NEW MURAL DEDICATED AT ST. FRANCIS

As water trickled in a fountain and a slight breeze blew, about 100 people gathered Thursday evening amid the bushes and blooms in the Healing Arts Garden at St. Francis Medical Center to dedicate a new mural.

The brick relief mural was designed to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the hospital. It's five panels, which stand out from the background, show the history of the medical center from its beginning with patron saint St. Francis of Assisi to breakthroughs in health care.

The 15-month project was both exhilarating and exhausting for artist Jay Tschetter.

"You wake up at night and think about it," said Tschetter, who attended a dedication service Thursday for the mural. "You carry that burden for a project that goes on for months and I'm elated with the response I've got."

More than 100 people came to view the mural, which is displayed on a second story wall at the medical center outside the Healing Arts Garden. Many were members of the center's board of directors and Foundation board.

Others had donated to the project and came to see the finished work.

Vernice Baumstark called the mural "breathtaking." She was one of the very first supporters of the idea to create the mural as a way to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the hospital. She also received a miniature relief of the first panel in the mural.

Baumstark said the last panel, which depicts recent innovations in health care and children playing around a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, is probably her favorite.

"It's so natural looking," she said. "The people look like they're just talking."

Baumstark had served as the hospital's auxiliary president and worked to move the statue of St. Francis from the old hospital site on Good Hope Street to the present location. The statue now is showcased in a fountain at the medical center's entrance.

All four of St. Francis' locations are depicted in the mural panels, from its first 12-room facility to its current 80-acre complex.

The mural panels show how the hospital's work has changed over the years as technology advanced and how it has remained constant in its efforts to serve patients and families in the region, said Steven Bjelich, president and CEO of St. Francis Medical Center.

The mural helps to "tell the story decade by decade abut how we grew and embraced technology and are a community resource," he said.

Harry Rediger, president of the center's board of directors, said the mural allows history to speak. In the panels you can see how the horse and buggy were replaced by MRIs and helicopters. "The families of this region still come to us for help," he said.

The mural was financed entirely by contributions. It was designed and built at Tschetter's studio in Lincoln, Neb. and the bricks fired there. The 20 pallets of bricks were numbered and the mural reconstructed in Cape Girardeau. Foeste Masonry Inc. helped put the mural back together when it arrived.