{The whole neighborhood is invested in the mural.}
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com 43
WBM
IT’S THAT COLLECTIVE MINDSET
that gives the piece its unique flair. The
handiwork of people from all walks
of life is seen in the brushstrokes and
handprint-shaped leaves of the forest.
The murals’ website says the ages of the volun-teers
“ranged from 0-to-94, and included school
children, college students, teachers, artists, neigh-bors,
city officials, police, community nonprofits,
churches, businesses, and random people who
heard about the mural and wanted to help!”
The mural is jam-packed with rich details,
large and small. There is Wally Gator, the giant
concrete statue of an alligator constructed by
Robertson out of a dilapidated corner of the wall.
There is a huge wooden cutout of a cosmic deer
and a poem that goes along with it, encouraging
children to follow their dreams. Behind that are
small fairy doors nailed to a tree and a garden of
gnomes hidden throughout the mulch.
But the most touching detail has to be the
Dexter James legacy tree.
Dexter was known as the “mayor of the street.”
He would often check in on the single older women of the neighborhood,
making sure they were all right and offering them rides if needed. He was
responsible for the legacy tree, which has leaves painted with the names of
deceased loved ones. And he was very protective of the mural as a whole.
“He would patrol the mural at night, or when Janna wasn’t there,” says
Gladys Hardy, a neighbor and one of the women James would regularly
check on. She calls him Chico. “If you came to the mural and Chico didn’t
know you, he would ask what business you had being there. Then he would
call Janna up to see if she sent you. He didn’t want anybody messing with it.”
Hardy makes cakes with a secret recipe she’ll never tell! When Dexter
passed away in April 2017, she made a cake for his memorial service. On
his birthday, August 6, Robertson and Dexter’s family threw a party and
unveiled the Dexter James Memorial Path.
Robertson remembers that, while they had a loving relationship, she and
Dexter did have some disagreements. This was exacerbated by the fact that he
had lung cancer and had to yell at her from the street when she was painting
because he couldn’t breathe in the fumes. One of their biggest arguments
came when Robertson had to seal the wall.
“He was furious that I was going to stop people from being able to add the
names of their loved ones to the tree,” she says. “I sealed the wall, but I prom-ised
to make him a pathway. And although he never got to see it, for $1 you
can add the name of your loved one to the path.”
Above: Art teacher
Margaret Cooley
paints Noble Middle
School’s creature
during a workday in
March 2016.
Opposite: Dexter
James and Gladys
Hardy were two
residents of the
neighborhood that
looked after the
mural’s progress. A
legacy tree and path
that honor lost loved
ones are named for
James, who passed
away in April 2017.
MURAL DETAIL PHOTOS BY ALLISON POTTER
JEFF JANOWSKI/UNCW