Holley celebrates ‘spectacular’ new mural by Public Square

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – The Holley community celebrated a new mural today. Mary Jo Whitman, a 1995 Holley graduate, created the “Holley is Home” mural on the Geddes Street side of the Heath and Heath law offices at 66 Public Square.

Whitman said she appreciated the chance to reconnect with her hometown. She now lives in Batavia.

Mary Jo Whitman stands next to the mural she painted on the Heath and Heath law offices.

Whitman was approached by Holley mayor Mark Bower to paint the mural. He wanted it to feature local landmarks. Whitman came to Holley and photographed landmarks, printed out the photos and visualized how the mural could look.

Whitman painted the Salisbury Fountain, the Holley Waterfalls, the gazebo by the canal, the old Holley High School and the block of storefronts in the Public Square that incudes Sam’s Diner.

“She did a most spectacular job,” Bower said during the mural dedication today.

He praised Whitman for engaging with many residents while she was working on the mural.

The mayor noted the community added other new murals recently. Arthur Barnes painted a large agricultural scene on the back of the Community Free Library in 2024. Tony Barry painted a large-scale Erie Canal-themed mural on the back of the library in 2023.

Barry, a retired Holley teacher, was one of Whitman’s teachers when she was a Holley student. Barry and Barnes both attended the mural dedication today.

Doug Heath, owner of the Heath and Heath building, said Whitman did an amazing job. Doug is the fourth generation of Heaths to be a lawyer locally. His great-grandfather, Edward Heath started in Bergen in 1895, followed by his son Mark and then Doug’s father,  Robert Heath. The family has been in Holley for more than 100 years. Doug has been working as a lawyer in Holley for 41 years.

Mary Jo Whitman thanked the Holley mayor and village clerk Rainey Losee for their support of the project. Losee was a key partner in getting a grant application completed through the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (Go Art!). The project was funded with a $7,500 grant through Go Art! That money came from the New York State Council on the Arts.

Whitman thanked Clarence Moyer for loaning her use of a lift to paint the high parts of the mural.

Whitman signed the lower right corner of the mural, in a final piece of the painting.