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Polson community dedicates mural

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Dwarfed by the towering brick wall, Polson folks gathered Friday to officially dedicate the new mural on the side of Lake City Bakery that welcomes visitors to town and promotes some of Polson’s best events on the south end of Flathead Lake.

Leading the dedication were Mayor Heather Knutson and Rob Turner, president of the Polson Chamber of Commerce. The ribbon-cutting ceremony also honored Barbara Beighle-Buchli, the muralist who painted the colorful brick canvas in an effort to “beautify and unify Polson.” 

The mural is a collage of cherry blossoms, a classic car, a painting hand, a bear, a raccoon and the Mission Mountains — plus images of tipis, bison and a bald eagle to honor the tribes that call the valley home. 

“That’s part of their spirit,” Barbara said.

Hidden within the painting are surprising tidbits: a filled maple bar doughnut, a golf ball, swimming fish and an eyeball in honor of the painter’s father, longtime Polson resident and eye doctor Dick Beighle. 

Dick said the idea for the mural began two years ago after the Flathead Cherry Growers Co-op board sponsored a poster contest for school kids to help promote the Flathead Cherry Festival. The idea blossomed into something much larger.

“Let’s see about a mural somewhere downtown,” Dick said. “And this (location), of course, came to mind right away.”

Dick said he called his daughter, who immediately offered to come to Montana to paint it.

“That’s before I saw the building,” Barbara said with a chuckle.

Now that the mural is complete (although it may still be a work in progress, according to Barbara), the wall has begun to serve its purpose.

First of all, it’s made people aware there is a bakery in the building, Barbara said.

Lake City Bakery owner Marilyn Humphrey is glad the mural has drawn attention to their business, but was quick to express that the painting depicts the economy of the whole town.

“This is the community’s mural,” Humphrey said. “Barbara felt called to come bless this community.”

And that’s just what the muralist believes it will do — get visitors to stop and spend their money.

 “When tourists come in, they’ve got a few minutes to sum up their impression of Polson,” Barbara said. “(The mural) is something attractive, it’s cute, it’s artsy, it’s whimsical, it’s kind of fun colors … and it’s making people stop. And it’s really bringing more tourism, hopefully, to Polson.” 

The mural project on the tall wall was a challenge, Barbara said, but as with every mural she paints, she just figures it out as she goes.

“We’re Beighles, and tend to bite off more than we can chew, and get in over our heads,” she said, “But then you learn how to go beyond that and do more than you ever knew that you were capable of.”

 

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