Information
The following background information on Ryah Ludins' mural is taken from the Web site of the Nazareth Economic Development Commission:
Nazareth, Pennsylvania was founded in 1740 as a closed Moravian community, meaning that only Moravians could live in the town. It remained as such for over 100 years. One of the first non-Moravians to purchase land in Nazareth was Christian Frederick Martin, who moved his guitar-making business from New York City to Nazareth in 1857. The Martin company remains a family-run business with headquarters in Nazareth and a reputation as the world's leading guitar manufacturer.
David Saylor discovered the limestone needed to make Portland cement in the Lehigh Valley at the end of the 19th century. This led to the establishment of a number of cement companies, several of which exist in merged forms to this day. The first cement mill was built just west of Nazareth in 1900, and the village of Phoenix was developed to house its workers. A half century later, the village was incorporated into Nazareth Borough.
The cement industry was notoriously dirty and dusty, leading to many stories of Nazareth residents' daily efforts to clean off the dust that coated everything in the town. Nonetheless the town prospered from this industry, and in 1929 the Nazareth Chamber of Commerce adopted the borough slogan "Where progress and prosperity are cemented."
Ryah Ludins' mural at the Nazareth Post Office commemorates this local industry. She was paid $640 to complete the work, but had to pay for her own supplies and travel.