Holley library planning second mural on back of building

Photo by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Sandra Shaw, director of the Community Free Library in Holley, shows a sketch of a mural proposal for the back of the building. The library is seeking a grant from GO Art! for the mural by Arthur Barnes. (The mural on the left was recently finished by Tony Barry. The scene from Barnes is at the center and right.)

Shaw attended the Murray Town Board meeting on Monday and asked for a letter of support from the Town Board for the project. Town Supervisor Joe Sidonio said he would write a letter stating the town’s backing for the project.

The library recently celebrated the completion of the first mural on the back of the building at the Public Square. That mural by Barry has an Erie Canal theme and includes a portrait of Myron Holley, an early canal commissioner who the village was named after.

The mural by Barnes would highlight the community’s agricultural heritage, showing apple and wheat farms and older barns. The artist will try to show how the farming community looked not long after the canal opened in 1825.

Shaw said the library continues to look for ways to connect with the community. She noted there will be a pajama storybook hour in the library at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 25 that will also be available through Facebook live.

The Community Free Library will be doing a Halloween party on Oct. 28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with pumpkin painting and crafts as part of Holley’s Fall “Hallow” Fest that day.

Shaw also invited community members to be at the library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Veterans’ Day, Nov. 11, when about 250 Christmas cards will be signed with messages for veterans at the New York State Veterans Home in Batavia.