Cottonwood intersection gets train station mural

REMEMBERING THE PAST: Raette Meredith of Redding works on a mural on the side of Steve’s A to Z Appliance in Cottonwood, depicting a train from the early 1800s pulling into a station.

Raette Meredith of Redding spent most of last week painting a mural on the outside of a historic building in Cottonwood.

The mural Meredith is painting was inspired by a painting which was done by Frank Adams. The art work is sponsored by Chuck Lema of Cottonwood in conjunction with the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce.

The building on which Meredith is painting the mural has a history almost as rich as the town of Cottonwood itself. The building's walls have layers of old paint from sports schedules of the West Valley Eagles as well as other projects from the past.

"The brick has layers of paint, it has to have a lot of history of its own," said Meredith. "I am trying to fill in some of the cracks with paint as I work."

The building was the original Holiday Market in Cottonwood. "There will be a commemorative ceremony when the mural is finished," said Zeta Herman of Mane Street Hair in Cottonwood. "Donations to continue the beautification of Cottonwood can be made to the Cottonwood Chamber for future murals."

"When I start work on the mural each morning, I take a picture of it and also in the afternoon when I am finished. I like to keep track of my work and what it looks like at different times of the day," said Meredith. "I should be finished with it in a week and a half."