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Kewanee Prairie Chicken Festival and Mural Dedication
July 13, 2018 - July 14, 2018
Kewanee, Illinois, will mark the 5th anniversary of the 2013 Walldogs meet with a 17th mural commemorating Walter T. Bailey, the first Black architect in Illinois. The mural will be painted over a five-day span, from July 11th to July 15th, culminating in a dedication ceremony at 2pm on July 15th. The mural is timed to coordinate with Kewanee’s Prairie Chicken Festival, July 13th and 14th, an annual event that grew out of the original Walldog mural meet.
The mural will be located on the south wall of B&B Printing, at 214 S. Main Street, close to the existing murals. It was designed by Scott “Cornbread” Lindley, of Mt. Pulaski, Illinois, who was also meet leader for the 2013 event. Additional Walldog artists are Michael Clark of Aledo, Illinois, Joy Kjer of Omaha, Nebraska, Joy Hernandez, a Kewanee native, with assistance from Kewanee schools art teacher Susan Blake.
“It’s awesome to find out about such a hero that back in those times had to struggle for everything he did,” said original Walldog meet organizer Dianne Packee. “And now, all these years later, we as a town can be proud of one of our own.”
About Kewanee and Walldogs
Walldogs Public Art, a non-profit organization with international membership, held their 20th annual meet in Kewanee, the weekend of July 13th, 2013. Their mission is to foster the revitalization of small towns through “art tourism”—murals based on each town’s unique history. During the meet, 15 murals were painted throughout downtown Kewanee, by nearly 250 artists from all over the world. In the wake of the meet, Kewanee was nominated and then named the Rand McNally Best of the Road “Friendliest” small town.
“Having the Walldog event in our town five years ago was probably one of the top highlights of experiences in my life,” said Packee. “People in town learned about history in paint and explained to their children and grandchildren what they remembered themselves.”
In 2014, a 16th mural was added, to inaugurate the first Prairie Chicken Festival. This event commemorates the Walldog spirit through a two-day festival featuring art-related activities such as a chalk art competition, an amateur art show, an antique car show, and kids’ crafts and entertainment.
There are plans to continue adding future murals, as there is a rich history to pull from in Kewanee.
About Walter T. Bailey
Walter T. Bailey was born in Kewanee in 1882, and graduated from Kewanee High School in 1900. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1904 and earned his Master’s degree from the School of Architecture there in 1910, making him the first Black architect in Illinois. He was recruited to Tuskegee Institute by Booker T. Washington, where he designed several large campus buildings and was eventually the head of the Mechanical Industries Department.
He moved on to open his own practice in Memphis, Tennessee, designing several buildings there, and in Arkansas, including the Mosaic State Temple in Little Rock, which was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.
He then moved on to Chicago, Illinois, and became a staple of the Bronzeville section of the city. He designed the First Church of Deliverance, a pioneer in church broadcasting, and the Ida B. Wells homes. He died in 1941, aged 59, leaving a wife and two daughters. In the present day, Bailey has no descendants, except for a surviving niece in Los Angeles, and a great-great niece and her son, also of California.
His work was recently brought to town attention by local journalist Dave Clarke, of the Star Courier, and Clarke and Joy Hernandez began researching and organizing the mural. The Kewanee Historical Society and a group of genealogists began to fill in Bailey’s story and reconnected his legacy to present-day family.
Tara Bailey, his great-great niece, will be present for the mural dedication ceremony, as well representatives of the University of Illinois and various institutions and aspects of Bailey legacy, along with local city officials and leadership. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos has a prior engagement, but will have a staffer deliver a letter detailing Walter Bailey’s impact on the region’s history.
