Rock wall painted to preserve its history

ut paintbrush to canvas.

Or in this particular case, to an older rock wall located along Lehighton’s portion of the D&L Trail.

That’s been the goal of Cruz Maria Gonzalez, who has taken her unique artistic touch and breathed life into the rock wall.

Simply put, if Gonzalez can visualize it, she can paint it.

With a little bit of help from God, that is.

Origin of the wall

Located behind the former Castle Grill along Lehigh Drive, the 150-foot-long, 7-foot-high wall is owned by Yvonne Stoudt and her husband Lloyd of Lehighton.

Yvonne Stoudt said the wall had been the property of her husband’s parents, Robert and Sharon Stoudt.

She said that Robert put up the wall over 20 years ago, and that the couple lived in the house above the wall until Robert died in October 2008.

“We just wanted to find a way to give back to the community and honor my father-in-law and what he intended to do here, and try to kind of finish this work that he had begun,” Stoudt said. “This wall is basically a memorial to him, and a gift to the town at the same time.”

That’s when Stoudt said she approached Gonzalez, a friend from Blue Mountain Community Church in Palmerton.

“We had asked if she would paint for us because she is very talented, and we wanted to give back to the community,” she said. “It was a rusty wall and not very attractive for the passers-by on the D&L which is where it’s located down past Dunbar’s on the D&L.”

Stoudt said the couple felt it made perfect sense to ask Gonzalez to work her magic.

“We wanted to make it prettier, so the original idea was just to have a rock wall, and the wall started speaking to Cruz Maria, and pictures started coming out,” she said. “Many of these pictures tell a story, some from the Bible and some from others in the community.”

The wall ‘speaks’

Gonzalez, of Lehighton, began working on the wall on June 19, 2017.

Since then, Stoudt said, “The wall kind of took on its own name.”

Gonzalez said she was all too willing to take on the project.

“The wall means a lot to me because it gives me something to do. It keeps me busy. I like painting,” Gonzalez said. “When Yvonne asked me, I jumped at it because I hadn’t painted in a long time.”

Gonzalez said she has plenty of experience painting.

“I’ve been doing this since I’m a little girl,” she said. “I didn’t have lessons, but God gave me the gift, so I use it wherever I can.”

Gonzalez said she follows her instincts when working on the wall, which she said she hopes to have completed by the end of this month.

“Sometimes the wall speaks to me and it kind of like gives me I guess like a road map, and so I just go along with the lines; sometimes I come back the next day, and I start following the lines,” she said. “I use my imagination and follow the lines and lo and behold, people start coming out.”

Gonzalez added, “Some of these people are people that walk on the trail, some of them have stories to tell, many of them come just to get exercise in.

“I keep in it my mind, and once I get it in my mind, it stays there and when I come back, I look for a spot where it will fit.”

Stoudt said she and her husband are privileged to be able to see the wall carry on, thanks to Gonzalez.

“Cruz Maria is so talented, I just wanted to be able to gift that to her as she gifts that back to the community as well,” she said. “Her talent is amazing.”