Debbie White (right) owner of Sparkles Laundromat in Southampton, was extremely proud with the new historical mural that students from the Southampton Art School and Anna Ferguson (left) painted.

Megan Dunn, Saugeen Shores Hub

Historical vignettes of Southampton’s past are now showcased for all to see on the side of Sparkles Laundromat. The mural was put together by painter Anna Ferguson and students from the Southampton Art School.

Sparkles owner Debbie White wanted to do something special on the wall, thought that it was a good spot for a mural, and approached the Southampton Art School. White said that Ferguson, who previously painted two murals in Southampton, thought that because it’s a laundromat, soup bubbles would be the perfect way to tell Southampton’s history.

“They become perfect vignettes for a story,” Ferguson said as she cleaned up her painting supplies July 29. Included in the mural are heritage buildings such as the old motel, now the Walker House; the Art School, the Museum and the Governor House when it was used as a railway stop. The founding fathers of Southampton, Captains John Spence and William Kennedy, have a prominence on the mural, as do the First Nations and Chantry Island.

The Art School created a mural camp specifically for this project that included three artists who helped paint the exterior wall. Art School Director Darlene McConnachie said she drove by one night and watched as the students had come back on their own time to help Ferguson paint, and had brought their families with them also.

“The value of community engagement is what always brings people back,” Ferguson said. “People realize that their granddaughter or their daughter or their friend’s friend did it and there’s way more appreciation. If you have that respect then suddenly people will protect it.”

Ferguson will put stories behind each image inside Sparkles Laundromat for people to read while they're doing their washing.

Debbie White hopes that the mural makes people happy and said the students and Anna did an excellent job.