The storefronts of Ashmore have seen better days, and two Eastern students look to bring back the small-town charm.

Driving down Ashmore Street, the main road through the town, storefronts appear not to have been touched in several decades.

Marred by vandalism and broken foundations, vacant buildings that once housed businesses line the streets with broken windows.

Inside the stores, decades of antiquated furniture lure unwanted visitors.

Jo Olson and Garrett Goben, co-presidents of the Art Association, along with other members of the Art Association, are preparing to paint large pieces of plywood to cover up storefront windows in Ashmore.

“What (the city of Ashmore) wants us to do is to board up the windows, but they don’t want it to look like a shabbytown, so they want us to paint the wood that’s going over the windows,” Olson said.

The Art Association will be boarding up and painting four large storefront windows to curb vandalism and spruce up the town.

Once they have the materials, Olson and Goben plan on starting the project within the month of November.

Ashmore Mayor Kurt Erail first contacted Student Community Service about the idea. Student Community Service then contacted the Art Association, and Goben and Olson took it from there.

Goben said he wants to stick to Ashmore’s roots when painting the plywood murals.

“Ashmore is really agriculturally strong, and that’s its main source of revenue, and we have two sketches that are agricultural,” Goben said.

Ashmore’s history includes more than just agriculture.

It is famous for MLB pitcher Bill Cox, who played five seasons with three teams from 1936 to 1940.

“We looked up some history and found an old baseball pitcher, Bill Cox, so we’re painting a panel as a tribute for him,” Goben said.

Another panel going over the storefronts will be a tribute to all the branches of the military.

But Olson and Goben have plans to do more.

“The city of Ashmore wanted large murals on the sides of the buildings to draw attention to the town as people were driving through, but that may have to wait until spring,” Olson said.

Goben said they are currently working with the

“As of now, we are in the sketching stage, and we’re waiting for the materials,” Goben said. “Mayor Erail is looking into the store owners to donate the materials.”

Ashmore is using Charleston as a model for the paintings, Olson said.

“Ashmore wanted them to look really similar to the paintings in the Charleston Square, so like antiquey, but with lots of people and elaborate scenes,” Olson said.

Goben and Olson said they are up for the task.

“Really, I think it’s like the perfect project for us because this is really the first big community service project we are taking on, and it will be interesting to see how it will work out, and so far, it’s really working out,” Goben said.

Olson and Goben said this project could use all the help it can get and is open to everyone outside the Art Association.

“We’re gonna take the time to plan out the big murals for the spring, but it is not closed off to just Art Association,” Olson said. “We’ll take anyone that wants to participate, anyone that’s interested in volunteering,”

The Ashmore reformation project aims to make the town more inviting and a little brighter. However, it will benefit both Ashmore and the Art Association, Olson said.

“I think it is good for both because we will get a little advertisement and attention for our work, and Ashmore will get a little more advertisement and attention for the town, so it is a win-win,” Olson said.

Al Warpinski can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].