As the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op prepares to move into temporary quarters during reconstruction, efforts to save the much-loved mural attached to the north side of the co-op building in downtown Grand Marais have gone into high gear. The date to tear down the old co-op building is looming.
Good year for co-op
“We had a banner year,” Co-op General Manager Jennifer Stolz told the more than 100 people in attendance at the annual meeting held at North House Folk School on Tuesday, October 30.
“We did more than $2 million in sales and grew 14 percent over last year. There are now 1,740 owners (members), 829 of which are fully invested. We are really ready to expand. We were busting out at the seams this summer.”
Stoltz said the current store would close on November 11. The business will be moved to Gunner’s (formerly the Howling Wolf and once a bowling alley) located two miles west of Grand Marais on Highway 61. The co-op hopes to re-open for business on November 16.
Never designed as a grocery store, the current building is a hodgepodge of space. The roof leaks, isn’t energy efficient, has multiple levels which make it hard for customers and workers to move about, doesn’t have enough storage or display space and office workers are crammed into the back in teeny weeny spaces. So clearly something had to be done.
Stolz said the new store would be almost twice the size of the current 3,780 square foot building, which now contains 1,650 feet of retail space.
The expected cost for the teardown, temporary relocation and rebuilding is $2,250,00.
Money to pay for the work is coming from a variety of sources, said Stolz.
“To date the owner loan campaign has generated $450,000,” said Stolz, adding that the North Shore Credit Union has agreed to loan almost $1 million. A loan for $400,000 from North Country Cooperative Development Fund and $75,000 from Cook County Revolving Loan Fund have also been added to the coffers to go along with the $350,000 in cash reserves.
Stolz also encouraged more members to check out the owner loan campaign. The original goal was to raise $600,000 in loans from members.
Will the mural be saved?
On October 23, a group of community members working to preserve the four-seasons mural, the Save The Mural (STM) committee, held a Halloween fundraiser upstairs at Betsy Bowen’s studio and raised $940.
So far STM has raised $3,400 and is seeking further donations, grants, and matching dollars in hopes to raise the estimated $25,000 it will take to remove the mural, said Ann Mershon, one of the STM committee members.
But time is running out.
At the annual meeting on Tuesday, Co-op General Manager Stoltz said once they are out of the building a demolition crew will begin to tear down the current structure. That is expected to take five days, which would give the STM group four days to remove the mural and find a home for it.
One STM member, Jeff Kern, has been working with Dick Gilyard, a Twin Cities architect and preservationist, on a plan to move and store the 71½-foot-long by 12-to-14- foot-high structure if enough money can be raised in time.
“The plan is to slice the wall into four sections vertically,” said Kern, adding, “Then make a horizontal cut part way through the wall so a steel angle can be inserted from the back side. A similar piece of angle iron would be fastened on top and steel tubing would be welded between the two angles. Then the wall would be fastened to the tubing to stabilize it.
“The horizontal cut would be completed through the face of the wall and the section could be lifted with a crane. The process would be repeated for all sections of the mural,” Kern explained.
The mural was a labor of love. More than 250 school children and 150 parent/adult volunteers built it in four sections under the direction of Sawtooth Mountain Elementary School teacher Jana Larson and local artist Kelly Dupre. It was designed and constructed over a five-year period. Many community members, business, and clubs gave donations of time and money to see that the mural was completed.
Edwin E. Thoreson Inc. has volunteered manpower and equipment to help take down the mural and a local storeowner is considering the feasibility of attaching it to their building.
Speaking at the end of the meeting, Ann Mershon thanked the co-op board for its support.
“We have a loosely organized group here, but it looks like it can happen. We have four days in November to take down the wall and move it. We think it is enough time.”
Community member Deb Waage was in attendance and asked co-op board member Eric Hahn, who was moderating the meeting, if more time could be allotted to the STM committee to ensure that the mural survives.
Hahn said the board had taken a “middle of the road” approach to the mural. He added that if the mural is not removed in the four-day time frame, “We’re not going to postpone the project to save the mural.”
Mural meaningful to many
Kern said, “It is clear to me that it is not unanimous that everybody likes the art.” He acknowledged that at first he wondered if it wouldn’t be better to tear down the mural and try to rebuild a new one but said he had a change of heart.
“On reflection, I recognize that it is the manmade art landmarks that are memorable for me when I travel. There is a large, mirrored studded mural in Minneapolis, another large mural I vividly remember in a tiny town in Montana. And when I add in the good feeling I get every time I reflect on the memory of all the kids working on the co-op mural, I recognize how important the public art is in our community and it is worth saving.
“In fact, the act of saving it makes it all that more valuable. In the end, it is the landmarks that endure that make our landscape.”
After the meeting Nick Vavrichek, another member of the co-op board, said, “This has been a complex and emotional issue that the board has been dealing with for more than a year. We have been taking this matter very seriously but in the end it is our job to do what is best to manage the resources for the management and members we are serving.
“We haven’t forgotten the mural. We put $10,000 aside to help save the mural; $3,000 of that has been allocated to have high quality posters made out of photographs [of the mural] taken by Stephen Hoglund that will be placed in the back of the store and be very visible to our customers. We have hired an interior decorator that is designing the store in the colors taken from the mural.
“This has been agonizing for us. We have done the best that we can do for everyone.”
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