VALE – The Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society inaugurated the new version of the Sagebrush Annie mural next to the Vale Liquor Store on Saturday, July 15.
The ceremony included a celebration that featured horse-drawn carriage rides across the town as well as free hamburgers and cake. Attendees also had the opportunity to look at a model train display with the theme “Christmas in July,” set up by resident Don Wayne and listen to Fred Childs sing throughout the event.
The new version of the Sagebrush Annie mural is a digital representation of the original painting that has been set upon an aluminum frame. This is the second mural in Vale that has been restored in this form, the first one being outside Les Schwab Tire Center.
The first mural was painted in 1993 and since then, 31 more paintings have been added. According to society member Frank Yraguen, painted murals typically don’t last longer than 10 to15 years because of deterioration from weather exposure.
Patty Yraguen, former president of the mural society, said such digital reproductions were commissioned to increase the life of the murals.
“The Oregon Trail went right through us and we need to tell people. How could we do that? We commemorate it with murals,” she said.
Yraguen said that all the murals are site specific, so that visitors could stand in a certain part of the town and see what that area used to look like.
“We need to teach more about the history of how this developed. And it’s been very important. We’ve had lots of tour groups come from all over. There are Oregon Trail enthusiasts that started way back in Missouri and come all the way, and they are very involved with this,” she said.
The mural society started in 1992 with the goal to “preserve the culture of our area and our Oregon Trail history,” according to society member Sheri Nalivka.
The mural presented Saturday depicts the train called Sagebrush Annie, one of the two short-line trains that ran between Vale and Ontario and could be recognized by her “shrill whistles.” The train carried passengers, sheep, wool and eventually fruit. The rail line was discontinued in the 1960s.
The new version of the Sagebrush Annie mural is unveiled at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Patty Yraguen, the former president of the mural society, thinks the murals are important in preserving the culture of Vale and The Oregon Trail. Photo taken at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Local residents take a look at Don Wayne’s model train display at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Local residents take a look at Don Wayne’s model train display at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Don Wayne’s model train display was called “Christmas in July” at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Free hamburgers and chips are served at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)The mural inauguration is celebrated with a cake Buggy rides are offered to take residents at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Buggy rides are offered to take residents on a short trip around town at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Vale residents come back from a short buggy ride around town at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Fred Childs sings and entertains the attendees at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Society members Sheri Nalivka and Patty Yraguen cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Sagebrush Annie mural at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)Frank Yraguen speaks about the history of Sagebrush Annie at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)A smaller version of the Sagebrush Annie mural will be raffled off to a lucky winner at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)One of the attendees looks at the raffle prize at the Vale Heritage Reflections Mural Society event on July 15, 2023. (SHREYA AGRAWAL/The Enterprise)
SUPPORT OUR WORK – The Malheur Enterprise delivers quality local journalism – fair and accurate. You can read it any hour, any day with a digital subscription. Read it on your phone, your Tablet, your home computer. Click subscribe – $7.50 a month.
