Celebrating Children Mural
In spring 2024, Athens County Children Services contracted muralist Mandi Caskey to paint a mural honoring the agency’s history, community programs, annual events and dedication to child welfare.
Our 4,500-square-foot mural is painted across the north abutment where Route 33 passes over East State Street in Athens, Ohio. It is considered the largest single mural in southeast Ohio and carries an even larger meaning: celebrating the children and families we serve.
ACCS collaborated with Caskey to design the mural and incorporate pinwheel designs by students from the five Athens County high schools. The mural represents our long-standing mission of protecting children and strengthening families, gives a callback to our old Children’s Home and includes imagery from various ACCS events all supported by our community.
With support from the City of Athens, the Ohio Department of Transportation and Athens County Commissioners, the mural was created to recognize the value that children and quality care have in Athens County, and to highlight the ongoing support we receive from our community.
The Artwork & Meaning
Our mural serves as a tribute to the children and families we serve, as well as the programs that serve and support Athens County. Each element of the design represents a piece of our agency, our community or our mission. The mural tells the story of community action, compassion and care for children in Athens County.
At the heart of the mural, a child holds a miniature version of the historic Children’s Home, which recognizes our agency’s long-term commitment to protecting children since 1881.
To the right, a child holds up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, representing the Peanut Butter & Jelly Project – an annual program to distribute donated peanut butter, jelly, bread and fresh produce to keep families fed during the summer months when school meals are not provided.
On the far right, another child decorates a Christmas tree, which symbolizes the Santa Tree Project – an annual program where local organizations and community members generously purchase and donate gifts to ensure local children experience the joy of the holiday season.
To the left of the Children’s Home, two children can be seen smiling and playing as one child launches a paper airplane through the air. One paper airplane is marked with the word “Kidfest” – a premier event that brings Athens County families together for a day of games, prizes, crafts, music and fun.
Scattered across the mural are five colorful pinwheels, which represent to our agency’s annual placing of pinwheels on our front lawn directly next to East State Street. These pinwheels are displayed in April (Child Abuse Prevention Month) to represent referrals of abuse and neglect received by the agency each year. The metal pinwheels placed in the ground are designed from scratch, out of pop cans, painted, assembled and placed in the ground by our dedicated volunteers.
Student Artwork Features
The mural features five pinwheels each designed by a student from the five Athens County high schools – Alexander, Athens, Federal Hocking, Nelsonville-York and Trimble.
The idea to feature student artwork in the mural emerged naturally, as each year, ACCS works with local students to create our Ohio University Homecoming Parade floats and Kidfest t-shirt designs. Caskey, our muralist, has experience collaborating with student artists and also felt enthusiastic about including local youth in the design. It was important to the agency that the mural features representation of our communities all throughout Athens County.
Throughout the painting process, Caskey visited local high school art classes to introduce herself and engage directly with students. She provided pinwheel templates and offered inspiration and guidance on how to create a design for the mural. We gave the students minimal guidelines to encourage them to freely and creatively express what their community means to them.
ACCS received pinwheel submissions from all five local school districts. Caskey and her assistant, Liv Morris, reviewed the entries and selected one design from each school to include in the mural. The name of each school district is written along the stem of its corresponding pinwheel.
Construction Process & Timeline
In a meeting on May 2, 2023, ACCS Director Otis Crockron Jr. and Public Information Officer/Community Events Coordinator Matt Starkey introduced the mural proposal to the Athens County Commissioners.
At the time, the proposal was to depict the Children’s Home only on the left side of the abutment as commuters exit Athens. Over time, the agency and Athens officials discussed adding more history and detail to the mural and placing it on the other side of the abutment.
The resulting large-scale project would not have been possible without the guidance of the Ohio Department of Transportation and their district 10 office, as well as the continued support we received from the City of Athens and Athens County Commissioners. We also worked closely with Sherwin-Williams experts to determine which paint products were the best fit for a beautiful, durable mural.
Throughout 2023, ACCS collaborated with Mandi Caskey, our muralist, and local officials and organizations to design the mural and prepare for its proper installation.
Mural installation officially began on May 7, 2024, which falls on National Mural Day. Under the abutment, the sidewalk remained accessible for pedestrians and traffic cones were placed slightly narrowing a lane of East State Street.
Once the abutment wall was power washed clean, Caskey covered it with a base coat of paint and drew an outline of the artwork. She and her assistant completed the entire outline for the mural in just a few hours that first night.
Throughout May 2024, the mural was in progress and in full public view; each step of the process revealed a new piece of the artwork. While the base layers displayed a general outline of the mural, Caskey’s spray paint technique added intricate details throughout the process, delighting those who followed her progress.
After applying anti-graffiti coating, the mural was completed for unveiling on June 7, 2024, only one month after its installation began.
The Ribbon Cutting
On June 7, 2024, ACCS held a mural unveiling ribbon cutting on our front lawn where we plant pinwheels every April. Members of the public, ACCS staff, city, county, and state officials, and the muralist, her assistant and the students who designed the pinwheels were all present for the ceremony.
ACCS Director Otis Crockron and Public Information Officer Matt Starkey spoke to welcome everyone and share the background and inspiration for the project. A speaker from the Ohio Department of Transportation, the City of Athens and the Public Children Services Association of Ohio (PSCAO) also gave remarks.
Then, we introduced our muralist, Mandi Caskey, to speak about the project. Caskey also recognized the high school students who designed the five pinwheels, and later had them sign their names under her signature on the mural.
At the end of the ceremony, the speakers, muralist and students stood in front of the abutment holding a big blue ribbon to celebrate the mural’s reveal. Caskey cut the ribbon and attendees were able to view the mural and view its detail up-close.
