Murray’s mural a reminder of community’s history and roots

An article by Leslie Shepard    No Comments

Murray’s Auto Supply in Walled Lake is giving residents and patrons a glimpse of the city’s history through a new exterior mural that replicates a scene from the old Walled Lake Amusement Park.

The mural is displayed on the north wall of the Murray’s store at the corner of Pontiac Trail and West Maple Road, and will be partially paid for by the Walled Lake Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Facade and Sign Grant program.

Hand-painted in shades of blues and creams, the mural mimics a popular poster from the Walled Lake Amusement Park that closed in the 1960s. Under the caption, “Let’s Go to Walled Lake Park — The Picnic Wonderland,” it pictures a wooden Chris-Craft skimming the water with people waving and enjoying a day on the lake, while a Ferris wheel is visible in the distance.

“My dad remembers coming to Walled Lake as a kid and coming to the amusement park,” said Murray’s owner Steve Blair. “We’re strong believers in giving back to the community.”

The new rendition already has people talking about those days gone by.

“People remember that era,” said Damon Martinez, store manager at Murray’s. “One customer said, ‘I think I had one of those posters back in the day.’”

A family-run business in the city for over 37 years now, Murray’s was first bought by Karl Blair and passed down to Steve Blair in 1975.

“It was the third store in the chain and (is) the only Murray’s store left — the rest are now O’Reilly stores,” Blair said.

Blair’s sister, Cindy Fagan, also pitches in at the store as the bookkeeper.

“There’s so much history in the city that people don’t know about, so we wanted to give them a little nostalgia,” Fagan said, adding that she can still recall when Walled Lake was rife with farmland and cottages dotting the lake’s shoreline.

“There were so many farms here,” she said. “We had one customer, Charlie, who actually rode his horse up and down the aisles here in the 1970s,” Fagan said.

The independent business has managed to stay afloat through the recession due to a loyal customer base.

“I’m not ready to retire,” Blair said. “I love my customers and have had the same customers for all these years.”

Despite the sluggish economy over the last several years, Martinez noted that people are actually working on their cars more themselves.

“It’s really starting to pick up and (we) are seeing a lot of people fixing their own cars and making road-worthy improvements due to the economy,” Martinez said.

Through the Facade and Sign Grant program, businesses can be awarded up to $5,000 in matching funds for facades or up to $500 for signs, contingent on DDA approval.