Making her mark

The Red Cross Dayton chapter celebrated its 100th anniversary in a large way.

On June 12, the chapter unveiled a giant mural painted by Katie Puthoff, who graduated from Wright State University with a bachelor’s degree in art in April.

Puthoff painted a mural of two iconic Red Cross photos: one a WWII-era photo of a Red Cross nurse carrying the American flag, and the other of a Dayton Red Cross volunteer carrying and comforting a young boy.

The mural is located on the east side of the American Red Cross Dayton Area Chapter building at 370 West First St. in downtown Dayton.

The mural is 28 feet high and 63 feet wide.

“The scale was kind of the thing that was the most daunting for this one,” said Putoff.

“We hope that it sends a message of pride to our volunteers,” said Laura Seyfang, the chapter executive of the Dayton Area Red Cross.

The Dayton Area Chapter first began serving the Dayton community in 1917, and for the last 100 years has helped thousands of people affected by local disasters including home fires, floods, tornadoes and seasonal emergencies.

This is not Puthoff’s first large-scale public mural. She also painted a historical mural of the village of Minster.

Wright State art major Katelyn Puthoff produced a colorful, three-paneled mural depicting the history of her hometown of Minster. (Photos by Erin Pence)