Joining Together To Remember

On the fences of Harmony Park in Encampment you will find a couple murals depicting a cartoon. This cartoon was Stampede by the late Jerry Palen. Jerry Palen and his family gave the Platte Valley Arts Council permission to use the Stampede comics for the mural.

The Platte Valley Arts Council decided to pursue this project in memory of Jerry Palen. Palen had touched many lives with not just his work but by being an all around kind person. He was known fondly by much of the Valley.

The arts council decided to include the community in the continuation of the project inviting people to come and help work on the next panel of the mural.

According to the Vice President of the Platte Valley Art Council Shirley Hillyard, the mural is important because it can brighten the environment but also pays tribute to Jerry Palen. Hillyard said she believes art is therapeutic and involving the community gives more people access to that.

Public art is an important part of a community because not only does it provide beautification to the area but it also brings happiness. Hillyard said “it’s good for the soul” referring to the importance of public art. Public art does a key part in making our community a better and more positive environment and encourages us to come together and spread happiness and kindness. Public art can bring us together in an incredibly special way and bonding over the human expression of art just brings us closer together.

Hillyard is continuing the work on public art and getting the community involved with a summer kids art workshop. The workshops will allow kids from preschool to 12th grade kids come and make different crafts each month. The workshops will take place at Sunny Cup in Saratoga at 1 in the afternoon on July 22 and August 12.

The arts council is also auctioning a bronze sculpture by Jerry Palen called “Desert Dust '' at this year's Festival of the Arts on July 5-7. The statue is valued at $6,000 and, according to Hillyard, the money from the auction will go towards scholarships provided by the Platte Valley Arts Council.