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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The Marines who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima during World War II are here, immortalized in their historic moment from 1945.</p><p>So are the sailor and nurse who enjoyed a dramatic kiss in the street when they knew World War II was over.</p><p>The Statue of Liberty raises her lamp high, the Washington Monument gleams and an eagle soars overhead &#8212; all in a detailed mural 25-year-old artist Jay Garcia, of Sugar Notch, has painted on the wall of the community room at North Penn Manor, a personal care home on New Sherman Street.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s great,&#8221; resident Harry Croop, 78, said of the artist.</p><p>&#8220;I enjoyed watching him paint,&#8221; said Regina Manley, 66. &#8220;It&#8217;s so realistic.&#8221;</p><p>Not only is the mural attractive to look at, Penn Manor owner Judy Lee said, it can also help older residents with cognition.</p><p>When you admire the artwork from left to right, it&#8217;s like a geography lesson for the United States, starting with San Francisco&#8217;s Golden Gate Bridge to the west, or left, and progressing through images of the Grand Canyon, Seattle Space Needle and St. Louis Arch before it reaches the East Coast&#8217;s Statue of Liberty, White House, National Cathedral and Washington Monument.</p><p>At the suggestion of his grandmother, Diane Evans, Garcia lettered &#8220;From Sea to Shining Sea&#8221; on a banner at the top of the mural.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not happy unless I&#8217;m painting or surrounded by paint,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I could paint all day.&#8221;</p><p>In addition to painting, Garcia enjoys playing the piano, and he has an appreciative audience when he tickles the ivories at Penn Manor.</p><p>Folks here also enjoy what he did with their dining area. A few years ago, he painted its walls so it would have the ambience of a 1950s-era diner. On one wall, he painted dancing figures &#8212; a young man with a pompadour and a young woman with a pony tail &#8212; and a jukebox that carries such song titles as &#8220;Love Me Tender,&#8221; &#8220;Johnny B. Goode,&#8221; &#8220;When I Fall In Love&#8221; and &#8220;I&#8217;ve Got You Under My Skin.&#8221;</p><p>Another wall looks like an old-time lunch counter, with a rivulet of sweet froth dripping down the side of a milkshake glass and a chalk-board style menu advertising rice pudding for 10 cents.</p><p>&#8220;I used to work at Woolworth,&#8221; said Garcia&#8217;s grandmother, Evans, explaining that her experience in the five-and-dime&#8217;s cafeteria gave her the expertise to suggest Garcia paint a napkin dispenser and a hamburger on the 1950s mural.</p><p>Last week, Garcia said he was almost finished with the &#8220;From Sea to Shining Sea&#8221; mural, and the 1950s diner motif has been finished for a while. What is his next project?</p><p>&#8220;There are more hallways here,&#8221; he said with a smile.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Artist Jay Garcia talks with his grandmother, Diane Evans, while he plays the piano for the residents of North Penn Manor in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_mural1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Artist Jay Garcia talks with his grandmother, Diane Evans, while he plays the piano for the residents of North Penn Manor in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_mural2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Residents listen to artist Jay Garcia play the piano in the recreation room at North Penn Manor. &#8216;Music is good for everybody&#8217;s soul,&#8217; North Penn Manor owner Judy Lee said, adding that Garcia&#8217;s mural is also good for residents&#8217; cognitive skills. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_mural2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Residents listen to artist Jay Garcia play the piano in the recreation room at North Penn Manor. &#8216;Music is good for everybody&#8217;s soul,&#8217; North Penn Manor owner Judy Lee said, adding that Garcia&#8217;s mural is also good for residents&#8217; cognitive skills. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_mural4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Artist Jay Garcia talks with residents beside the most recent mural he has worked on at North Penn Manor. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_mural4.jpg</photo2><caption2>Artist Jay Garcia talks with residents beside the most recent mural he has worked on at North Penn Manor. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_memorialmural5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Garcia talks with resident Harry Croop, 78, during a bingo game while Garcia&#8217;s grandfather, Patrick Evans, takes photographs with his cellphone. Garcia painted a 1950s theme in the dining room of North Penn Manor. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_memorialmural5.jpg</photo3><caption3>Garcia talks with resident Harry Croop, 78, during a bingo game while Garcia&#8217;s grandfather, Patrick Evans, takes photographs with his cellphone. Garcia painted a 1950s theme in the dining room of North Penn Manor. </caption3><photoCredit3>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_mural3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Artist Jay Garcia stands in front of a mural he painted at North Penn Manor in Wilkes-Barre. Thanks to his efforts, residents of the personal care home can enjoy the sight of the Statue of Liberty, Marines raising the American flag on </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_mural3.jpg</photo4><caption4>Artist Jay Garcia stands in front of a mural he painted at North Penn Manor in Wilkes-Barre. Thanks to his efforts, residents of the personal care home can enjoy the sight of the Statue of Liberty, Marines raising the American flag on </caption4><photoCredit4>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Young artist’s patriotic mural brightens atmosphere at personal care home