Second Mural Shows History of Johnson

A baseball player named Julius is the face of Johnson’s second mural, installed Oct. 9-10 by University of Nebraska-Lincoln students on the south wall of Johnson Grocery.
Brianna Gentert Haith of the Johnson Chamber of Commerce said 10 students from UNL’s mural masters class installed the piece. The class submitted several designs, and this one stood out for its content, color and style.
“We hosted an open house in September to show the options submitted by the class to the community and held a vote,” she said.
Johnson gave the class a list of subjects important to the community. Students developed mural concepts and standalone icons based on that list. Their ideas included the community’s albino deer, a baseball scene at Sportsman’s Park, migratory birds tied to Johnson’s location along the Central Flyway, a black swallowtail butterfly and a design centered on corn and the history of the land.
Sandra Williams, associate professor of art, said earlier this fall that Johnson residents were open to letting students shape the designs. She said that openness is essential to the course.
“If you already know what the design is, then why are we there?” she said.
Gentert Haith said community response has been positive so far.
“We had a lot of great options, but this one spoke to the town,” she said. “A lot of people might ask, why a baseball player named Julius? We actually used to have three baseball fields and teams just in the town of Johnson, and they played each other often. We even had a state championship team back in the early 20th century. Now Sportsman’s Park is a big part of everyone’s summer, so it seemed to fit.”
The name honors Julius Johnson, who founded the town in 1881.
The mural was painted on Polytab, a woven material primed like canvas. Students painted it with UV-resistant acrylic, and it was then applied to the wall much like wallpaper. Williams said the class aimed to install by Oct. 9 because the adhesive needs temperatures above 50 degrees for 48 consecutive hours.
Gentert Haith said proceeds from the car raffle at the Johnson Father’s Day BBQ paid for the mural. The chamber has $8,000 to $10,000 left, all earmarked for community development projects.
“We’d love to get some ideas from the community,” she said. “We have a few things in mind, but nothing is set just yet. We are very excited to keep this going.”