While visiting her mother, Jill Casey, during one of the hottest weeks in August, Colleen Wilcox, artist and owner of Wander On Words, painted a privately-funded mural on the back of the building that’s home to Blooming Color. The request came from Naperville businessman Ray Kinney.
Always striving to inspire others, spread positivity and rekindle a love for nature, the artist said she wanted the work titled “Be Kind” to pay homage to her late father, Dan Casey, who brought Casey’s Foods to Naperville in 1991.
Illustrating her passion for the great outdoors, Wilcox also noted the “Cardinal” represents Kinney’s favorite baseball team from St. Louis as well as the mascot for North Central College.
From a blank concrete block wall to a forever colorful message, the Wander on Words mural, “Be Kind,” finds a place on Naperville’s northeast side.
The Dan Casey quote that runs along the bottom, “Support your local businesses and you’ll always live in a nice community,” appeared monthly in Positively Naperville for many years, a reminder of the shop local message embraced by Casey and many Naperville businesses.
(Photos by AMP and PN)
