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Pembroke Heritage Murals organization is busy restoring outdoor art

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The Pembroke Heritage Murals organization has been very busy this summer, maintaining and repairing their stock of outdoor art.

Pamela Dempsey, murals committee chairperson, said maintenance and repairs are very important as it maintains the original investment of each mural. She said there are five murals which are 23 years old now, and five others which are 22 years old.

Tackling the task has been professional artists Marillyn Saffery and Shauna Torgerson, who have been kept busy restoring the older murals. The pair gave the “Champlain Trail’ mural a face lift.

"Two professional artists working together shortened the work time up considerably," Dempsey said. "This way, inconveniencing the traffic on the sidewalk and street was limited."

Thirteen murals have been professionally washed by Pete’s Wash All, including “Marching Toward The Millennium.” Torgerson began the restoration of “S.J. Webb Bakery” mural on June 4. She moved on to repairing “Town Smithy,” “The Hockey Players’," “Spring Harvest – An Artist’s Sketchbook,” and “Peter White.” After she was done, Torgerson began a contract with Deep River to paint two murals.

Meanwhile, Saffery repaired “The Pioneers of Pembroke Township 1820-1850” located on the Champlain Trail Museum. After this, she made some repairs to “A Century of Service 1896-1997,” “Pembroke Street Lights,” and "The Mackay Street Arena 1905-1951.”

Starting Aug. 6, Torgerson will apply a clear coat to “Canadian Armed Forces - At The Ready.” She will then move on to repairing “Marguerite d’Youville and Her Mission.” On Aug. 12, Torgerson and Saffery will partner up again to restore “The Ice House” mural on Agnes Street.

"We are very proud to keep Pembroke’s outdoor art gallery in good repair," Dempsey said. "Thirty-three murals is an exceptional gallery of our illustrated history. The Communities in Bloom judges are quite complimentary of Pembroke’s Heritage Murals."

She said the murals committee greatly appreciates the cooperation and support of many local businesses and property owners, as well as residents who understand when they have to displace parking spaces. City staff and the Parking Authority also assist them immediately as needed.

Stephen Uhler is a Daily Observer multimedia journalist

stephen.uhler@sunmedia.ca

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