Student art found at VFW on display at Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center
Katrina DeWitt of Post Falls, center, and her children Michael and Lilly meet with Bob Shay, right, at the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center for the April 15 opening reception of "Art Uplifts," where DeWitt's student artwork is on display. Shay entered two pieces of student art into the show after discovering them in a dusty Post Falls VFW closet in 2020. DeWitt has not seen the piece since she submitted it in a contest 19 years ago.
Courtesy photo
POST FALLS — A discovery at a local Veterans of Foreign Wars post has revealed an uplifting story of art, community and connection through time.
"You clean out a closet at a 50-year-old veteran’s association and you can find some pretty unusual stuff," Bob Shay told The Press.
Two student art submissions from past VFW art contests are now on display in the "Art Uplifts" exhibit at the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center in Post Falls, thanks to Shay's determined efforts to track down artists who created the pieces years ago.
Shay was first vice commander of Post Falls VFW Post 3603 when he undertook some much-needed cleaning of the post in 2020.
"I was going through the closets and I came upon these two pieces of art," Shay said on Tuesday. "I'm very appreciative of art. That’s what I did in school, I was an artist and a cartoonist in high school and before high school."
From the dusty closet, he pulled artwork by an exchange student from the Netherlands and a piece by a Post Falls student.
Both were supposed to be submitted to contests, but never made it. Shay learned that the piece from the exchange student was not submitted because she was not a U.S. citizen, which was a requirement for the contest. The second piece was submitted late, set aside and forgotten.
Student art is generally returned to students after contests conclude, so Shay followed paper trails and clues to find the rightful owners.
They led to a Coeur d'Alene-based golf club company, Henry Griffitts, which steered him to former Hayden mayor Steve Griffitts, whose family hosted the exchange student Caroline.
"I had a nice chat with him and told him about the picture and sent him a photo of the picture," Shay said. "He sent it to Caroline via email. He asked if she wants the picture back. That’s what was supposed to happen."
A local phone number was on the back of the other piece, leading Shay to Katrina DeWitt, who still lives in Post Falls.
"I was lucky she answered," Shay said.
Both artists agreed to have their pieces on display for people to enjoy. Fast forward to 2026, the pieces are on display in a community art show and will go up in the Post Falls American Legion, where Shay is the aide-de-camp, when "Art Uplifts" concludes.
DeWitt graduated from Post Falls High in 2007 and has worked as a nurse at Kootenai Health since 2012. She brought her children with her to the opening night of the show to see this blast from her past.
"It’s so long ago and I really totally forgot about this thing until he told me," DeWitt said. "I think it was a Veterans Day art competition. Our art teacher would tell us about art competitions in the area."
DeWitt and Caroline were both students of the late Larry Alexander, whom DeWitt remembered as encouraging students to explore their creativity.
"My teacher just let us express ourselves any way we wanted," she said. "We didn’t have any real rules. He let us do our own thing. I had been in art class every year. It was my fun time in high school."
DeWitt's piece is a charcoal drawing based on a picture she found.
"It spoke to me because the dad in it looked kind of like my grandpa on my mom's side who was in the Army in World War II and he fought in Japan," she said. "I’ve always respected and appreciated veterans. My sister was in the Army; she put in six years."
DeWitt went into nursing despite a pull toward the arts.
"My first thought of going to college was art school, but my parents pushed me in a direction that set me up better for my future," she said.
Seeing the artwork after nearly 20 years certainly brought back memories for the wife and mother.
"It was just a whole other era of my life when I was doing artwork like that," she said. "I was interested in this. It was one of my passions at the time."
Shay said it was amazing to meet DeWitt and her family at the opening reception of "Art Uplifts."
"It's just a good feeling, just a seriously good feeling," Shay said. "That's what I thought when I called her, hoping she would feel the same way and she did. It was so nice to connect."
See the pieces at "Art Uplifts" through May 16 at the JACC, 405 N. William St., Post Falls. Their new home, following the conclusion of the show, will be the Post Falls American Legion, 1138 E. Poleline Ave., Post Falls.