Downtown mural would distract from character of Ashland

In regards to the article regarding the proposed mural in downtown Ashland, it starts off about the Ashland artist John Pugh who visited Ashland a number of times when he was a kid and was enchanted by the place.

I completely understand how he felt.

In 1959 when I turned 18 and lived in Redwood City, California, my friend Bob and I decided to work our way to Alaska. Our first main stop was Ashland. By fate we ended up at Lithia Park, which was completely different than it is today.

There was an entrance gate, which I remember being just to the east of the Lithia Park sign today. We stopped at the office and they had a small number of one-room cabins that had a double bed, a table, two chairs, a kitchen counter, and a wood-burning kitchen stove, including firewood.

Also, there was a community restroom with showers that overlooked the zoo that had exotic deer and, I was told, an elk. The cabin rented for $1 a day including firewood.

I’ve lived in Hornbrook just below the border for 21 years. My wife and I come to Ashland often. She is an Ashland Elk along with her father. We shop, dine, visit the theater and go to the park.

I think a huge abstract mural on the Elks Lodge wall would not be good. It would surely take away from the classic looks, character and feel of the town.

David Schweickert / Hornbrook, Calif.

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