Date: Fri 13-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Merrill-mural-Edmond-Town-Hall

Full Text:

Town Hall Mural Is Getting Its Finishing Touches

(with photos)

BY KAAREN VALENTA

David Merrill stood on a rung near the top of the ladder and patiently painted

the letters in the name of a Newtown notable. It was one of the last days he

expected to spend in Edmond Town Hall, completing the murals that he began

more than a decade ago.

"I'm sure there must be names I missed but there's a space here to add more,"

the artist said, gesturing at a spot on the last section of mural on a wall

across from the Alexandria Room, next to a theater balcony door.

The celebrities -- James Thurber, Wally Cox, Grace Moore, Andre Hudiakoff,

Alexander Scourby, Dagmar, to name a few -- range from inventors (Charles

Goodyear, Robert Fulton, Jr) to sports stars (Tommy Burns, Floyd Patterson,

Bruce Jenner, Cliff Robinson). Some, like Arthur Spector, made history locally

as well. Mr Spector, a former member of the Boston Celtics, was a powerful

force in planning and zoning in Newtown for years.

But the last section of the mural recognizes more than celebrities, Mr Merrill

said.

"There are many people alive today, and organizations, who have contributed a

great deal to the town. I put the names of some of those who enriched the

community here," he said, pointing out a border that enclosed a series of

paintings resembling old black and white photographs.

The "snapshot" paintings show scenes -- many no longer existing -- from the

first two decades of the 1900s including Bennetts Bridge, the Old Zoar Bridge,

Taylor Field, and the old Newtown Country Club clubhouse.

The final section, done entirely in black and white, is a striking contrast to

the vivid colors used in the rest of the murals. Mr Merrill said the earliest

murals, along the building's southern staircase, reflect the architecture and

scenes representative of the town. The second part, on the northern staircase,

features the people and the names important to the town, including those today

who are keeping up the historic homesteads.

The last section, in the upstairs hallway, includes the names of the Borough

of Newtown officers since the borough was established in 1924 --men like Czar

Keeler, Squire Dibble, David Botsford and Ezra Glover -- and a painting of

current warden, Joan Glover Crick, the first woman to hold the position. A map

shows the 1,253.32 acres that comprise the borough.

On the wall below are the names of the treasurers and finance directors, the

tax assessors and collectors that the Town of Newtown has had since it was

granted a charter in 1708.

Above a balcony door is a list of Newtown residents who represented the town

in the General Assembly, from John Northrop in 1747 to Julia Wasserman today.

Nearby, over the northern staircase, a view of Main Street includes the names

of all of the town's first selectmen since 1712. On the landing between

floors, the Liberty Pole rises majestically up the wall. "The spirit of

Newtown is quite unique. I think it comes from the flagpole," Mr Merrill has

said.

The artist said that Mrs Fenn Dickinson, wife of the late first selectman,

called him twice in two years to make sure that he included the Dayton Street

Bridge, which he did, over the doors to the theater balcony.

Originally from Monroe, David Merrill lived for years in Southbury, where he

painted murals in the town hall there. He moved to Maine, then returned to

Southbury and was living there when he began the murals in Newtown in 1984. He

has since moved to Sandy Hook, where he lives with his wife, Beryl, an

assistant tax collector in Newtown, whom he met while painting the murals in

the town hall.

Mr Merrill has begun work on a mural in a house in Seymour, one of several

projects he has undertaken while working at Edmond Town Hall, but he doesn't

expect to be away from town hall completely.

"I have a few names to finish on the mural," he said. "I plan to be working

there on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving to finish up."

Mr Merrill said a bronze plaque, 30 inches wide by 40 inches high, is being

cast by the Colonial Brass Company in Middleboro, Mass., to commemorate the

project. It will be installed on the wall at the top of the northern

staircase.

"It's supposed to be ready about the first week in December and I'll go up

there to pick it up," Mr Merrill said. "Sometime afterwards there probably

will be an open house for the public."

It's going to feel "very strange" not to be in the town hall, he said, and he

will miss traveling to and from work with Beryl and having lunch with her. But

he is already becoming engrossed in the project in Seymour.

"The mural will feature a covered bridge and a road that disappears as it

bends around, a house... and a barn with a silo," he said. "I'm very excited

about it."