GREENE – To hear the story of their hometown, all anyone in Greene has to do now is look.
“Once Upon A River: Postcards from Greene,” a mural depicting the village and town’s history along the Chenango, was unveiled Thursday on the west side of the Great American building on South Chenango Street.
Designed by nearly two dozen first and second graders in the Greene Primary School and painted by 45 of their parents and teachers, “Once Upon A River” tells the chronological story of Greene using postcards, each capturing a scene from a different period in the town’s history.
“It rocks,” said 8-year-old Michael Freije, one of the second graders who helped create the mural, when asked his thoughts on what the class has accomplished. “It just inspires me how (the parents and teachers) were able to create this artwork.”
Around 100 people gathered to see the mural unveiled Thursday during a ceremony outside the grocery store. Students gave presentations on each postcard, area musician Claus Evans sang songs about the river and school officials gave background on the project’s origins.
“It’s been a dream of the teachers at the primary school to paint a mural showing Greene’s history,” said Primary School Principal Carole Stanbro. “As you can see, that dream has come true.”
The project was centered around using art as a medium to teach the students local history, officials say. The students in-turn used art to pass their knowledge on to the community.
“Everyone had really good ideas on what it used to look like back then,” said second grader Michael Willard, adding that the community as a whole will now have a better idea of what Greene once looked like. “It’s like a permanent plaque.”
Students designed each of the 10 postcards with the help of nine local historians. Parents and faculty, guided by renowned Central New York teaching artist Leigh Yardley, then painted the mural.
“It’s an amazing project,” said Mayor Marcia Miller. “It brings the school and the community that much closer together.”
The mural begins with Greene’s history as a Native American village on to its settlement by Stephen Ketchum in 1792, and closes with the annual celebrations along the village ball flats.
The project was funded through BOCES, the Chenango County Council of the Arts and the Empire State Partnership Grant with the Stanley Center for the Arts, which Stanbro said was pivotal to the mural’s success. Nearly a dozen other local businesses and organizations also made donations.
Students who helped design the mural include: Ashley Kenyon, Trent Sherwood, Faith Doll, Kaelyn Shamp, Madeline Brink, Coy Austin, Haley Dejager, Skylar Gilmore, Adrienne Button, Hunter Quillan, Spencer Klumpp, Jenna Mack, Isaac Trass, McKenna Sergi, Brandon Whitaker, Mara Davis, Eric Repp, Michael Repp, Nicole Repp, Justin Carman, Kelly Darling, Michael Freije and Michael Willard.