Sunburst mural brightens McComb's downtown

McCOMB — Flowers, tomatoes, candy and cookies are now just a fading memory with the closing of the McComb Farmers Market for the season. But that doesn't mean the town square — the location of the summer marketplace — won't still be a fun place to gather. A new mural, attached to the west wall of the building at 129 E. Main St., offers a colorful sunburst in hues of aqua, orange, yellow and red. At the center is a logo that reads "Home Sweet McComb." "Our goal is to make McComb an exciting place for people to live and work," said Laura Drewes, vice president of the McComb Community Partnership. "And we believe that small acts can bring big joy." The mural, which was installed in September, is also Drewes' brainchild. Fellow partnership member Jon Hart owns the building that sports the new showpiece. According to Drewes, they believe the structure is 132 years old. It was originally the McComb Opera House and then served as the Pipe Dreams bar for quite a few years. It sat empty afterwards, until it was purchased by Hart. "He's been updating his building slowly but surely. And he got a new coat of paint on the stucco on that exterior wall and it looks so nice," Drewes said. "But then there's a spot where there was an old door, and he just had some plywood there." She and Hart talked about different ways to spruce up the space. In addition to hosting the farmers market, the partnership also has some historic preservation goals in mind for the area. "So we needed something removable, and he was saying how we could just do something there in that spot on the plywood," said Drewes. "It gets kind of expensive getting artists. And I said, you know what? I think I can do something there." Hart cut another large piece of wood for the painting, and Drewes enlisted the help of her sister-in-law, Darcy Krassow. "She is actually really very talented and she free-handed the text. But together we came up with the design," said Drewes. "And 'Home Sweet McComb' is something that I've been trying to spread around." The catchphrase was something she came up with a couple of months ago. "I was just trying to think of something kind of wholesome to encapsulate what it's like living in McComb," she explained. Drewes moved to the village about 1½ years ago. She joined the community partnership last year after attending the 2024 Cookie Festival. She and her family had lived in Findlay before making the move to McComb which is her husband's hometown. "Something we loved about Findlay were the events and the town pride," she said. "So moving to McComb, I wasn't really sure what the culture was like. And going to the Cookie Festival and seeing how well attended and how well planned and thought out the event was, I just felt like it was something I was excited to potentially be a part of." She said the partnership is made up of a really energetic group of people who have all kinds of backgrounds and experience. "There's a variety of ages. We've got some retirees. We have people who still are completely engrossed in their careers. We've got some young people. So seeing the many different backgrounds that can help make the town successful is really exciting," said Drewes. The partnership has been pushing for new events in recent years since Sarah Kryling took over as president, she said. This was the inaugural year for the farmers market which was held on the second Saturday of each month from May to September. The market was well received, Drewes said. "We worked really hard to curate a very intentional group of vendors so we had baked goods and produce and plants. We even had the knife-sharpening guy. It was very well rounded, lots of variety," she said. "We even had a really rainy month, and the community still showed up." The partnership also initiated a Hometown Christmas. This is the third year for the downtown event, this year scheduled Dec. 7 from 2-6 p.m. Attendees will have an opportunity to see the new 12-foot tall mural. It took about a day to plot out the design and start the initial process. Drewes then worked on it about two weeks adding layers of primer, paint and sealant. She said she was happy with the finished mural. "The day that we got it hung up I picked my son up from school and we drove through the space," she said. A couple of fourth graders were standing there, admiring the mural. "And I said, hey, what do you guys think? And they're like, Oh, this is so fun. They loved it. It was really sweet to see the community's response," Drewes said. Members are also looking forward to 2026 when the partnership will offer scholarships for the first time. "We've got $7,000 we're going to be giving out to McComb graduates and college students — a $5,000 scholarship and then two $1,000 scholarships," she said. "We've got an awesome group of students who have been wonderful volunteers. And so we just want to continue to support them and keep them excited about serving their communities."