New mural shows ‘heart and history of Silvis’

When Bob Cervantes looked over a new mural honoring the City of Silvis, one of the images hit him like a freight train. Actually, it hit him like a Rock Island Lines train. The new wall mural in downtown shows many features of Silvis from buildings to flowers, and a “Hero Street” sign. But the […]

When Bob Cervantes looked over a new mural honoring the City of Silvis, one of the images hit him like a freight train. Actually, it hit him like a Rock Island Lines train. The new wall mural in downtown shows many features of Silvis from buildings to flowers, and a “Hero Street” sign. But the biggest image is a big red train running down the middle of the painted mural.

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“This reminds me of the railroad. I used to work for the Rock Island (railroad). I worked there all the way up until they closed, shook our hands and said “Goodbye,’” said Mr. Cervantes, who is the First Ward alderman on the Silvis City Council. He was one of about 25 people who attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday afternoon, Nov. 22, for the unveiling of the mural that highlights the city’s heritage and community pride.  “This mural captures the heart and history of Silvis,” said Mayor Matt Carter in a news release ahead of the celebration. “It’s a gift to our community and a source of inspiration for all who see it.” That mural is on the side of a business building next to the city parking lot and adjacent to the Silvis post office. The building, located at 917 First Ave., is home to Creative Pastry & Coffee, and La Michoacana Ice Cream. The artwork, which has been in the works since the summer of 2023, shows a variety of images associated with Silvis. In addition to the big red train, the mural depicts the giant water tower shaped like a golf ball for the home of the John Deere Classic, a “Welcome to Silvis” sign, two historic buildings, four flowers and the Hero Street sign. “I really like this. …. It’s a nice, bright mural for all of us to look at,” said Courtney McGehee of Silvis, who attended the ceremony and was one of the artists who helped create the mural. Ms. McGehee is the sister of Thomas McGehee, one of the two main artists who created the mural. He was scheduled to be at Friday’s unveiling, but was unable to attend due to a work emergency.  Mr. McGehee also is a Silvis resident.  “He is passionate about the outdoors and the arts and is excited to share his love for painting with the community. Thomas was assisted in painting the mural by Kylie McAfoos and Courtney McGehee,” according to information from the city. The other main mural artist is Crysania Arms, also a Silvis native. She is currently living in Okinawa, Japan, with her husband, who is on active duty in the U.S. Air Force.  “Crysania was inspired and drawn to the artistic and creative side of the world for as long as she could remember. … This city was a huge part of who she is today, and Crysania wanted this mural's design to truly live up to the level of history and memories in which she holds close,” according to information from the city. Ms. Arms was assisted in painting the mural by Jolene Medugno, Betsy Camacho, PK Thorngren and Baylie Thorngren. Mr. Cervantes loves the new city mural for its colorful images, and the many memories it evokes. For him, those memories are all about his former Rock Island Lines employer and trains. His former train facility work site was bought by the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America  in 2021. That organization has plans to develop a museum for refurbishing and maintaining steam and heritage diesel locomotives along with associated rolling stock. The Silvis man said that he was recently inspired to tour the facility, which brought back even more memories of his train days. “I finally went through the place one day. … After I looked around, I told a guy who went with me ‘I can still smell the train grease,’” he added.