Those driving eastbound on state Route 506 through Vader might notice a new mural being painted on the side of the Vader Public Works Department shed, located at 376 Seventh St.
While on city property, the mural is being painted entirely by a group of volunteers led by Winlock Troop 324 Eagle Scout Celestine Schey, who for the better part of this past year has been designing the mural and gathering donations to pay for paint and supplies.
The Chronicle met with Celestine and her mother, Kelly Schey, as they wrapped up another day’s worth of painting on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
“We probably did about two weeks’ worth of projecting and tracing at night between like seven o’clock and midnight,” Kelly said.
Originally, Celestine’s plan was to make a monochromatic mural, but the Vader City Council wanted color, and now the mural — which spans the 70-foot length of the side of the building — has 31 different colors being painted onto it.
She added paint was donated by Mike Ferguson and the Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Longview, along with over $1,000 in cash donations so far.
As for why she chose to do a mural project, Celestine stated she wanted her Eagle Scout project to be something that both benefited her community and utilized her artistic talents.
“I decided to do something with my ability and create a mural, and I thought, ‘What a better place to do it than in the place I’ve been living in for most of my life now?’ And I felt like it would benefit our community especially since not many people talk about the history of Vader,” Celestine said.
Her interest in Vader’s history was born out of hearing it discussed by Kelly and her father, Joe Schey, who is also currently Vader’s mayor.
She added she wanted to represent both Vader’s history and the history of the local Cowlitz Indian Tribe members from the area.
“By working with some of my friends who are from the tribe to properly represent that portion of everything as well,” Celestine added.
Many of the other images depicted in the mural are taken from historical Vader photographs, and the mural also includes a depiction of Mount St. Helens before it erupted in 1980.
“I’m hoping it’ll be done before the end of this month, we’re kind of fighting the weather at the moment. Any community help is very much so appreciated, I’m constantly looking for more volunteers for painting,” said Celestine.
Much of the volunteer work has come from her Toledo High School classmates, and she has also received guidance from Toledo High School art teacher Ron Gaul.
It was Gaul himself who designed the wooden “Welcome to Vader” signs, and Celestine added she used the same cursive font to write Vader in the mural that Gaul did on the signs.
Those interested in volunteering to help finish the mural can see Celestine’s schedule on her project’s official Facebook page “Celestine’s Eagle Project” at https://tinyurl.com/3524vwv2.
