Michigan:
Peggy Schodowski pschodow@yahoo.com and Kristine Kidorf kidorf@sbcglobal.net are on a new Deal sleuthing adventure and could use some help. They are trying to identify the artist who completed 11 circular murals for the Stiles School in Rochester Hills, MI as part of the WPA. The school is also thought to be a WPA project. The community was called the Avon Township back then and is now the Oakland Steiner School located at 3976 S. Livernois Rd. Photos of these murals can be found at http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/pschodow/myphotos. As in most New Deal sleuthing, they have run into loss of information due to the usual stumbling blocks like state archives being burned in the past, township documents “thrown away”, and renovations of another building make records not accessible. Any help would be appreciated.

New Mexico:
Conchas Dam Project is looking for information regarding the construction of the South Conchas Lodge in NM. Renovation of this building is under consideration and early information is desired. Contact Julie Stone, Park Ranger at the Conchas Dam Project, PO Box 1008, Conchas Dam, NM 88416 or call 505.866.2221
Las VegasHighlands University once had eight Brooks Willis murals in the lobby of Ilfeld Auditorium. The NM Chapter of NNDPA recently paid for a conservator to take off five or more layers of white paint that was covering each of the murals up. Once all the paint was off, only seven murals were still there. Anyone know what happened to the eighth one in which the subject was “Literature?”
New Hampshire:
Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan of Florentine Films are looking for the African-American CCC men who were at the CCC Camp Ohanapecosli in Mt. Rainier National Park. This film company is in the midst of producing a film on the history of the national parks, tentively titled “American’s Best Idea: Our National Parks.” If you have any leads about these men, please contact Pam Tubridy Baucom, Florentine Films, P. O. Box 63, Walpole, NH. 03608.

Oregon:
The Oregon History murals at Rose City Park School in Portland, painted during the WPA Federal Art Project by Oregon artist, Martina Gangle Curl, are badly in need of restoration. Therefore the Pathways/Ol Partners have been holding events to raise funds for this restoration project. They were selling as a unit 36 framed original prints by Oregon WPA period artists and also oils, gouaches, watercolors by some of the artists of that period including Martina, Runquists, Charles Haney, Wm.Givler and five others. The Museum of People’s Art and Art Space Gallery in Bay City, OR is selling limited edition individual number prints struck from its collection of wood and linoleum blocks from Martina. Donations are also accepted by sending to the Museum of People’s Art, PO Box 3023, Bay City, OR 87107.