Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Wall art • Shannon Schumacher of Clearwater shows off the new mural he painted in the Clearwater American Legion's Bunker Bar. Schmacher is the art instructor at Summerland Public School.
Signature line • Artist Shannon Schumacher adds his signature to the mural in the Bunker Bar, located in the Clearwater American Legion. The new mural is similar to the original he painted in the Legion a decade ago.
At first glance, the mural adorning the wall in the Bunker Bar, inside the newly-remodeled Clearwater Legion, looks familiar.
Artist Shannon Schumacher of Clearwater said there are slight differences to the original version he painted nearly a decade ago.
"The sky is different," he said. "And the arch of the bunker."
When he first met with Clearwater Sons of the American Legion officials to discuss the original design, a bunker was mentioned.
Schumacher drew inspiriation for the bunker from a friend's wedding near Hastings.
"I drove all through those bunkers. Those ammunition bunkers are like these."
Schumacher researched the bunkers at the Hastings Naval Ammunition Depot near Hastings, the largest US World War II naval munitions plant. The NAD was constructed in 1942. The facility covered 48,753 acres and contained 2,000 buildings.
The site was selected due its location, in the middle of the US, which would make it impossible for Japanese or German planes to reach.
The humps - or igloos - stored explosives. In a stretch along US Highway 6, 700 bunkers, made of earth and concrete, were connected to the railroad and local roads. Earth covering the bunkers kept the inside temperature constant and gave additional mass in case of a blast.
A blow wall in front of the bunkers was constructed to direct any explosion upward, to reduce a potential chain reaction to other structures.
Currently, bunkers have been repurposed for storage and hog production.
The updated mural took approximately half day of work.
Schumacher drew and framed the piece first. To draw a perfect half circle, he used a push pin with yarn, tied to a pencil. The painting took about 10 hours.
His signature adorns the lower right-hand corner.
Schumacher said there are a few challenges to creating a piece of art. Working on a textured wall can be "interesting."
"Getting past the bumps," he said.
The sky took longer than normal. Schumacher said it kept getting darker so he'd add more white.
"It brightened it up a lot" he said. "And the clouds add to it, too."
Schumacher said he thinks the idea, brought to life by art, conveys the message of the bunker and its ties to the military.
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