I hope you have not forgotten the story I told last month about a man who found a pencil drawing on a sidewalk on Erie’s west side. The man found the artwork two years ago and, ever since, has been curious about the artist and about the identity of the people in that drawing. I received a few emails from people who watched that segment of The Last Word. The segment explained how Jimmy Huegel found the drawing on the sidewalk near West 25th and Cherry Streets. It’s a pencil drawing of two people in the military. The artist signed his name at the bottom. “William Alston.”
A couple of the emails I received guided me to an online obituary published by the Gary March Funeral Home in Maryland. The obituary announced the death last summer of William Alston of Baltimore. It shows a picture of Mr. Alston in a military uniform. A written tribute to Mr. Alston described him as a very gifted artist. The site also highlighted some of his work.
Could this be the William Alston who drew this mystery picture? I called the funeral home and was put in contact with Mr. Alston’s niece, Nokomis Nelson. I directed her to a video of the Last Word story on the Erie News Now website. She was excited…