The Newport Veterans Mural is a co-creation of the Newport High School art class and visiting artist in residence Jon Laidacker of Philadelphia, with the support of art teacher Jessica Barlup and the Newport High School staff and administration, and through the Arts-in-Residency program of the Perry County Council of the Arts. PCCA is an Arts in Education Partner of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Nearly 100 community members of all ages also helped paint the mural during Youth Art Day in 2017.
In the students’ own words, “we really tried to capture the essence of our veterans and their legacy….the watch is intended to signify the passage of time, as the overall theme of this piece is unifying the past, present, and future…The butterflies not only add an attractive appeal to the portraits, but are actually a symbol of eternal life as well as transformation. We were also attempting to tie in the rural aspects of our community in order to connect the mural to its viewer.” The items in the foreground and the uniform are meant to represent our military’s branches.
The models on the right are VFW Newport veteran Chris Gross and his two grandchildren. 
His granddaughter wears his uniform with love, respect, and admiration. The Newport students considered the children to represent themselves as students.
The man represented in the photo at left is William H. Saylor, who was killed in battle at Bouresches, France during World War I. The VFW post in Newport is named in his honor.
The mural was formally honored on Saturday, July 8, 2017.
We thank our generous financial supporters of this project:
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
VFW Post 34 of Newport
Newport American Legion Post 177
The Lotus Fund of the Perry County Community Foundation, a regional foundation of the Foundation for Enhancing Communities, on behalf of Meredith and Matthew Schuler
