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Shenango students paint veterans mural on Legion windows

New Castle News - 11/17/2020

Nov. 11--When 2020 gave veterans tributes the brush off, Shenango High art students picked up the brushes.

Ten members of Jason Naelitz's Art 2 and 3 classes put their talents together to design and paint a mural saluting those who have served their country on the windows of American Legion Post 343.

They and the post's senior vice commander, Bill Schafer, hope the effort will help make up for the veterans celebrations that have been canceled throughout this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We're not allowed to do anything for groups for the military this year," Schafer said. "We couldn't have the Memorial Day parade, we couldn't have a Veterans (Day) parade, we can't have programs over 25 people here at the Legion. Everything's canceled, from the parades to gatherings. We can't even go to nursing homes for veterans programs. So we were trying to come up with an idea for the last few months, what can we do?"

"When this idea came up," Schafer continued, "they contacted all the schools, but Shenango is the only one that came forth and wanted to do something. We thought this was something that could be visible to let the community know that Veterans Day is not forgotten."

Naelitz got his classes to create the design, which features members of the armed forces saluting the flag, and to paint it on the corner windows of Post 343 at the intersection of North Jefferson and East Falls streets. Ironically, Naelitz said, the same pandemic that forced the cancellation of veterans celebrations and curtailed in-school attendance and activities actually enabled him to oversee the window project.

"I want to say this is the first one," Naelitz said Oct. 30 of having his students do a community project, "all because of the way things are right now, we happen to have a little extra time. Normally, I'd be, 'There's no way I'd have time to do something like this.' But because of the way our school schedule is, it's a little bit more spread out right now, with the way those classes are structured, and there's no after-school activities. Normally, I'd have an art club going on. We don't have that going on now, so everything aligned nicely."

Although 10 students were involved in the design and painting, only a couple were working at a time on the windows to ensure social distancing.

Senior Angelle Bender, designated as lead painter for the project, said she wanted to be a part of it "because I feel that veterans need more credit for what they've done, and at the same time, I can also be gaining one project for (National Honor Society) ... I'll be able to project about how much veterans do and how grateful I am to them."

Her coworker at the time was sophomore Scarlet Balogh, who said she was eager to be a part of the project.

"I thought this was such a great idea and a great cause to come down and help with," she said.

Naelitz was glad for the opportunity to get his students involved.

"We needed some kind of a morale boost, something to lift us up," he said, "and we hoped we could lift up other people, too, by doing this."

The students already have reached at least one person.

"As a Vietnam War vet myself," Schafer said, "it's very emotional that somebody in our community took an interest in the veterans for Veterans Day."

d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com

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