Bert and Wetta silo getting an Eisenhower mural

Mar. 5—The Eisenhower Foundation received grant money to help fund a silo mural for the Bert and Wetta silo, owned by Carlton and Shari Bert. The Foundation is currently seeking designs for the mural from any Kansan.

Emily Miller, director of development for the Eisenhower Foundation, said the foundation decided to pursue this project because of the growing popularity of silo murals.

"There's a lot of Kansas communities that have embraced the whole mural, especially the silo mural, artistic expression," Miller said. "We don't have a silo mural here in Abilene. With our huge agricultural influence and all the silos that we have, we thought it would be wonderful."

Miller said the foundation approached Bert and Wetta about their silo because it already served as a backdrop to the campus, Miller said.

"Bert and Wetta, they are our next door neighbor," Miller said, "we've worked with them on a couple things, and they've been a good supporter of the Eisenhower Foundation throughout the years."

Chad McAfee, plant manager of Bert and Wetta Sales and their representative for this project, said the Berts were happy to portray Eisenhower on their silo because of how important the former president is to the area.

"We were super excited and looking forward to it. I've sent them (the Berts) pictures or concepts and ideas of what it could be," McAfee said. "I think everyone is ecstatic and looking forward to it."

The completed mural will be 35 inches tall and 54 inches wide. Miller said the mural will be designed to be visible from the Eisenhower Presidential Museum and Library campus.

To help fund the project, the foundation won a $9,500 grant from the Kansas Creative Arts and Industries Commission, a commission under the Kansas Department of Commerce, and received funding from the Community Foundation of Dickinson County for $5,000. The foundation is paying the rest of the $20,000 cost.

Until April 30, the foundation is accepting design submissions from anyone who lives in Kansas. There are no size requirements for submitted designs. The design should revolve around former President Dwight Eisenhower and significant aspects of his life, such as his childhood hobbies, World War II or America in the 1950s. The selected design will be announced May 30.

The artist of the chosen design will receive a free tour of the Eisenhower Museum and be honored at the mural's unveiling reception. For more about the submission process, go to the foundation's website at www.eisenhowerfoundation.net/ike-insight/silo-mural-project-submit-design.

The board who will select the mural design is Meredith Sleichter, executive director of the foundation; Mary Jean Eisenhower, granddaughter of Dwight Eisenhower; Julie Roller Weeks, director of the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau; McAfee; and Elizabeth Weese, executive director of the community foundation.

McAfee said he will be looking at designs based on their creativity and how central Dwight Eisenhower is to the design.

Miller said after a design is chosen, painting will start in September and hopefully be done in time for Dwight Eisenhower's birthday Oct. 14.

Miller said the foundation chose Mindy's Murals to paint the silo. The artist has done a few other murals in Dickinson County, such as the Woodbine's welcome mural and the mural in Abilene's pizza restaurant Tossed N Sauced.

"We're really excited to bring this mural to the community," Miller said. "I think it's going to be a great way for people to come and visit Abilene. It's going to bring people into town, and so we are excited to be able to do this."