Murals bring history to life

Willmar artist honored to create art to recognize vets

By Scott Thoma

As you enter the Willmar VFW along Highway 12, you are immediately taken in by a four-wall entryway mural, the work of Willmar artist Eva Margaret.

The work to honor veterans was completed in May of 2021 and still is talked about frequently by veterans and patrons of the establishment.

Former Legion members Herb Sharstrom, left, and Frank Wilkins, right, both since deceased, pose with artist Eva Margaret in front of a completed mural in 2021. Contributed photo

“I was contacted about the mural around the fall of 2020,” Eva said. “He told me some ideas of what they wanted and from there, I came up with initial design concepts. A lot of the ideas changed during the whole process, though. There ended up being several people involved with the final say of the mural.”

Bret Kasel, who was the captain of the Willmar VFW Honor Guard at the time, recalls reaching out to Eva, whom he went to high school with.

“I had seen her work before,” Kasel said. “I knew we wouldn’t be disappointed. Boy, was I right. It’s perfect. It embodies everything we were looking for. We are lucky and blessed to have her artwork in there.”

Eva worked on the entryway mural for six months.

“I felt good about the work once completed,” she said. “The whole project definitely made me introspect on what these people went through and how we got to be the country we are today. It gave me new perspectives and more reasons to be thankful. I felt very honored to do this mural for them and will forever be grateful.”

Eva grew up in Willmar and still lives there in a country home with her husband, Jimmy Young, and their daughters, Avvi and Nova, along with their dog, Mei Mei. Her art studio is also located on their property.

This part of the mural at the Willmar VFW by Eva Margaret depicts the scene of raising the American flag at Iwo Jima (left). Photo by Scott Thoma

Growing up, Eva recalls that she was not fond of school.

“It was never the first place I wanted to be, except to be there with friends,” she said. “Making friends came easy for me. Almost every report card I brought home had the words, ‘Eva talks too much.’”

As she entered middle school, Eva’s concentration level and her attitude worsened, she admitted. All that changed for the better, however, when she discovered art.

“Art teachers were the ones I got along with,” she explained. “They were always so kind and fun. They operated on a different level and I could relate to them the most. I always performed well in art class and loved creating things.”

Eva’s mural combines scenes from the world wars, as well as more modern scenes. Photo by Scott Thoma

Hooked on art, Eva went on to college at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK, and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts. She has been working as an artist ever since, a career than spans 17 years. The first painting Eva created and sold was while she was in college.

“The painting was from a trip I took to Uganda, Africa,” she said.

Over the years, Eva’s reputation as an artist blossomed. She eventually was hired to paint the mural at the Willmar VFW to honor the veterans.

All branches of military service are represented in the mural. Photo by Scott Thoma

The first wall consists of a large American flag as a backdrop with the logos of each of the five military branches — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard.

An adjacent entryway wall includes B-29s in flight during World War II, as well as U.S. soldiers patrolling the Middle East, and a U.S. Navy carrier.

A third wall in the mural honors Vietnam war veterans. In that scene is two silhouettes of soldiers saluting in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and a soldier’s cross.

The popular “Flag Raising on Iwo Jima” image adorns the fourth wall, which also includes a Vietnam war scene with UH-1 Huey helicopters, and the Willmar American Legion Post 1639 logo.

Shortly after completion of the Willmar mural, Eva was also contracted to paint a military mural at the MarHaven Greens, a golf course for veterans in Belgrade. The owner, Marlyn Marquardt, is a veteran himself. The facility is open to military veterans, active military members and their loved ones. The facility includes a golf course for handicapped individuals as well as a regular nine-hole course.

“Marlyn hired me to do a mural for one of the buildings at the golf course,” Eva said. “The mural has an abstract American flag, the Wounded Warrior Project logo, and an image of Marlyn and another veteran golfing.”

Part of Eva’s mural gives a nod to disabled veterans and the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps injured veterans, service members and their families. Photo by Scott Thoma

So impressed with her work, the Willmar VFW later hired Eva to complete two more murals inside the building — one a large American flag and the other a POW image.

Eva’s work has even appeared in a film called The Huntsman that was recently released.

“A friend of mine who was the production designer of that movie contacted me and hired me to use some of my old works and to complete four new life-sized sculptures.”

Eva’s paintings and sculptures are visible throughout the movie along with the new pieces she made.