New Bear Lake mural highlights area farming history

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New Bear Lake mural image is of the color back of Motel Bear Lake with the farming mural closest to the camera. There is a diagonal swath of yellow with old migrant housing, rows of green crops, farmer Zac Mezeske picking and adding to his bundle of radishes before dawn. The sky above and behind him is dark. There are tall jack pine trees in the darkness. Image of the mural courtesy of Z and N Farm.

A new mural at Motel Bear Lake brings to life the area’s farming heritage. Photo: Marta Turnbull.

Edited news release

BEAR LAKE, Mich.—The sixth and latest mural installation at Motel Bear Lake takes its inspiration from decades of photography and narrative shared by Nicole Mezeske, of Z&N Farm, and is a collaborative effort with Grand Rapids-based muralist Dania Grevengoed, the Manistee Area Racial Justice and Diversity Initiative (MARJDI) and motel owner Marta Turnbull .

“(It is a) true honor to be a part of this beautiful mural displaying our rich Bear Lake agricultural heritage,” Mezeske said. “To see our history painted in this way is so meaningful “

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The mural celebrates the region’s rich agricultural history and honors the many hands, both migrant workers and generational farmers, whose labor has long gone unrecognized. It depicts a farmer beside a lush pile of radishes, a  highlighted row of old migrant housing, hands picking corn in the rain and jack pine trees lining the road at night.

Close up of the new Bear Lake mural. Photo by Marta Turnbull.
One of the new mural images was inspired by this photo of Zac Mezeske, of Z&N Farm, picking ripe red radishes. Photo by Nicole Mezeske.

As part of the project’s research, Motel Bear Lake owner Marta Turnbull interviewed her parents to trace the history of farming on her family’s paternal side, uncovering an overlap with the Baldaccini family who built the motel and owned Sawyer Fruits.

The mural is brought to life by Grevengoed, who has created a number of “freehand” murals since 2020 for the Grand Rapids community and others in western  Michigan.  In 2025, Grevengoed completed two murals for the inaugural Traverse City Mural Festival, a project of the Traverse City Arts Commission.

Grevengoed called the project “hugely important and impactful” and credited Turnbull with driving much of the research behind the piece, and Z&N Farm with providing the historical reference images and narrative.

The farming mural, and others, can be seen on the “sunrise side” (back wall) of Motel Bear Lake at 12273 West St.  The motel is located along U.S. Highway 31 in the village and is open all year.  Follow them on Facebook and Instagram @motelbearlake. For more information, go to  the website: Motel Bear Lake.

Read HERE for more stories about MARJDI, described on its website as an inclusive, nonpartisan organization promoting racial justice and celebrating diversity.

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