OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Artist Charles Eady had been a resident of Ocala for nearly two decades when he unearthed history about the city that he hadn’t been aware of, and it was an epiphany.
“When I was hearing about the bank owners, and some of the others who were so invested into the community, I was stunned by the information,” said Eady.
It was the contributions made by African Americans in the late 19th Century and well into the 20th century that inspired Eady.
The more he learned, the more he was drawn to those individuals who were leaders in their fields. The impact they had on the city, and their influence continues to resonate to this day.
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“It was amazing to find out the level of commitment they had toward the community and how involved they were. What I found was that after a while, the information itself, there are generations of people who aren’t aware of what they did and how their contributions shaped the area,” said Eady. “So, when I had an opportunity to bring the conversation back to the table, I was excited about being the artist to do that.”
The City of Ocala contacted Eady and commissioned him to paint eight portraits. His work has been transformed into panels that are now a public art installation creating a Historic Trail in West Ocala along County Road 40.
During his research, Eady learned that there were two hospitals in Ocala, much larger than he had thought.
“So, when I started looking at different images and when I saw the image of Dr. Richard Hughes (the founder of Anta Hospital), I knew definitely right away that I was going to paint Dr. Hughes,” said Eady.
Another of those depicted, is the prominent physician Dr. Nathaniel Hawthorne “NH” Jones. He was the first African American doctor to become a staff physician at Munroe Memorial Hospital.
“They have a depiction of him, but I had never seen a photograph, and then when I saw his photograph, I knew this was someone I also wanted to paint a portrait of,” said Eady.
The other panels feature:
- business owner Austin Long
- pharmacist Dr. Thomas Lloyd
- Mercy Hospital founder Dr. James Ponder
- educator and school administrator, principal Lillian Bryant
- community activist and author Pinkney Woodbury
- restauranteur Sallie “Pearl” Frambo Berry Jackson, the owner of Miss Pearl’s Soul Food Cafe
The city hopes the heritage trail serves as a foundation for inclusion.
The painting of the portraits only took a few months, but the installation took longer. The timing couldn’t be better as the artist is about to start a series focusing on many of the individuals he painted.
“I’m starting a project with the Mary Sue Rich Community Center library, where students will be learning about those historic figures,” said Eady. “We’re going to be doing some silk-screening projects that are directly related to them.”
The Heritage Trail in West Ocala officially opens with a ribbon cutting at 9 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 3.