A painting done by a local artist more than 40 years ago has found a home at the Fort Frances Museum.
It is an acrylic painting of the Hallett by Peter Spuzak.
He painted it in 1983.
“I kind of went around looking for a subject matter like that,” recalls Spuzak on wanting to do a painting of the former logging vessel.
“It was a very easy choice for me to paint a picture of the Hallet.”
The painting eventually found its way into the hands of Connie Cutherbertson, who later sold it to Al Lowe, a former high school science teacher.
It was eventually given to Lowe’s daughter.
Mayor Andrew Hallikas, a student of Lowe’s and a classmate of his daughter, says the painting hung on the wall of the Lowe family cabin for several years.
“This painting has special significance to the Lowe family since Sally’s brother, Al Lowe Jr., worked on the Hallett with George Tucker every summer during his high school years,” says Hallikas.
Hallikas says it was recently donated to the town.
“I want to thank my friend Sally Lowe, and my former classmate, now Sally Burlington, for her generosity and for her affection for and remembrance of her hometown,” says Hallikas.
“Thank you, Sally. Your hometown, Fort Frances, remembers you and appreciates your thoughtfulness.”
The painting will find a spot near an existing display that includes a model of the Hallett and other logging vessels.
Spuzak says he is happy to see it have a spot in the museum.
“A lot of my pictures, I sort of don’t know where they all went,” says Spuzak.
“I should probably have tracked them a little bit better, but they’ve travelled all over.”
