Hugh McMonagle – a prominent Vale villager

In Sussex Corner, Hugh McMonagle’s stagecoach inn still stands, although no longer in use as such. McMonagle was a prominent businessman and politician in the mid-1800s who introduced the Morgan Horse to New Brunswick. His racetracks, one of them being the fastest half-mile track in North America, brought visitors from as far away as Kentucky. He was a driving force to make Sussex the agricultural leader it is today. Being a man who believed in his home county and not shy to let others know what was here, made him the perfect candidate to represent the region on a national scale. 

The artist: Fred Harrison has been a successful mural artist for over twenty years, mainly painting in the London, Ontario area for private homes and businesses. His last major project was in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, restoring the Roxy, a 1930 atmospheric theatre, where he was responsible for the décor and where he added two small murals to the lobby area as well. He loves the challenge that large-scale work gives him and the fact that it is constantly interacting with the public.