Dija Ali, of Forage Market, works on a mural Friday night on a utility shack at Kennedy Park pool.
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A few weeks ago, longtime educator and current Montello Elementary School Assistant Principal Deanna Ehrhardt was on Lincoln Street, painting a utility box. She was doing her part in the community-wide public art initiative where artists have been painting the unsightly boxes on street corners throughout Lewiston.
While she was painting, a random stranger, Chris Tucci, approached and said he had a proposition for her.
“I first thought, who are you dude?” Ehrhardt said. “But after a few minutes of talking, I had no doubt his proposition was genuine. After all, it’s for the kids. It’s all about the kiddos.”
Chris Tucci, a lifeguard and Lewiston Recreation Department aquatics director, watches over swimmers in the Kennedy Park pool in downtown Lewiston on June 30.
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When Chris Tucci accepted the challenge of becoming Lewiston’s Aquatic program director, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. “I saw a big need and an opportunity to help make opening the pool a reality, even if it meant I had to fill in as a lifeguard. It just had to happen for the kids in Lewiston.”
Scarlett Morin, front, and Abby Martel begin painting Tuesday afternoon at the start of the mural project.
Even when half of the teenagers washed out of the testing to become a lifeguard, Tucci never had a doubt he would find a way to make sure there would be enough to keep the pool open, and he did. He then went to work taking the next strokes, only instead of swim strokes, he was thinking about brush strokes.
Hadley Blodgett works on a mural inside the locker room Thursday afternoon.
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“When I first visited the pool, I thought … what can we do now, for this summer, that can help bring some warmth and character to this place? With so many talented artists in this city, I knew that some aquatic art would be a reasonable ask that would get done in time and bring a smile to the face of the hundreds of children that visit every week,” Tucci said.
Scarlett Morin, foreground, Dija Ali, middle, and Hadley Blodgett work on murals inside the locker room Thursday afternoon.
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The two worked together to come up with a plan. Deanna would bring her talents, paintbrushes and artists. Tucci brought the paint and guidance.
“I know there would be a bunch of my former and current students that would be at the pool, and got them to join in,” she said.
She also tapped into the local workforce. “Forage Market has been such a great supporter of art in the city, and every year they have an art show where they showcase our students’ art in their store on Lisbon Street,” Ehrhardt said.
They also hold a fundraiser to help support the school’s art program, so Ehrhardt approached one of their employees, Dija Ali, whom she had a rapport with, and conscripted her and co-worker Hadley Blodgett.
Chloee Sukeforth works on a mural inside the locker room Thursday afternoon.
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“We did things the old-fashioned way. I used stencils to create the outlines, projecting them on the walls using a projector, you know, old-school like,” Deanna said between paint strokes as she worked on a giant octopus in the locker rooms of the Kennedy Park pool.
A handful of young girls, and a couple of employees from Forage Market in Lewiston started painting Tuesday and, by Friday night, the murals were nearly completed.
Scarlett Morin, left, and Abby Martel pick out paintbrushes Tuesday afternoon as Deanna Ehrhardt opens a can of paint at the start of the mural project at the Kennedy Park pool.
“This has been a blessing and we’ve already had so many folks engage with the project. It makes me think, what else can we do to make the pool the community center that it could be for these brutally hot summer days? For now, art, for the future, swim lessons and classes. Stay tuned!” said Tucci.
Dija Ali begins working on a mural inside the locker rooms Tuesday afternoon at the Kennedy Park pool.
