MURAL TO GARNISH DOWNTOWN JACKSON

Coordinators for the mural that will grace a downtown Jackson building hope it will be completed in time for Homecomers, which begins on Aug. 17.

"It ought to be a dandy," said Herb Wickham, a Jackson artist who has spearheaded the project. "It should be done by Homecomers unless everything goes wrong."

But those awaiting the mural needn't worry. So far, Wickham says, things have gone pretty smoothly.

A competition for the design of the mural to be painted on the north wall of the Clabaugh building at Main and South High streets is being sponsored by the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri.

A cash prize of $1,000 will be awarded to the winning design which will then be reproduced by a local sign company on the 15-by-45-foot space.

The theme should be appropriate for the City of Jackson. Some suggested topics include Homecomers, Andrew Jackson, rural Missouri life or nostalgic architecture, although many others could qualify.

The deadline for entries is 4 p.m. Monday, June 24.

Wickham's studio is in the top floor of the building owned by David Clabaugh. The idea occurred to Clabaugh, who approached Herb Wickham a year ago, and asked if he was interested in painting the mural.

"I wasn't particularly wanting to stand on a board with a rope and try to paint that thing," Wickham said, adding that he thought it was a good idea, however.

Wickham heard nothing else about it for a year until Jackson Mayor Paul Sander approached him.

"David Clabaugh apparently had considered it for some time," Sander said. "We were meeting for some other town business and we began to discuss the mural.

Sander said he agreed with Clabaugh and thought the idea was feasible and believed it would make a very attractive addition to Jackson.

"And Herb Wickham, being an astute artists, was the obvious choice to be chairman," Sander said.

When Wickham agreed to help, he suggested that they have a contest for area artists and Sander agreed. So Wickham went to the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, of which he is a board member, and asked for help. They agreed to donate a $1,000 prize for the winner.

"They have a lot of irons in the fire," Wickham said, "but they thought this was a good idea."

They will have the entries by the end of June and the winner picked shortly thereafter. Then all the entries will be exhibited in Gallery 100 in Cape and then City Hall in Jackson.

Wickham says there is no way of knowing how many people will enter, but says 18 artists showed up for the artist debriefing held two weeks ago.

The Arts Council has sent out hundreds of invitations to local artists, Wickham said, so he expects about two to three dozen people to enter.

"I think we'll have some good quality artists to choose from," Wickham said. "I'm sure it'll be a tough choice."

Sander feels the work will be worth it and hopes the mural will add something more to the town.

"I think it'll add a historical flavor to the community," he said. "It reflects a pride in your past -- we want the mural to be historic. We have a rich history and think it will be very appropriate to have a mural uptown.

"We think the mural will be something people can be proud of."