It appears the mural - Hal painted similar ones in
the old rec hall, also included in the photo album - may have been painted over
in the late 1990s before the dining hall was repanelled.
However, no one, at least so far, can say with any
degree of authority if that actually happened.
Perhaps Hal's mural was merely covered up by pine
tongue and groove.
Is it worth looking to find out? It would take
minimal effort to remove a couple of board's to take a peek. If it's still
intact, perhaps then we can have a proper discussion about whether to preserve
it.
Frankly, we've done a pretty poor job of keeping
camp artifacts. We cram old plaques into boxes and what we think is too old and
useless we either sink in the lake or burn.
Maybe this is our chance to make amends. Maybe.
"Leave it covered," Says Hal. "I did
the thing with nothing but the deepest respect for the First Nations people it
represented. I still hold that respect as my hallmark. Someone suggested that
‘good intentions’ don’t matter. If that is true, what else guides us? My
conscience is clear in this regard.
"I will bring along to the 125th a B&W
photo of the mural and have it displayed near the wall to show what once was
there, just for the historical record," Hal adds. "I have loved and
tried to serve Stephens for 56 years. That must count for something, maybe good
intentions?
"Bless you all. Hal”
Below is a Facebook discussion on this topic that
took place over several days more than a year ago.
- Bruce Owen
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