By MADELYN FAIRBANKS
Published July 25, 2012

Legion Post 96 raises money for new war mural
SNOHOMISH - After eight years painting almost 80 murals in the area, Monroe artist David Hose said he still gets tears in his eyes when he’s able to portray the people in his work.
And at age 67, he said he’s in full swing.
Hose has been contracted by the Snohomish American Legion Post 96 to paint their outside west-facing 10-foot-tall, 30-foot-long wall with an expansive war memorial.
Legion commander Pat Guyot said the previous mural, now covered with Hose’s primer paint, was fading. Originally, the legion was talking about just adding to it.
But one thing led to another, and the wall will soon be covered with a huge memorial including six scenes dating from World War I to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hose said he plans to include a “big, beautiful sky” containing aircraft from all the wars, and it will highlight three members of the current armed services standing in the center.
He doesn’t know yet who the three will be. Hose said he went to the recruiting office in Monroe and asked the officers there to take some pictures of members of the National Guard and Reserves and is waiting for the images.
“I’m going to make it the best mural I’ve done. It’s going to make a statement about the American character and strength,” Hose said.  
Though the mural is already in the works, Guyot said the legion is still trying to raise the approximately $20,000 needed to fund the project.
Donations from legion members and sponsors have brought in $12,000, Guyot said.
The legion will be holding fundraisers like this past weekend’s garage sale at Kla Ha Ya Days, but it will happily take donations from anyone. Checks can be mailed to the legion at 1201 First Street, Snohomish, WA, 98290, and Guyot said cash or checks can be dropped off in person from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“It’s a big undertaking, but it’s definitely worth it,” Hose said.
The mural is expected to take three months to complete, but work will be dependent on the weather.
Resident Bob Taylor will be donating the use of a Snohomish Tree Service boom truck, a truck with an extendable arm and a bucket-like apparatus at the end, to assist Hose in reaching the higher spots on the wall.
American Legion posts, common in towns and cities across the country, were formed to help veterans obtain their benefits.
They continue to serve as a gathering place for veterans of all ages.
Legion posts are historically named after a deceased person from its town who perished in World War I. The Snohomish legion is named after Earl Winehart, and Hose said he’s excited to be painting Winehart’s likeness into the mural.
Winehart will be depicted wearing a helmet ready to charge over a foxhole and head into the battle field.
Though the wall is currently not much to look at, bearing simply a large mass of primer, Hose said the mural will be noticeably taking shape by August. He will be spending time until then working on drawings of the scenes, doing frame-up paint, contours, then finally adding the mural’s details.
Hose started doing murals in the late ’90s and has three as far as the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. He’s been looking forward for some time to work on a mural in Snohomish.
“I love Snohomish County, and love the town of Snohomish. This is a wonderful opportunity for me,” Hose said.
In his spare time, Hose does freelance editing for a Japanese philosopher and manages his art studio, the American Light Studio, located in his home.
At the end of the day, Hose loves his work and doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon.
“I get incredible energy doing this work. Physically I go home really tired, but emotionally ... I get tears in my eyes. I forget my age, and I feel young again,” Hose said.