Incredible story and incredible journey. Kudos to all who were a part of
bringing The Mural back to us. The circle is now complete!
John Broschak
From: dsp.ea.large.messages@xxxxxxxxx
Sent: March 10, 2021 2:57 PM
To: Andrew Sinkwich; Bill Hunka; Bob Duncan; Bob Parris; Bob Ramsay; Bob
Thomlinson; Brian Heidecker; Brian Leroy; Bryan Waller; Cal Sutela; Dale
Alexander; Dave Kerr; Dave Ross; David Lawrence; Dennis Coulthard; Dennis Maki;
Don Denmark; Don Hoyda; Don Logan; Don Sinkwich; Ed Chessor; Frank Lewis;
George Heikkinen; Gim Ong; Grant Ledrew; Jim Farmilo; Jim Mann; Joe Charland;
John Broschak; John Rouse; John Wellar; Jon Loomis; Karl Ewoniak; Ken
Dmytryshyn; Ken Marshall; Larry Kolmatycki; Malcolm Palmer; Michael Dunne;
Michael McAfee; Neil Driscoll; Norm Larkins; Paul Kruper; Peter Aylen; Rick
Anctil; Rick Gafuik; Rudi Grab; Stewart Gossen; Tom Mann; Willow Arune; Wynn
Payne
Subject: FW: Announcement: The Mural Returns to ΔΣΦ-EA Chapter - 50 Years Later
From: Wynn Payne <wynn.payne@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: March 10, 2021 3:54 PM
To: DSP.EA.Large.Messages@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: Fwd: Announcement: The Mural Returns to ΔΣΦ-EA Chapter - 50 Years Later
Hi Delta Sigs.
I have some great news for you. We have found the mural from the Chapter house
and are now providing you with a means to produce a high resolution copy for
yourself.
I'm attaching a message from Bob Tomlinson who has been spearheading this
project. As you read through his narrative you can see it has been a
collaborative effort by many people.
On behalf of all the brothers thanks to all who made this possible.
YITBOS
Wynn
Ken Morris’ 12-foot-wide mural should be a memory that we all share as Brothers
of ΔΣΦ-EA Chapter. It was created in 1965 to honour the acceptance of our
fledgling Sigma Tau Alpha colony at the University of Alberta as the new
Epsilon Alpha Chapter of the international Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity. The
mural hung in a place of honour in the party room of our chapter houses, until
the Chapter closed in the spring of 1971. When the Chapter closed, Ken Morris
took his creation home. But what happened to it after that?
In the fall of 2020 Wynn Payne started an email chat group that now has 50+
Brothers participating. In the beginning, lots of old grainy black & white
photos and memories were exchanged, including some fuzzy photos of the mural.
When it was suggested “wouldn’t it be nice to find the mural and get some
decent photographs with a good camera”, the hunt was on.
Brother Art Lee located the mural in Vancouver where it had been stored in a
garage by Ken Morris’ youngest brother John, who was too young to have joined
the fraternity, but was the executor of Ken’s estate. Ken was assisted with the
painting by Brother Ian Wallace and Brother Brian Morris (also Ken’s familial
2nd oldest brother). We knew that both Ken and Brian Morris had passed, but we
didn’t know where Ian Wallace was. The hunt continued.
Art Lee worked with John Morris to draft a Trust Declaration granting us rights
to the mural. At the same time Bob Thomlinson started working on a Provenance
Declaration for the mural. In the art world, a Provenance is the document that
records the complete history of an artwork and is used to authenticate it. Bob
also started looking at the logistics to take possession of the artwork (under
pandemic restrictions) and find a place to store it. Brother John Rouse joined
the group (now an informal committee) and volunteered to see if the University
of Alberta archives would accept the mural permanently for display on campus.
While this was going on Brother Dale Alexander was searching for the
whereabouts of Ian Wallace, for background information on Ken and Brian Morris
and for the story the mural is intended to tell. Ian Wallace was eventually
located, having passed away in Vancouver in 2017. The story behind the mural
was uncovered in an article published in a 1968 edition of the ΔΣΦ Carnation
Magazine. Finally, Wynn Payne found a treasure trove of historical documents in
a cardboard box long forgotten in his basement. The Provenance Declaration
grew, and the story got much more interesting.
John Morris helped solve the logistic problem by mentioning he had a place in
Parkville on Vancouver Island and could deliver the mural there. Brother Rick
Gafuik lives in Comox, an hour north of Parksville and is also a photographer.
Rick agreed to collect the mural from Parksville and to arrange for a
professional photographer friend to take the photos. Rick also agreed to store
the mural until we found a permanent home.
After determining that our chapter was just considered dormant, but still in
good standing, Art Lee drafted a Resolution for all our past presidents to
sign, authorizing Rick Gafuik to sign the Trust declaration on behalf of the
Chapter. With that, Brothers Jim Farmilo, Ken Marshall, Bryan Waller and Don
Denmark joined the “Mural Committee”.
On February 19, 2021 John Morris delivered the mural directly to Rick in Comox,
the Trust Declaration was signed, and high-resolution photographs were taken by
Rick’s photographer friend Norm Mathew. Norm edited the individual photos of
the three 4-foot by 4-foot panels into a composite photo of the whole mural.
The full resolution digital photo file is too large to email, but a quarter
scale version has been attached here.
With the delivery of the mural to Comox and the signing of the Trust Agreement,
the Provenance Declaration was completed (see the attached copy).
Finally, we wanted to offer a convenient way for Brothers to frame a copy of
the mural if they wanted one. The document READ ME FIRST - Framing Notes and
Tips for The Mural of ΔΣΦ-EA has been attached to provide framing information
and how to get full resolution copies of the digital photo files from a shared
Dropbox drive on the Internet.
See: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jirohiimpfvc8rk/AAA6aui0h6j1Pkvfzh2A1SIpa?dl=0.
Although the discussions on the final resting place of the mural are ongoing,
we are pleased to be able to make this announcement and want to thank everyone
who worked to make the return of the mural (and the great photos) possible.
Attachment:
jpg6tM6NS3D2j.jpg
Description: JPEG image
