FEATURE
STORY
ALRIC C . T . POTTBERG LIBRARY 50TH ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL MURAL
Mural Honoring Alric Pottberg Installed in West Campus Library
By Carmine Bell , Ph . D ., PHSC Professor Emerita
The Alric C . T . Pottberg Library 50th Anniversary Memorial Mural , commissioned by PHSC ’ s 50th Anniversary committee , has been installed on the lobby wall of the West Campus Library in New Port Richey . The colorful Florida Folk Art acrylic-paint mural , 4.5 feet high and nearly 22 feet wide , depicts a spring scene on the old Pottberg Ranch . The dominant figure , PHSC benefactor Alric C . T . ( Ric ) Pottberg , who donated 120 acres for construction of the West Campus , gazes serenely at the lush , green land ’ s teeming plant and animal life .
Artist Linda Pottberg , who created the mural , describes it as “ a very romanticized version of Florida pine scrub land . It is a composite of various vignettes of my first memories of going out in an old International Scout on the Pottberg Ranch ” in 1981 , the year she came to Florida and fell in love with its unique landscapes , fauna and flora . Using knowledge of Florida ’ s natural history acquired over four decades , Linda has created a Florida Native Nature seek-and-find legend for the mural , encouraging viewers to search for , and identify , 50 different plant and animal species depicted in it . Among the animals is a mama bobcat with kittens , an allusion to PHSC ’ s mascot .
Pottberg was so enamored with Florida that she decided to stay . She married Ric ’ s nephew , Clifton Pottberg , and had a son , Clifton Jr . ( Puck ). Linda and Puck are the last of the Pottberg family in Florida . She knew Ric Pottberg , who spoke like a humanities professor but dressed like a rancher . An eloquent , well-educated man , Ric , like his Uncle Otto , was dedicated to preservation of the natural environment . He managed a trust for Otto , who had once owned an interest in 53,000 acres in Pasco , Hernando , Lake , and Levy counties , much of it purchased by Otto for $ 1 an acre in the 1930s . Ric felt that donating land to Pasco-Hernando Community College would be an effective way to assure preservation of its natural beauty .
Pottberg ’ s passion for nature matches that of Ric and Otto . Her array of artistic skills allows her to express and communicate the inspiration she finds in her daily explorations of Florida landscapes . The Pottberg Mural in the West Campus Library brilliantly depicts the Pottberg family ’ s passion for conservation and education . She hopes that the mural will motivate viewers to look , learn and enjoy the nature around them .
Campus based 50th Anniversary committees have installed projects at the East , North , Spring Hill and Porter campuses . More details on the projects can be found at phsc . edu / history .
The artist , Linda Pottberg
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