McDONALD — National Honor Society members at McDonald High School have done various community service projects such as painting fire hydrants and cleaning up the village, but two of them took on a larger project of painting and beautifying the bicentennial mural at the village park.

Village Administrator Tom Domitrovich said the mural project was started in 2018 as a way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the village’s corporation.

“The idea came from Chris Rupe, a teacher and coach for McDonald schools, who organized the students to create and paint a mural at the park for the centennial celebration for our commemoration event that year,” Domitrovich said.

He said over the years, the outdoor mural began to fade and show wear and was hard to see.

“It needed some freshening up as paint does in outdoor environments,” Domitrovich said.

He said the National Honor Society members are always looking for community service projects to do.

Kayla Helco and Katie Terela, members of the class of 2025, stepped up to refresh the mural. They began working on the mural in the early spring 2025 and completed it before they graduated.

“It rained quite a bit last spring so they and other NHS students worked on the project when they could,” he said.

The 40′ x 40′ mural is on the cement on a kick ball pad next to the splash pad.

Domitrovich said children at the park and the cross-country team would often run over the mural, which also aged it.

The mural has wording and images, including notable village structures and landmarks such as the park gazebo and a steel mill and an image of a family with adults and children.

The words “A Village Designed with Family in Mind” appears at the lower part of the mural.

“They kept the same theme and repainted and refurbished the mural,” Domitrovich said.

He said Helco and Terela oversaw the project and had other high school students helping.

“When they were done painting, they put their handprints on the mural,” Domitrovich said. “It was a group effort. I made sure the students had the paint, materials and equipment to do the mural project. They did a great job.”

He said the students did not want to let the mural go into disrepair,

“They showed they take pride in their community and were happy to have the mural refurbished,” Domitorvich said.

He said despite the weather and students being busy with school work and athletics, the project was completed by late spring.

“It was very encouraging that the youth of our community wanted to do this project and get it looking nice again,” he said.

Andrea Mason, a McDonald teacher and adviser to the NHS, said seniors at the high school are required to do a community project which they can work on individually or in groups of two or three.

“We would often discuss what the community needs done,”‘ she said.

Mason said projects have included students hosting a blood drive, a Valentine’s Day dance, school supply drive, collecting baby items for Bella Women’s Center, remodeling the College Credit Plus students’ study room, creating a message walk with painted rocks and a glow walk fundraiser.

Mayor Ray Lewis said it had been seven years since the mural was originally done and he agreed it needed to be refreshed.

He said the village enjoys working with the schools on community projects. Lewis said he credits Mason and Superintendent Gary Carkido for reaching out to the village for ideas for projects.

“It is always good to see the students from the high school volunteering their time for the betterment of the village,” he said.