Rita Meldrum and Erin Marvin were inspired by their children’s 2B state track championship-winning performances for Rainier High School in Yakima in May. They wanted to find a way to give locals and visitors the same jubilation they and their families felt.
To honor the successes, they painted a new bright orange mural on the northbound side of the train trestle on state Route 507 with the names of the boys, girls and teams that have won state championships in wrestling and track and field at RHS, dating back to 1987. Seven girls, 17 boys and three track teams are listed on the mural.
Josh Meldrum, Rita’s son, won the 100-meter dash crown, while Ella Marvin, Erin’s daughter, repeated as the 2B pole vault champion. Their names are written on the bottom of the mural as the champions are listed in chronological order.
“We did it for the athletes and our community. We thought the trestle needed a great coat of paint, and why not highlight the state champions?” Rita Meldrum said. “After seeing the emotion of my son after he won state, I wished many more could experience that rush.”
The mural took about four days to complete, although there is still some work to be done to prevent graffiti. Meldrum and Marvin used the first two days to scrape the paint off the wall before applying paint from Jerry’s Color Center and vinyl.
“We walked away from it, and we were kind of like, ‘Wow, we did that,’” Marvin said of the painting. “I’m just really excited for the community to get an opportunity to see the improvements that are going on in the town.”
Marvin hopes that the list of champions on the mural will continue to grow and that the painting will shine a light on the rich history of Rainier athletics.
“There’s a sense of pride that you have in your kiddo in watching their journey. It wasn’t an easy year for Josh or Ella,” Marvin said. “They had a lot of obstacles. Ella only had half a season due to her knee, and to see her pull through and really just dial it in for the last three weeks and for the state meet, it’s the coolest thing to see your kid do what they love to do and to be successful in that.”
