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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Monday, October 13, 2008 10:12 PM CDT
Thompson book focuses on farming artwork at Illinois post offices

By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com

Vivid artistic depictions of farmland in Illinois over the years can be found indoors at several post offices in Illinois.

Mary Emma Thompson of Westfield shares some of the artwork that celebrates and recognizes agriculture in her new book, “Let’s Look for Farming in Illinois Post Offices.”

Thompson writes in the introduction: “Art in post offices in Illinois and across the country was commissioned by the Treasury Department Section of Painting and Sculpture, which became the Section of Fine Arts. It was one of four federal art projects that put artists to work during the Great Depression of the 1930s and early 1940s.”

The 53-page book includes more than 20 photographs of murals and sculpture reliefs at post offices throughout much of Illinois, including Marshall, Shelbyville and Tuscola. Each photograph is accompanied by a short narrative about the work of art and the history, or symbolism, it depicts.

For example, the narrative for the “Shelby County Fair, 1900” mural at the Shelbyville Post Office mentions the horse races that took place on an oval track that can still be seen in the local park. It also mentions the summertime educational and inspirational meetings that were held at the Chautauqua building in the park.

“I like the Shelby County mural because it is about the county fair and has the Chautauqua building in the background,” Thompson said.

She said she is also fond of the wooden sculpture reliefs about farming and the beautiful wood grain that is visible within them. The reliefs at the Kankakee Post Office depict a man holding a basket of corn, a woman holding a sheaf of grain, and a pig and turkey between them.

The book’s cover photo illustration places an image of chickens from “The Old Days” mural at the Tuscola Post Office into one of the windows on the Bushnell Post Office.

Thompson has used similar cover styles for her previous books on Abraham Lincoln and mail delivery artwork at Illinois post offices.

“I work on them one at a time. I have started working on one on industry for next year,” Thompson said. She also has written “A Guide to Depression-era Art in Illinois Post Offices.”

Thompson has been studying postal art since 1992. She took up this educational pursuit after retiring from a career as an elementary school teacher and administrator for the Westfield and Casey-Westfield school districts. She grew up on farms, so the farming book was close to her heart.

“I can still remember the horse pulling the binder to cut the wheat and tie it into sheaves,” Thompson said.

Copies of “Let’s Look for Farming in Illinois Post Offices” can be purchased for $15 each by calling Thompson at 967-5362.

Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734.

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