Downtown Murals

Marlo: 10th Aug 2006 - 21:50 GMT

How strange! A couple of my friends and I went to Fundy on Sunday and we passed through Sussex.
I agree-- it's out of character and far too obviously commercial for them to be painting the town in high-flown colours masquerading as murals.

zagg: 11th Aug 2006 - 01:55 GMT

Fabulous: these are some great (and super canadian) murals --- I'm still not 100% sure if the man in the first photograph is the artist of the paintings, or a farmer painted in the mural.

Chris Erb: 11th Aug 2006 - 03:21 GMT

He's the artist. I've been told that he's quite an interesting person and really nice.

Chris Erb: 11th Aug 2006 - 03:30 GMT

I'm sure the artists spend more time talking to locals than actually painting.

One of my past articles from Sussex has picture 2 from almost the same spot pre-mural and also the camp Sussex mural as it was being worked on.

dorey: 6th Sep 2006 - 13:19 GMT

We just move to Sussex Corner from Wilmot NS and we think the murals are kind of neat. Of course there are some we like better than others, but it has given us somthing to show our company when they visit.

EvilGentleman: 6th Sep 2006 - 14:20 GMT

I remember Wilmot pretty fondly from my teen years. Lemme think now. Rick and his brother Ron, Cynthia (now Rick's wife), her best friend Jocelyn, Peter, who was the kid who always threw wild parties when his parents were out, then got mad at us when we would always accidentaly damage something, The old abandoned drive-in theater across from Peter's, the old Wilmot post office in the shack at the dirt road entrance to the trailer park where Rick and Ron lived. Kirk and I eating all 24 of Rick's hot dogs without him realizing. Always wondering how the hell Ruggles Road got its name. High-speed hijinks through Wilmot and Melvern Square on the way across the North Mountain to Margaretsville, where we would work so hard to infuriate Mindy's redneck father. The memories come flooding in.

I can recall when Rick and I were partying in Kingston and saw the 50 km/h and 80 km/h signs sitting opposite each other on 4 by 4 posts loosely stuck in the ground at the western edge of town. We just looked at each other, and we knew what had to be done. 30 seconds later, an uprooted sign in each of our hands, we had swapped the signs. Traffic going into Kingston now continued at 80 km/h, while traffic passing through Wilmot to Middleton wound up doing 50 km/h instead of 80. I think it took the NS highway department a few weeks to discover the reason why all the tourists were driving weirdly that summer (even though the RCMP station was only a few blocks away). Ahhh, the good old days of being a Greenwood base brat in the late 1980's.

dorey, you must post some Wilmot pictures. The best part is, we can see Wilmot in pictures without actually having to smell the cow shit. Although I do miss smelling the apple orchards and seeing all the apple cider stands, especially at this time of year.

Sirhcbre: 6th Sep 2006 - 23:02 GMT

Why did you move to Sussex Corner? I lived there for most of my teenage years and here and there before that (I moved a lot as a kid). Some of my past posts (Search Sussex in the city list) talk a lot more about Sussex and there's a couple about Sussex Corner (listed as Sussex).

Liz: 26th Oct 2006 - 04:42 GMT

The artist on the scaffold is Fred Harrison, and he is not only very talented, but very nice as well.

fellow people in, Sussex.NB: 2nd May 2007 - 13:42 GMT

Tacky??you dont like the hockey one?? What are you saying. Sussex Put alot of money into these and I personally think this is barbaric. they are beautiful and I think that it gives sussex a better look. ALso the man in the first picture is not the painter of all the muarls. They were over 60 people hired to do this!

Please apprecate The culture in Sussex!

CE: 2nd May 2007 - 15:14 GMT

I'm currently in Sussex for the next few hours and have been here for a couple days. There are more murals since I was last here and I still stand by my opinion that they are horribly tacky. They make Sussex look like some kind of cheap, crappy Disneyland. Most of the murals themselves are well done by very competant artists so no insult to them but I think the whole project is a huge waste of time and money. If Sussex really wants to do something good for the town, they should start rethinking the direction of the so called new "development" that is happening. The Walmart, the new box stores and strip malls are all working quite well to make Sussex look just like any faceless, souless slab of suburbia that can be found along any North American highway. Furthermore, the town looks uglier everytime I come back to visit. Downtown is in terrible shape, especially the stretch along Main Street; The old Zacks store is boarded up, Moris Music has a nice piece of plywood over it's window, there are trees missing and I've been told the building that burnt down last year isn't going to be rebuilt due to zoning regulations leaving a huge gap downtown that looks just wonderful.

If Sussex wants people to appreciate its "culture", the town is going to have to do a hell of a lot more than paint pretty pictures on the side of buildings.

Greenpeaman: 10th Aug 2007 - 02:57 GMT

If art is to entice people to think and reflect then the murals are a success.

From Newfoundland: 12th Sep 2007 - 15:40 GMT

I grew up in Sussex, and returned home this summer after several years away. I rather liked the murals, and think Sussex is demonstrating more energy and creativity than scores of other Maritime communities. There were a few that skated on the edge of tacky ( like the new Royal Family themed mural going up on the side of the former Hotel Sussex) but for the most part they depict a rich, varied, and often curious history. If there is anything "ugly" in the town, it is the rapidly emptying Sussex Mall dinosaur which has been eclipsed by the Walmart madness at the end of Main Street.

Linda Deschênes: 12th Jan 2009 - 17:50 GMT

My second cousin sent photos of the mural to my family this Christmas. That is my grandfather CC (Mac) McEwen on the hockey mural (far right). From my computer in Ontario, it is wonderful for me to see that my grandfather's hockey team has been honoured. I can appreciate it if you're not fond of building murals in your community, but from my perspective, this one's fantastic!

Linda Deschênes: 12th Jan 2009 - 17:58 GMT

Okay, a little further research shows my grandfather's name is on the mural, but that's not his photo. But I'm still impressed!

friend of Freds: 23rd Jun 2009 - 13:20 GMT

The Artist in the first photo is Fred Harrison who is a well known Canadian Muralist. You can see Fred's other Murals through out canada at
www.cuttingpromotions.com/page6.html Please note that Fred wears a farmer style hat and suspenders as his trademark. He does a lot of research on the history of the place where the mural is painted. Great Job Fred!