Several students in a classroom painting large colorful mural panels featuring food, agriculture and small town life in warm oranges, yellows and greens.

Why do rural projects take longer than planned? Real life.

ByBecky McCray

We aren’t slow. We’re busy doing all the roles.

Why does everything seem to take so long in small towns? Why are so many rural projects weeks or even years late? It’s complicated and it’s also just real life.

Real life like the new mural painted by students for Windom, Kansas, population 90, funded by a state arts grant. A couple of weeks past the state deadline, Lori Bower shared that the mural frames were sitting in her livestock trailer, not yet painted. 

“The goal was everything wrapped and reported by June 30th, when the state’s fiscal year closed,” Lori said. “Coordinating a school, a design, and a whole town takes longer than that.”

The Windom Beautification Committee had picked the design in just a few weeks working with artist Kaycee Sutter. But the students couldn’t start painting until April because the school was hosting the league art show. 

Rural places aren’t slow, they’re busy.

Kaycee added finishing touches to the panels in June. Not earlier because she’s also a teacher. Then it was July, the frames unpainted and an unveiling still to go. 

Rural people have to play multiple roles.

They did the unveiling during the monthly covered dish dinner, which “already pulls a crowd every month, without fail,” Lori said. Which makes sense with the mural’s theme: what feeds or sustains people and communities. They had 50 people plus the town cat Fleabag at the unveiling. Then Lori rushed to get the final report in so she could leave on vacation. 

Rural projects take time.

Thank you to Lori Bower for sharing the story and photos with us.

A large group of about 50 community members of all ages gathered in front of four colorful installed mural panels along a Main Street building in Windom, Kansas, holding yellow ribbon at the unveiling ceremony.
Hot dog night plus a ribbon cutting plus a mural equals most of Windom showing up. Photo by Lori Bower.
Four large freestanding colorful mural panels installed in front of a white painted building in downtown Windom, Kansas, depicting covered dish food traditions, farm life, community relationships and faith.
The finished mural, installed on Main Street in Windom, Kansas, population 90. Those frames were in a livestock trailer two weeks before this photo. Yes, rural projects take time. Photo by Lori Bower.
A man holds a fluffy gray cat up to a colorful mural panel featuring a painted gray cat.
Tim Bower introduced Town Cat Fleabag to his painted likeness. Fleabag paused to consider it but made no public comment. Photo by Lori Bower.