My mural depicts the relationship between humans and the trees. It moves chronologically from the beginning, or as you could say, the roots of Glassboro. The ancient presence of these trees is shown by the very first line of The Glassboro Story (1964), “IN THE BEGINNING WERE THE WOODS—DEEP, DARK, AND foreboding”. Before there was a Glassboro, there were acres upon acres of forests. That is what is shown in the first panel of the mural. The lack of a human presence, yet to be tainted by future industry. There is an abundance of them to show the vastness. The next panel shows a family outside of a log cabin. The first houses to be built in Glassboro would have been constructed from local lumber. According to Glassboro community member George Armstrong, these log cabins would have been constructed using interlocking wood parts. Outside of the house, there is a woman splitting wood for personal use such as cooking or keeping the house warm. Around her, children play. One child looks into the woods, catching a glimpse into the past. These figures are meant to represent the original settlers of Glassboro. The next panel shows a building like one from the Whitney Glass works as pictured below:

This shows an industrial and successful part of Glassboro’s history. However, there is an obvious lack of trees, blue skies, and actual humans. The lack of people pictured shows a distance from the nature that surrounded people as they worked in the glass factory. The distance also shows how the switch from wood burning to coal burning changed the environmental impact of industry forever. The gray skies show how a lack of trees and use of fossil fuels have a negative environmental impact. 

The final panel shows a family on a picnic. The sky has gone from the gray back to the blue and shows a return to appreciating the nature around them. I was inspired by the stories George Armstrong and Esther DeEugenio told me of their youth and playing with their favorite trees. For Esther it was the willow near her family’s well that had a swing. For George it was the black cherry tree he and his siblings climbed. Both of these stories show the impact that trees have on individuals, especially children. In this panel, the family is facing the past and also reflecting the earlier family in its composition, connecting past and present. They are using the tree as both shade and a playground. At the foot of the tree, the mother reads a story, The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. A book is important to the location of the mural, the public library, as it is a place of education. This story has significance because it too follows a tale of industrialization at the loss of forests. However, there is a hopeful message, that as long as people know and care, things can get better. And if people learn and care about the trees of Glassboro after viewing this mural, the message will have gotten across.