It’s almost indescribable how I feel when I drive up and park here now. I’m proud to walk into that building.”
The mural is part of Post 245’s “Operation Facelift” that includes renovations both outside and inside the post. And Ingram said including high school students in the project was a natural fit since Children & Youth is a pillar of The American Legion.
“We’re looking at different ways in which we can engage the youth so that we can show them that there’s a lot to be said for community service. There’s a lot to be said about helping veterans. And there’s a lot to be said about potentially looking at the military when they graduate high school.”
Eight art students from Seguin High School visual arts club spent four days of their spring break painting the giant mural alongside their teacher Bernaden. Prior to the start, Bernaden worked with Ingram to understand what the post wanted for a mural. The initial composite she and her art students created was a memorial piece, but Ingram wanted a creation filled with pride, an American flag and celebration visible during a Veterans Day or Fourth of July parade. She and her students went back to the drawing board for the final piece.
On March 9, Bernaden outlined the mural on the 30-by-35-foot wall with the help of a projector. The next morning, the group of eight art students – all girls – started painting.
“I can’t say enough about the amazing mentorship and leadership of Ms. Bernaden throughout this entire process,” Ingram said. “She did an incredible job of allowing them to use their artistic skills but then bringing out so much more. She brought out the absolute best in them.”
Each day the mural came to life with paint, Ingram gave the art students encouragement of their work. “Day one I said, ‘That's amazing.’ The second day I said, ‘You just went from amazing to awesome.’ The third day I said, ‘You went from amazing to awesome to phenomenal.’ And on the fourth day I said, ‘You’ve passed phenomenal and now you're at epic.’ That’s how good it was.”
Ingram and other post members spent the four days helping the students with whatever they needed. This included grabbing supplies, pouring paint, cleaning paint brushes and providing lunch and water. “We did whatever we could to support them,” he said.
This support came from the post and community with both monetary and in-kind donations. The local Sherwin-Williams donated paint, businesses donated equipment rental needed such as a scissor lift and scaffolding, the local pizzeria Brick provided lunch, and the post covered all the paint supplies needed.
“We told them that the school doesn’t have to supply anything,” Ingram said. “The community came together to support this in a really big way.”
When the piece was finished, Ingram asked the students to sign their name on the wall and give their artwork a name. On March 14, the name was unveiled during a ceremony at Post 245.
“The Honorable Oath.”
“It was really kind of emotional,” said Ingram. “Everyone looked at it and said, ‘I see the oath of the six figures that are on the mural. I see the oath that we took to the flag.’”
About 100 people attended the ceremony that included post members, the art students and their parents, the mayor, county sheriff, chief of police, school board members and other community members.
“A lot of the post members and members of the community who are veterans thanked the students,” Ingram said. “At the end of the day, they were very proud of what they had accomplished.”
Bernaden told the Seguin Gazette that, “Out of this experience, I want my students to know they are part of a community. I’m extremely proud and humbled by them because … they trusted me. They trusted me like a squad to lead them through our mission. I can say now our mission is complete.”
The relationship between Post 245 and the Seguin High School visual arts is one that Ingram said will continue after the success of the mural.
“The curb appeal of the post now is such that you feel proud to walk into the building. Instead of walking into a very nondescript building that really nobody knew what it was, now the front of the building is emblazoned with American Legion Post 245. It shows pride.”
- Youth