Celebrating community in Rapid City

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Published on Saturday, July 2, 2016

By Sheila Runions

Banner Staff

Rapid City Elementary School teachers Louise MacDonald and Jodi Hrymak had a plan 18 months ago to include art in the curriculum for all grades. They sent a proposal to Manitoba Arts Council, which provided a grant last year and the expertise of Midwest Arts Council. Those 12 months have passed and Monday, June 27 was the official opening of the community art project — a mural on the east wall of the RM of Oakview building.

All 89 students at Rapid City initially toured their town and talked of their genealogy, the history of their community and some took photographs during their walk. Grade 1 and 2 students made clay family trees; Grades 3 and 4 created a Rapid City board game; Grades 5 and 6 made diorama boxes (creating a scene inside a shadow box); Grades 7 and 8 worked with artist Mary Lowe of Harding to help them sketch from their photographs. Mary and fellow Midwest artist Joan Trott of Hamiota collected the sketches, and other drawings from all grades, for transfer purposes. They laid out the ideas and tried to shape them into a flowing design and then enlarged the images on the wall. Trying to keep the original dimensions of the youth’s handiwork, the women outlined the wall with the many designs and then all students returned to do the painting. The mural includes Timer Hyndman, Rapid City’s only living war veteran, former mayor and longtime businessman, as well as an elevator, train, rink, old school (now museum), fire hall, mill house, fish ladder and more. 

The entire school once again paraded to the site for the official opening, which was emceed by Louise. She presented flowers to Joan, who brought her guitar and sang a song with the students/for the crowd. (Flowers were also bought for Mary, who was unable to attend because she was having dental surgery in Winnipeg; Joan assured the students Mary really wanted to celebrate with them but simply could not.) In the gathering were three Rapid City families which boast four generations with all descendants living there: Timer Hyndman, his son Frank, his daughter Alica Fulford and her children Noah, Ethan and Leila; Helen Ross, her daughter Joyce Ferguson, her daughter Jeannie Harrower and her son Jordan; Norma Christie, her daughter Margo Eckberg, her daughter Karolina Scott and her son Owen. The heads of these generations were asked to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony and then Rapid City Parent Group served decorated cakes to all. Students were then given a clue sheet to try and find items within the mural, which has been named I Spy…. My Community.