BEEBE — Monday morning, with the sun beating down, Thomas Fernandez and a group of volunteers gathered with paint brushes and ladders to start on a new mural on a wall of the Wilbur D. Mills Educational Services Cooperative building in Beebe. In a few hours, the red brick wall was painted white for a fresh background, and Fernandez said he would get started on the figures in the mural scene the following day.
Fernandez, an art instructor at Arkansas State University-Beebe, said the momentum for the mural started with a visit from a member of the community.
“This wouldn’t be possible without the really nice, patriotic, civil-minded, firecracker of a woman Melba Brackin,” he said. “She came to my office last September, and she told me she wanted me to paint a mural to honor our veterans. I worked on ideas for a couple of months, and then I called my students and had a meeting with some veterans I knew and a couple professors I knew had been in the military. I got feedback, and I finally came up with an image.”
The mural will depict veterans from World War I to the present, and Fernandez said it is important to include all branches of the military, as well as depicting both men and women who have served. The figures will be silhouetted against images of the USS Arkansas and a C-130 to recognize local contributions to the military.
After settling on an image, Fernandez approached the building owner, who said he supported the project. Fernandez then took his plans to the Beebe City Council, including an estimated cost of $3,000 and a rough plan to get sponsors to help cover the cost of the mural.
“I presented the City Council all of my information,” he said. “They said, ‘For this kind of money, let’s just pay for it all right now.’ So they’ve paid for everything.”
Fernandez has painted three murals before this project — for gymnasiums and yoga studios — and he said he has been very excited about the Beebe veterans mural.
“It means a lot to me because the man who got me interested in art is a World War II veteran,” Fernandez said. “He’s like the grandfather I never had. He taught me how to play chess, and he said, ‘If you want to be an archaeologist, it would behoove you to learn to draw.’ I started to draw more and thought less about archaeology.”
Ultimately, Fernandez, said the goal of the mural is to honor veterans and to give people a reminder about what members of the United States military have done for the country.
“I would like to give people pause for a moment to reflect on the lives that have been sacrificed,” Fernandez said. “People who survive still sacrifice their time, their relationships. They pour their soul into their jobs. I just want them to know that Beebe remembers them. I’m not from Beebe, but this is my chance to say ‘thanks.’”
Fernandez said he hopes to have the mural completed in a week and a half, but that all depends on the weather. Those who want to volunteer to help with the project can go to the mural site at any time. Fernandez said all of the painting supplies will already be at the site, but he does encourage volunteers to bring water in order to stay hydrated.
The mural will be dedicated with a ceremony later this year, on Veterans Day, Fernandez said.
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.