HEMLOCK, Mich. (WJRT) - Its been tough getting through the pandemic, inflation is impacting everyone, and there has been plenty of political discourse over the last few years.

A Hemlock area family is trying to flip the script a bit by creating a mural on a brick wall, hoping its message will brighten up the day.

It's right in the heart of Hemlock. The mural has a variety of messages and the reviews have been mainly positive, a few negative, but one picture will make it difficult for anyone to come away with anything other than a good feeling.

A photo of a little girl. She appears to be holding a bundle of balloons. We will get back to that picture in a bit.

If you drove through Hemlock a few weeks ago, you would see this at the corner of Elm and Gratiot, a brick building which used to be the town post office. But Butch and Amy Krueger had an idea.

"You know what, we own a building that faces a very busy street, lets try to create something," says Butch Krueger.

If you drive through today, you see a mural. The brick wall is now painted white, with messages to inspire kindness, like treat others the way you want to be treated.

"That's our life, right, we know, plain and simple, treat people the way you want to be treated, and good things will come," says Butch

"Just a smile, make their day, something happy, something pretty," is what Amy hopes people will take away from the mural.

The Krueger's enlisted the help of Eddie Cook and his wife to paint the mural.

"It inspires me when I look at it," says Cook.

And it's had that effect on others who walk by.

"I moved up here about twenty years ago from Tennessee, I really just enjoy this area and its really cool that something like this is happening," says Hemlock resident Bobby Ball.

"At first I didn't know what exactly was happening over there," says Bev Schafer, who works across the street at Wright Pharmacy.

She watched the mural being painted for the last three weeks. She's heard there have been a few negative comments about the project on social media, but she's having none of it.

"Why wouldn't I want to look at that all day long instead of that blank wall," she says.

Which brings us back to that picture of the little girl with the balloons. The picture was posted on social media. Its not clear if that was the intention, to pose with balloons on the mural like this, but the Krueger's say their goal of creating positive fallings is accomplished in that one photo.

"The more pictures posted with the balloons, our money is well spent," says Butch Krueger.

It cost the Krueger's $4,800 for the mural and they have another similar project planned in Breckenridge.

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Terry Camp anchors ABC12 News First at Four and ABC12 News at 5:30. He also reports on issues in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

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