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LEHMAN TWP. — The Tasmanian Devil, Minions, Captain America and the Abominable Snowman will help remove snow from township roads this winter, thanks to students at Lehman-Jackson Elementary School.
The lovable and sometimes mischievous characters were painted on Lehman Township snowplows by the sixth-grade art club students at the school.
The project is a partnership between the municipality and the school to showcase students’ talent and bring a splash of color to the monochrome season.
Alvin Cragle, Lehman Township treasurer, developed the idea for the project after reading about a community in western Pennsylvania that successfully turned the “plain Jane” yellow snowplows into colorful works of seasonal art.
Township secretary and office manager Marian DeAngelis reached out to the school to gauge the students’ interest.
The answer was a resounding “yes.”
The township provided acrylic paints. The plows were dropped off at the school the week of Nov. 16.
Members of the Lehman Township Road Department got into the spirit of the project by requesting their favorite characters, such as Taz and the Captain America shield, said Donald James, principal at Lehman-Jackson Elementary School.
“Students looked up pictures and sketched murals out in pencil last week,” said art teacher Jill Casale. “They spent recesses and art club time at the end of the day working on the plows.”
Art club students Evan Cercone and partner Adrian Flores have carefully sketched out mountain peaks and above them, “Bumble,” the abominable snowman from the holiday television show, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
“Surprisingly, it was not that hard (to paint on a snow plow),” Cercone said.
When students are finished, the plows will be taken to the municipal garage for several layers of clear coat paint to protect the murals from winter’s grime.
If the harsh winter weather takes a toll on the murals, the township will enlist help from the nearby elementary school for new art for next season, Cragle said.
The project has created a stir with the student population and faculty at the school, Casale said.
“The students walk past the plows on their way in and out for recess,” she said. “They are watching the progress.”
The plow truck drivers are just as excited to check on the progress of the murals.
“Snowplowing is a long and tedious job, and maybe we could make someone smile,” Adam Stefanowicz, a member of the Lehman Township Road Department said. “How could you be mad at Taz for plowing in your driveway?”
