The faces on the mural at the Woodlin Lodge No. 30 tell that of a storied African American history in Bordentown City.
For Leon Stanley, founder of Bordentown Arts, learning of the history has been quite an experience.
The mural project began three years ago when Stanley approached RW Derek Pierson of the Lodge about the possibility of a mural.
“I knew nothing about the lodge,” Stanley admitted.
But once Pierson and the Brothers of Woodlin Lodge No. 30 expressed interest in a mural, Stanley “pretty quickly went down this rabbit hole of African American Bordentown history.”
“I was just overwhelmed with the stories and depth and contributions that had been made and a lot of stories that we don’t hear a lot about,” Stanley said. “Bordentown City is a very historic place … it’s been an incredibly humbling and spiritual experience.”
Father and son muralists, Peter and Pete Bieling of Bieling Artworks of Burlington, began painting the mural on Oct. 9. And with 40 days straight of no rain, the mural was completed with a dedication ceremony in November. Sherwin Williams donated the paint for the mural.
Pierson noted Bordentown City’s motto is “A little City with a lot of Charm.”
“One of the greatest values about masonry is it affords an opportunity for men of all walks of life to meet on common ground,” he said. “…Some people may ask why the mural? I would give you a response because it’s a symbol of life and love for all to see.”
The faces on the mural includes Prince Hall, founder of Prince Hall Freemasonry; Joshua Woodlin, African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) pastor and lodge namesake; Rev. Walter Rice, A.M.E. pastor and founder of the “Bordentown School, also known as the Manual/Industrial School; Charles W. Campbell, past Woodlin Lodge worshipful master; Anna Kershaw Conley, School No. 2 teacher who then became the first Black teacher to teach white kids after the state desegregated schools in 1947; William Hastie, manual training school faculty member and federal judge and Dr. Ivory M. Buck, a prominent Prince Hall freemason.
Other faces include Floyd Little, Bordentown Military Institute alumni and Denver Broncos halfback; Ishod Wair, a professional skateboarder; Dionne Farris, Bordentown High School Class of 1987, singer, and Grammy nominee; James Monroe Gregory, principal at the Bordentown Manual Training School; Arthur Symes, former Manual School student and dean of the School of Architecture at Southern University; William J. Simmons, educator, pastor and activist; and William F. Powell, an educator, principal of school No. 2 and minister to Haiti.
Among the faces, the mural depicts the Order of the Eastern Star, the Woodlin Lodge No. 30 logo, The Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth, runaway slaves, The Gilder House, an Underground Railroad safe house and the North Star.
A big takeaway from the mural, Pierson said was that “education is key.”
Mildred L. Rice Jordan, granddaughter of Rev. Walter Rice, told the crowd that the mural was “such a great, great honor for me and my family.”
“My father was born in Bordentown and my grandfather Rev. Rice founded Bordentown School,” she said.
And the history of the school lives on since it closed 69 years ago through things like the mural, monuments erected, a PBS documentary on the school, her book “Reclaiming African American Students: Legacies, Lessons, and Prescriptions: The Bordentown School Model” and Susan Rice, who served in the administrations of President Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama, and more recently as domestic policy advisor to President Joe Biden. Rice is also a granddaughter of Rev. Rice and is Mildred’s cousin.
Bordentown City Mayor Jennifer Sciortino called the mural an “absolutely stunning tribute” to the legacy of the Black community over the centuries.
“… These educators, activists, faith leaders, artists, athletes, their faces will welcome an untold number of visitors alike to our city for years to come,” she said. “For many our downtown is the heart of Bordentown as a whole, but I know that wasn’t always the case for many others.”
Sciortino shared a story she will never forget. When campaigning, a member of the Black community invited her to sit at her kitchen table.
“She gave me a little window of what her experience was like growing up here,” she recalled. “The thing that struck me the most and I have never forgotten this was her recounting of Black folks being told many years ago they were not welcome downtown and that they’ve never forgotten this.”
Sciortino said her wish is for the mural to be the gateway to the “little city with a lot of charm” where everyone is welcome and feels welcome.”
During the ceremony Worshipful Master J.W. Piercy III of the Lodge presented plaques to those who made the mural a reality including Bordentown Arts, Peter and Pete Bieling of Beiling Arts, Jim Heupel and Sherwin Williams.
For more information about the Woodlin Lodge Mural visit https://www.bordentownarts.org/woodlin-lodge-mural-project.
