Holm mural finds home

MOSES LAKE — Longtime Moses Lake businessman Monte Holm may soon greet residents as they drop off their mail.

A mural of Holm, long in the works, may finally find a resting place on the post office wall facing Sinkiuse Square.

Muralist Patricia Jensen presented Holm, owner of the House of Poverty museum and former owner of Moses Lake Steel and Moses Lake Iron and Metal, with an oil painting version of the mural, depicting various stages from his life, in July 2005, spurring a movement to see it placed upon a building in the Moses Lake community.

Moses Lake Post Office postmaster Mark Shaw said the project is in the works, with some preliminary OKs, but he is waiting on specifics about how it will be done.

"I think it's a great idea," Shaw said. "Monte's always been good to us. The wall is there and Monte's always been a big part of the community. He's fattened the postal employees up with his candy for years. He's a great guy. It would be a good thing to do."

Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce president Jacie Daschel said Holm used to spend a lot of time visiting people at the post office, handing out candy in his signature gesture there.

"I think that's a good spot," Holm said of the location for the mural, noting he doesn't get down there very much anymore. "Everybody goes to the post office."

Resident businessman Bill Chambers said the mural will be painted on two 18-foot sign boards that will attach to the post office wall, essentially behind the handicapped parking spaces, facing Jensen's other mural, depicting Chief Moses.

"That is probably the primo of all the opportunity places we could get," Chambers said of the post office wall. "We will have a downtown center that will be well artistically represented."

The opportunity to fund the mural has become tremendous, Chambers said, pointing to the state department of revenue's Main Street Tax Credit Incentive program, for which the Moses Lake Business Association qualified in December. With prior approval of the Washington Department of Revenue via E-File, a company may donate up to $100,000 for revitalization of downtown Moses Lake and receive a 75 percent tax credit on 2007 business and occupation taxes.

Chambers said donations can be earmarked for the mural and visual enhancement of the community, a fact he thinks will be dynamic in the course of fund raising.

Chambers added Jensen is finishing a project.

"If we can get the money finally because of these grand opportunities and the fact that we have a location now, we'll buy the board and probably paint it inside of an enclosed facility so she can paint without weather," he said, noting he hopes to have the mural up in early spring or by June 1, but that depends on funding.

Chambers said the Moses Lake Rotary collected about $3,500 for the mural, and the MLBA about $1,500, so "basically we're halfway there. Those were donations that were not taking advantage of this B&O credit, so now five or six $1,000 donations and we're painting and putting up.

"Monte's someone that attracts a strong sense of camaraderie and appreciation for the life that he's lived," Chambers said, adding he's always wanted to show some sign of gratitude to thank Holm for being a member of the community. "I've been trying to get it completed because this probably will be just one of many (murals) to come. There's no reason why we should stop at this, if they tastefully add to the community to remind us of the past."

Donations to the mural project can be given to the Moses Lake Business Association or by contacting Chambers at Basin Employment Service and Training at (509)764-4240.