Editor’s note: This charming painting has hung on the Odell Public Library Program Room’s east wall for ten years. An installation celebration was held Saturday, November 16, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. After restoration and reframing, it now rests on the west wall, to avoid the sun’s rays.
“It’s in the right place now,” stated Anne Frame, Friend of the Library. A few of the 25 viewers noted that after cleaning and reframing, another half an inch on each side was now visible.
Citation information will be displayed near the painting. Bernice M. Klosterman, 1923 – 2019, (née Bernice M. Salberlich, married Rev. Charles C. Klosterman, 1922 – 2011, Morrison resident from 1960 – 1967), “Unto Us A Child Is Born” c. 1966, oil on canvas board, elastic thread and pine needles, 18″ x 24″, painting cleaned and reframed September 2024.
Scott Vandermyde read the following history of this art work.
“In the mid-to-late 1960s, Dr. Richard Vandermyde was in medical practice with his father, Dr. Isaac Vandermyde, at 109 W. Main Street, which is now the location of Happy Joe’s [Pizza.] At that time, Rev. Klosterman was the Pastor at the Methodist Church in Morrison. His wife was an accomplished artist.
“Mrs. Klosterman painted the office from the Market Street, rear entrance to the doctors’ office. She titled the painting “Unto Us A Child Is Born” with a Christmas theme, as evidenced by the discarded Christmas tree [beside] a trash can and the diapers hanging, referring to the presence of a baby. This painting was used by the District Superintendent of the Methodist Church, as an image for his Christmas greeting card. We are still working with the local church and the district church, to obtain a copy of the greeting card. I have never seen it.
“The painting hung in the den of the Richard Vandermyde family home on N. Orange Street, from the late 1960s until Richard bequeathed it to the library in 2015. In 2024, Frame and Ned Nesti drove a project to have the painting restored and reframed, in consultation with Scott Vandermyde, Trustee of the Richard Vandermyde estate. We are proud to re-present it to the library in late 2024, to help recognize a gift from the Richard Vandermyde estate to the Odell Library Foundation, which Richard Vandermyde established in 2008.”
Two of the four Vandermyde sons attended the event, Scott, left, and William.
