In the heart of Star Valley rests the quiet town of Thayne – a place where the locals have penned a history of agriculture, industry and excellence, and where visitors find welcoming smiles and meaningful experiences. Thayne’s elected officials are working hard to foster a culture where love thrives, and folks find peace.

Celebrating this growing culture is a freshly painted mural on the south side of the community center. The State of Wyoming, in celebration of the Semiquincentennial Birthday of the United States in 2026, offered grant funding to communities that wanted to create a special project in honor of the nation’s 250th birthday, and Thayne jumped at the chance to create something exceptional in the form of a mural.

Officials and community members gathered on September 11 to cut a ribbon in formal celebration of the mural’s completion and to introduce it as a new and unique feature of the Town. Dignitaries in attendance included Senator Dan Dockstader and Kevin Voyles of the Wyoming Arts Council.  The Town Council was represented by Mayor Devin Simpson and council members Justin Visser, Lenny Pelletier and Joe Heward.

Designed and painted by Thayne residents Trinity Roberson and her brother, Bridger, the mural reflects the most integral parts of Thayne’s heritage, such as cutter racing, fishing, dairy farming, the Star Valley Cheese Factory and, of course, the mountains that cradle this Valley.

“I really wanted to incorporate what Thayne is all about,” says Trinity, who is a 2022 graduate of Star Valley High School. “We are surrounded by mountains, and cutter racing was a pretty big part of the design because cutter racing started in Thayne.” Bridger adds that their grandfather, LaMar Haderlie, was “heavily involved in cutter racing.”

The cheese factory that operated in Thayne for decades is also important to the Roberson Family. “Our Grandma, Edith Haderlie, and our mom, Gina Haderlie Roberson, actually worked at the cheese factory when our mom was a teenager. Grandma baked pies for the cheese factory.”

In July, both Trinity and Bridger submitted separate designs for the mural, which were judged in a blind review against 22 other artists’ submissions. While Trinity’s design was selected by the judging panel, “We knew all along that we were going to do it together and split the money,” say Bridger and Trinity.

Before beginning the painting project, the pair worked with the Thayne Town Council on a few important revisions to Trinity’s design. Once the revisions were approved, Trinity and Bridger spent three weeks preparing the wall surface and painting the mural.  “We drew it up on the wall and started to paint from the top and worked our way down,” says Trinity.  Sketching the design on the wall took a full week, and painting required another two weeks.

Painting the wall posed a few unexpected challenges for the artists. “The curved walls were hard,” says Trinity. “We adjusted some of our sketching because it affected the way you saw it.” Initially, they planned to roll the paint on the wall but quickly discovered that the sections of highly textured bricks were difficult to paint due to the deep ridges in and around them, so they used brushes for the entire surface.

“This is a really fun project to do” says Trinity.  “I am glad to add something fun and unique to the Town.  Bridger expressed his gratitude to family and friends for support.  “I would like to thank our siblings who helped, and our parents.  Joe Heward has also been a huge support of us.”

Mayor Simpson is pleased with the design and how it represents the culture of Thayne. “The artists have not only captured what Thayne is like, but they have perfectly captured our heritage. As we look toward the future, a heart has become our symbol of Thayne. Not only do we want to be the heart of Star Valley, but a community that shares love and welcomes neighbors and visitors. With the blind review, we were super happy when we found out that it was a local resident that would create this amazing work, and we are excited to have this beautiful piece to show for years and years to come.”