A team of dedicated volunteers calling themselves the “scrappy scrapers” has returned life to a mural on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
The mural depicts the everyday life of a group of Seminole Indians and had been covered by carpet since the early 80s.
The team used surgical scalpels to avoid damaging the original artwork.
Carol Schroeder led the effort.
“We spent just a little over 1400 hours scraping glue. We also have a carver and painter and he’s the one who carved the replacement piece. We had a damaged area and he carved that and then painted it to blend in with the mural itself.”
Schroeder said they could only work when the train wasn’t running, which is why the project took two years to complete. But she said the restoration was a labor of love by the 11 “scrappy scrapers.”
The volunteers included Polly Bowman, Kathy Eitel, Joe Grzelak, Martha Grzelak, Dave Harris, Cherie Harris, Roy More, Gary Spencer, Mary Spencer, Eileen Strauss and Regis Schilling.
