About the artist:

Clarence Arlington "Arlie" Pearce was the sign painter that Tom Roberts Senior came to, when he wanted an artist to render his now famous, “DeKalb Ag, Winged Ear.” His initials, first CAP, then AP, appeared on the winged ears for many years. Arlie was not only a classically trained artist (Chicago Academy of Arts), but he was also a: commercial photographer; vice president of J.V. Patten Co., of Sycamore; a special effects genius; inventor; tinkerer; and classical guitarist (playing with a Big Band out of Joliet Illinois in the early 20th century); Civic leader, heading the Christmas program for the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce from the late 1930’s, up into the mid-1950’s; Interior designer (designed the wagon wheel interior for Kendall’s Ranch, in Richardson, now Sorrento’s); Corporal in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWI, making training films and propaganda posters for the war effort.

What Arlie was best known for, was his Christmas murals at the Dekalb County Courthouse, in Sycamore, Illinois. In 1937, America was coming out of the, “Great Depression.” In that year Arlie erected his first Christmas mural at the courthouse. Now, Christmas murals have been around for a long while, but outdoor Christmas lighting didn’t take off until the 1950’s. In 1937 America was still coming out of the, “Great Depression.” What was so unique and special, was the use of industrial, Hollywood style lighting to illuminate his outdoor display. People flocked to Sycamore to view this spectacular art piece, and it was a boom to the downtown merchants, just coming out of the, “Great Depression.”