Our “Save the Mural” team has more progress to report!

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About the history of this mural and why we want to preserve it for Yorba Linda and Orange County. 

Excerpt from Yorba Linda:  Its History

By March Butz 

• The mural on the north wall of the library has an interesting story behind it. In August of 1958 Robin Paul, a little Yorba Linda girl was killed in an automobile-bicycle accident. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Paul, requested that memorial gifts be given to the new library. Almost $700 was given and kept in a separate library account as the Robin Paul Memorial Fund. At a meeting of the Paul family, the library board members and the librarian, it was decided that the gift should be used for a mural in the new building.

• Allan B. Hall, a Yorba Linda resident, was consulted and commissioned to paint the mural. A graduate of School of Fine Arts at U.S.C., a commercial artist and winner of four national awards, Mr. Hall was a founder of the Orange County Art Association and member of the National Art Fraternity.

• In the scene is a group of Spanish conquistadores, two of whom are on horseback, one representing Portola, head of the expedition. Another is on foot walking with a common soldier, representing Jose Antonio Yorba, who was a soldier escort on the expedition. The friar represents Fr. Junipero Serra, who travelled with the group looking for sites on which to establish missions. The various industries of the town are pictured such as grape growing, citrus and avocado, and oil well drilling.

• The three racial groups of the town’s history are represented by three children, an Indian boy, a Spanish youth and a modern American girl. Partially obscured and mist-like is the dome of the capitol building in Washingto D.C,. A native Yorba Lindan, Richard Nixon was a candidate at that time for President of the United States. The election the following year he lost to John F Kennedy, by a very narrow margin. He was successfully elected during the 1968 election. 
• Running through the scene horizontally in the mural is an irregular blue area signifying the Santa Ana River, the water supply for Yorba Linda for many years. A young tree with a single green leaf makes a vertical line to the right of center, showing the youth and potential growth of the town.
• To prepare the wall for the mural, Mr. Hall consulted the artist who did the mural at Forest Lawn. The concrete wall section at the library was given a coat of water proofing, then covered with plywood with ventilation panels at the top and bottom. The plywood was sanded and given a special treatment, then covered with canvas, which in turn was given an undercoating of paint. The expense of this treatment was paid with library funds. 
• Much of Mr. Hall's time was donated after the memorial fund was exhausted by expense of paint, canvas and time used.

We are most thankful for our volunteers and those that are donating for the saving and preservation of this valuable work.