Arlene Sundell art featured at local restaurant

Courtesy of the 5/28/15 edition of THE CHRONICLE

A Picture Story Collection

Several years ago, Ross and Valorie Craig planned to open a little restaurant so that Valorie could share her talent and love for good food, bakery items and homemade candy.  A building was rented in Schaller and the restaurant opened.  Their plan included pictures on the walls depicting scenes of early Iowa life.  About that time, they met Arlene Sundell.  Arlene agreed to put her talent to work and drew the 13 pictures.  She has served as an art teacher for many years in the school systems of our community.

One of the favorite pictures includes a country school building with about half a dozen children playing in the front yard.  Arlene says this is a favorite scene from her first teaching job.  The school building is identical to the school she first taught in and the children are pictures of her first students.  The collection begins with the coming of covered wagons to Iowa and ends with a Model T Ford sloshing down a muddy road.

However, before the artwork was completed, the Craigs were forced to close the restaurant due to electrical and structural concerns about the building.  The pictures have been safely stored by the Craigs over the years.  Because of the unique quality of the pictures, they then planned to do a fundraising program for youth.  This idea was met with hearty support from Mrs. Sundell.  The years passed.  Last year, the Craigs were able to purchase the restaurant building in Odebolt due to the outstanding support of the Odebolt Development Corporation.

High quality copies of the pictures were reproduced and they were professionally framed.  They now hang in Craigs' restaurant dubbed Angel’s Place (which opened May 26).

With a sense of anticipation, Arlene’s family and friends gathered at Angel’s Tuesday evening, May 19, to honor Arlene for her talent and goodness in making this glimpse of Iowa’s history available for her friends and neighbors and visitors to Odebolt.  They still hope to use the pictures in a fundraising project to benefit the youth of Siouxland.  (The restaurant "Angel's Place" is now closed.)