PIQUA — The main hallway at Piqua Central Intermediate School has been transformed in a tribute to men and women who have made a lasting impact on our county and our community, thanks to the efforts of students and staff members, and, in particular, PCIS art teacher Sarah Fromholt.

Principal Heath Butler expressed a wish to “add some color” to the school hallways. He and Fromholt sought input from both staff members and students as to what would work best.

The decision was made to dedicate the wall to men and women who have made an impact on everyone’s lives. Some would be nationally recognized figures and some would be local.

Names were “put into the hat” and the final decision was put to a vote that included staff and student body.

When the votes were counted and “winners” chosen, all that remained was to bring the figures “to life” on the wall.

This task fell to Fromholt and her artistic abilities.

Many of the nationally recognized figures, such as American Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin King, had a number of photographs depicting their lives while some of the local figures left Fromholt with more free-hand work.

Fromholt said that each figure was projected onto the wall at the proper scale where she then traced the outline before beginning the job of hand-painting the detail.

The project has been in progress for more than a year and the actual painting began in August.

Fromholt has been teaching in the Piqua City Schools district for the past 15 years.

The project is not yet complete, said Fromholt. There is some painting that remains along with plans to put a QR code near each portrait that will allow students and visitors to scan and be taken to a website detailing the life of each person on the wall.

The paintings are “book ended” by a pair of quotes that were chosen by the student council and then painted by Fromholt.