Students Dedicate New Mascot

Mead Middle School’s gym walls shout spirit.

Where two Indian heads had begun peeling off the wall, two snarling mountain lions now appear ready to pounce from behind two red “M’s.” Between the mascots, giant gold letters yell “MEAD,” and below that a scrolly script says “middle school.”

At first glance, the pictures and letters look like they’re painted on wall, but each piece is actually bolted to the gym wall above the bleachers.

“It represents what we are more than the Indian mural,” said Jessi Shoemaker, 13, of the new wall adornments. “We’re more for bringing in new things than staying in the past.

“It has a real 3-D look. When you walk in, it just jumps out at you,” added Jessica Woodard, 13. “It’s beautiful.”

The student body shares the girls’ sentiments. And so, at a recent assembly to honor students who earned a grade point average of 3.5 or higher last year, Mead Middle School also honored the artist who made the art pieces possible.

Dave Strand, an art teacher at Mt. Spokane High School, dedicated five weeks of his summer to completing the project. School officials gave Strand a sketch of the mountain lion logo, and he expanded the design from there.

Working in his garage, he cut out each piece by hand with a saber saw, painted it white, then added the design outline and color with enamel paint. He used 14 4-by-8 sheets of smooth-faced plywood and spent about $800 on materials.

Strand, 52, created a similar work for Mount Spokane High School - something he said he did “more or less for free.” When officials at Mead Middle School saw it, they wanted one for their school to celebrate their new mascot.

Following a national trend, the school last year retired its Indian mascot and voted for the less offensive mountain lion.

Strand agreed to take on the project, as long as he’d be paid. For about 150 work hours, he received $4,000. He said he wouldn’t mind devoting his summers to similar projects.

“It works out well since I have my summers off,” he said. “It’s nice to take the skills I’ve developed and do something productive that I enjoy. And apparently they enjoy it too.”

At last week’s assembly, ASB members presented Strand with a plaque thanking him for his “many hours of dedication in creating our new Mead Middle School mural.”

Accompanying the plaque was a handmade card signed by most of the student body.

“Thanks for the painting,” “You’re a great artist” and “Nice painting dude” were some of the comments written with the signatures.

“What better way to show you appreciate someone than to give them a gift?” Jessi said.