Long Description:Located at 119 W. Center St. overlooking a small parking lot
adjecent to the downtown area and near Cravath Lakefront Park. A
description of the mural taken from the marker:
"In 1980, Caryl Yasko created a tribute to the Kettle Moraine.
The elements of the mural celebrate the courage and perseverance of
our city founders while respecting our unique Kettle Moraine
geography with its rolling hills and prairies, and the native
Americans who held this land sacred for centuries.
The figures on the right of the mural depict three time periods
in history: the tribal era, the early settlers and the people of
the present - us - working hard to make history by turning the
water wheel to extract the power to build a dream. the figures on
the left represent future generations who will take and use what we
have to continue the dream. These figures are unformed and
undefined to remind us that the future can be shaped by us, by the
decisions and choices we make today.
The large circle in the center of the composotion represents a
mill wheel. Early Whitewater settlers depended on water power to
mill lumber, paper and grain. The first such mill, built by Dr.
Trippe in 1839, was in continual use until 1963 and eventually
razed in 1972. The wheel is painted with decorative symbols of
Whitewater's accomplishments in agriculture, education, tourism,
retail business, manufacturing and milling. The Territorial Oak,
which stands at the intersection of Franklin and Main, forms the
center of the waterwheel. that great old bur oak is one of two
trees from which Whitewater was originally surveyed.
Other elements symbolize the land on which this town was built,
the waving prairie from delicate spring to flaming autumn. Prairie
violet, shooting stars, pasque flowers, blue lupine, prairie smoke,
yellow coneflowers and prairie dock are some of the flowers
depicted. The blazing colors of autumn merge into the flames of the
annual prairie burnings and the historical fires of Whitewater.
If we took a giant cake knife and sliced a hill of the Kettle
Moraine, what might we see? The hand-molded sculpture at the base
of the mural sits on a limestone bedrock wall and represents the
hills and kettles shaped by the glaciers. The rusted iron machine
parts, which are integrated into the concrete relief, symbolize the
hard work of the farmers to tame the wild prairie and establish an
agricultural area. Members of the community brought metal treasures
from their yards and farms to embed in the sculpture. Potawatomi
and Winnebago fabric designs influence other portions of the
sculptural relief.
When first painted in 1980, Prairie Tillers celebrated the
spirit of Whitewater. In return, the mural was celebrated
throughout the world. Artists and writers came to Whitewater to
photograph and write about the mural and to publish its story in
books. People can read about Prairie Tillers in the libraries of
our cities. The mural tells the Whitewater story. It was designed
with the unique ideas and the history of the people in this town
and can exist nowhere else. Unfortunately, by 1989, the mural was
lost due to unexpected problems witht the brick wall. The loss was
deeply regretted by the community and immediately citizens began to
dream of bringing it back.
With the resurfacing and repainting project of 2004, once again
the mural stands ready to greet visitors from around the world and
share with them the memories of the past and the hopes for the
future.
Caryl Yasko, Muralist
Frenchy LeTendre Ian Mitchell"