Finishing
touches
adorn mural
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM —The Boxcar Mural is in its final week, honoring the work of Putnam’s Favorite Daughter, children’s book author Gertrude Chandler Warner.
Over the weekend a couple dozen renditions of the Boxcar Children’s book covers began gracing the 290-foot wall that runs along South Main Street, below the Gertrude Chandler Warner Boxcar Children Museum.
Lead artist Elaine Turner said there were 161 Boxcar books, 19 of them written by Warner. The covers, numbering 24 or 25, were done by various artists including school children. The project was funded by sponsorships, Turner said.
Interspersed among the covers are important scenes from the books, for example a map of what the children’s world was like in the books and the "found pile."
This week, muralist Emida Roller provided finishing touches and connected all the artwork, giving it continuity from end to end.
Once all the covers, done on strong Polytab material, were “glued” to the wall with 100 percent acrylic gloss gel medium, they received a sealing. Then they were sealed again when the entire wall was sealed. And in the nick of time, too, as temperatures started to drop this final week.
Turner said this all came together in three weeks. The “smooshing” of the background colors kicked off the project Sept. 27. At that point the group didn’t even have the Polytab on hand, but it all fell into place.
“Three weeks is all we had,” she said.
The town will hold a dedication or ribbon cutting (or both) in mid-November, she added.

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