Bringing the arts and community together

RUSSELLVILLE – Lela Ray was strolling through downtown Russellville one afternoon when she was struck by rows of empty windows and vacant shops.

Having been involved with Main Street Russellville — a Main Street America affiliate aimed at revitalizing downtownareastorenew a thriving marketplace and community space — and in thinking back to similar events she’d seen in other town squares throughout her travels, Ray said the idea for an annual art crawl was born.

“We’d had this Hometown group come to assess our buildings and to assess our community,” Ray recalled. “I went to every meeting because I was so interested, and I thought, ‘You know what we need is a little spark.’”

The idea was trifold. One, she wanted to bring more awareness to those empty shops downtown. Two, she wanted more visibility and engagement for the existing businesses along the square. And three, which is perhaps the most personal objective for Ray, she wanted to create more opportunities for local artists.

She took her plan to the Book Lovers Study Club, a non-profit group dedicated to giving back to its community and a group Ray has been involved in for several years.

“When I came here to Russellville, I didn’t know anyone,” Ray, a native of Decatur, said. “I knew I needed to reach out. I knew some fellow teachers, but I needed to know more people in the community. So, I joined Book Lovers. I’ve been a member now for a very long time, and I’ve enjoyed it. We help the community in many ways.”

With the help of the club, Ray got the first art crawl off the ground. About 30 artists from around Franklin County, an area lacking in opportunities for aspiring artists to showcase their talents and exhibit their work, participated.

Ray is no stranger to helping fill those gaps in her community, especially when it comes to the arts.

The Decatur native had earned her degree in secondary education in art and theater before following her husband, a fellow teacher and coach, Wayne Ray, back to his hometown of Russellville. When they made the move, Lela Ray said her only option was to teach fourth grade.

“When we came here in 1965, there was very little in the way of the arts,” she said. “They did not have speech, theater or art in the community. So, I taught fourth grade for one year. If you’ll look at your history, we were having integration because we also had segregation problems at that time.”

Ray remembers being approached by the school superintendent, Rube Courington, that first year.

“He came to me and said, ‘We’re integrating, and you can help,’” Ray said, adding that she was offered a position at the former Reedtown High School, which was the first campus in Russellville to open to Black students in 1952.

She said the superintendent’s plan was to place white teachers at Reedtown School and bring Black teachers to Russellville High School in preparation for full integration two years later.

“He said, ‘If you choose to do that, I can allow you to teach art, speech and theater,’” Ray said. “I went, ‘I’m there.’

“After those first couple of years at Reedtown, that’s when (the school system) found out, hey! Bingo! This was something we could start that would be good for the students. So, that’s how Russellville incorporated art and theater into their school system.”

Following integration, Ray said she continued to teach the arts at Russellville’s high school and middle school until her retirement in 2000. While the arts had been federally funded for most of her career, Ray remembers a time when that funding was cut.

“I’m just very, very proud of my community,” she said. “When the government took the check away, the community said, ‘No, no, no. We still want this for our school system.’ The board had to start paying, but I got to teach art at both schools through all of it.”

Even in retirement, Ray continues advocating for students and blossoming artists. In organizing the art crawl, she also hoped to bring exposure to some of her town’s small businesses. It’s a feat she feels the event succeeded in by increasing foot traffic for the area as competing artists were allowed to display their work in the windows of each of the businesses.

“They were just delighted,” Ray said of the business owners who participated in last year’s exhibit.

“I walked those streets and put up most of the artwork,” Ray said. “I went into a beauty shop that I’d never been in before. I went in and asked if we could display, and she just looked at me like I was crazy. By the end of it all, she asked if we were ever going to do this again. She just loved it. She’s had people from all over the community coming by and looking in her windows.”

Ray said the event received positive feedback from the community as well.

“We’d hoped this would be an opportunity for them to really get to know their downtown area,” she said. “I think we’ve done that. As it says in the name, it’s a crawl. You come and slow down, you know.

“Bring your dog. Bring your children. We want this to be a family thing. You can stop and look at the artwork, and while you’re out, stop for ice cream. Stop at one of our restaurants. It’s a way to really let people see what they have downtown.”