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Walldogs find city welcomes their work

Seen from the top level of the tier parking garage, Walldog brother and sister Chris and Bekah Lovelady work Friday on the Pullman-Standard mural.

Walldog Christina Vargas arrived in Butler this week with intent to stay in a hotel. When those plans fell through at the last minute, she needed a place to stay.

Butler resident Bob Kaufman stepped up. He and his wife opened up their home to Vargas, because, Kaufman said, it was the nice thing to do.

“I am in this beautiful home with two lovely people that they might wonder why this lady is there two weeks after the event, because it's so wonderful,” said Vargas, who is from Los Angeles.

Vargas is one of many Walldogs who are enjoying Butler's hospitality.

Artist Doug Haffner, of Wyoming, Ill., had a similar experience. He told of a woman who walked down the street from her business to offer the artists the use of a rest room and a place to get out of the heat if needed.

“Businesses on the street that really weren't involved in any of this see what's going on and they come out and say, 'Hey, how can I help? Is there anything you need,' and that's wonderful,” Haffner said.

Hospitality hasn't just come from residents and businesses.

De Ingles, of Germantown Hills, Ill., said she and her husband, John Ingles, have been aided in their work by Pat Collins, executive director of the Butler County Historical Society, which organized the event.

“Pat's pretty amazing,” De Ingles said. “She stops by all the time to make sure we have everything we need, so she makes it pretty easy to stay on the wall. You don't have to go looking for stuff.”

They said Butler is much bigger than most of the towns in which they paint murals.

“It's probably like 10 times bigger,” De Ingles said. “This is huge and it's very hilly.”

Other Walldogs have enjoyed Butler for the unique features it has to offer. Artist Michael Clark, of Aledo, Ill., pointed out a common structure in Butler.

“What amazes me about this town is I have never seen a town with so many churches,” he said. “There must be a church on every corner.”

Haffner found value in Butler's history.

“What's interesting to me about Butler, the history seems much deeper and longer,” he said. “I think as the states were formed, Butler's been around a lot longer than some of our towns and cities as you get across the other side of the country. So you've got much more history to dig from to do the murals.”

Samantha Redles, an artist from Baltimore, agreed.“It's different because it's an East Coast state,” she said. “Mostly we've done a lot of walls in the middle of the country, up north, so in terms of just culture and also the types of industries that are out here, it's different.”Redles also found the town's architecture to be unique. While eating lunch at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church on Franklin Street, she commented on the building's structure.“There's so many different styles of architecture in materials they use (for buildings),” she said. “The one that we're in is brick. One is brown stone. Another is fieldstone. So there's diversity in materials.”Walldog Pat McKillop, of Lucknow, Ontario, Canada, also is enjoying the local architecture, including the stain glass windows of the local churches.“I just think that the architecture and buildings in this town are beautiful and well worth seeing,” she said. “I think that people like us have a greater appreciation because we kind of do it.”With the community behind them, the Walldogs are making progress on the murals.“(It's going) pretty good,” De Ingles said. “You don't want to do it too fast. You take your time and hopefully the community can come and paint as well, grab a brush and just get in there and paint. They're invested in it. It's their town.”John Ingles said that if it doesn't rain, most of the murals will be completed by Saturday night, though some will be finished on Sunday. However, if it rains, more will be finished on Sunday.At least one Walldog will be back next year. Vargas, whose family owns five Jeeps and is working by her own request on the Bantam Jeep mural, plans to be back for the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival next June.“I'm really looking forward to that,” she said. “I know it will be just the best family vacation because (my family) loves (Jeeps).”Before that, though, the Kaufmans will be taking Vargas on a picnic at Moraine State Park.Vargas summed up her feelings on Butler, saying, “Why would I ever want to leave?”

Working with designer Michael Clark on Friday is Walldog Christina Vargas.They are painting a Jeep-themed mural.

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