DOWNTOWN RIVER WALL MURAL ON GO

Painting of the "Wall of Fame," a downtown mural that will depict 45 famous Missourians, will start in early October.

About half of the $35,000 for the mural, which will cover the entire inside of the river wall space between Independence and Merriwether streets, is intact.

"We're hoping to have the remainder of the funding within four to six weeks," said J. Tim Blattner, president of the River Heritage Mural Association. "We already have a verbal commitment for someone to remove the shrubs along the wall and we're looking to start painting the first of October."

About a third of the funds collected are set aside for maintaining the mural.

The Wall of Fame mural, 500 feet long and 14 feet high, is being designed by Margaret Randol Dement, a Cape Girardeau native.

It is the seventh and largest of the mural association's projects. The association has a goal of creating 10 murals for the city in 10 years.

Since announcing the project in June, the association has received a number of proposals of names for the wall.

"We're looking at all names," Blattner said. "Right now we're pretty firm on the list that we have."

The main intent of the Wall of Fame is to recognize people who were, or are, judged to be famous. The basic criteria used by a 10-member selection committee were that the person be born in Missouri, or achieved national or international recognition in Missouri, and that permission be obtained.

The seven-color mural is intended to be of historical interest and add to the aesthetics of historical downtown. In addition to the mural, new shrubs and landscaping are planned to enhance the site.

Names to be included on the wall include a president, Harry S. Truman, a native Missourian who became the country's 33rd president in 1945; outlaws, Frank and Jesse James, born in Kearney; an astronaut, Linda Godwin of Oak Ridge; a national radio talk host Rush Limbaugh of Cape Girardeau; a musician, Jess Stacy of Cape Girardeau; artists, writers, actresses, businessmen and others.

The center panel of the wall will feature the Missouri flag, which was designed in 1908 by Marie Oliver in Cape Girardeau.

Contributions for the mural will be recognized with a permanent plaque placed at site. The mural association is offering a "buy a panel" program to help raise funds. Additional information is available by calling Narvol Randol Jr., finance chairman, at (314) 334-2002.