Inez Voyce - Seymour

Inez “Lefty” Voyce was a star women’s baseball player from 1946 - 1953. She also served in the Navy WAVES during World War II.

Location: south side of the Snider Building, 200 N 4th St, Seymour, IA 52590

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Inez Voyce

Inez Voyce was born in 1924 and attended Seymour schools in the 1930s, where she played basketball and softball. She enlisted in the Navy WAVES (Naval Women’s Reserve) in 1944 and served at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco until her honorable discharge in 1946.

After the war, she was recruited to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which consisted of ten women’s baseball teams across the Midwest. She signed with the South Bend Blue Sox for the 1946 season, before being traded to the Grand Rapids Chicks. She played for Grand Rapids from 1947 - 1953.

Inez “Lefty” Voyce became one of the most outstanding players in professional women’s baseball. She played in 100+ games per year for seven consecutive seasons with Grand Rapids, earning a .256 batting average. She was the league’s 2nd-highest leader in RBIs and 9th on the all-time list of home runs.

Inez retired from baseball in 1953 and went on to have a long career using the skills she learned in the Navy. She passed away in 2022 in Santa Monica, CA, but she still has ties to relatives in the Seymour area.

The founding and operation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was the basis for the hit movie A League of Their Own.

Inez Voyce - star women's baseball player

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about the art

This mural was painted during the Walldog Mural Festival in Wayne County, Iowa, from August 30 - September 3, 2023.

The lead designer was Crystal White from Brooklyn, NY. Crystal is a talented sign painter and muralist with training in a variety of sign styles and techniques, and she’s painted at several Walldog events in other locations.

Crystal’s design integrated original photos of Inez Voyce with beautiful iconography and lettering. The mural is 10 feet x 30 feet.

The mural is painted on panels and installed on the Snider Building in Seymour, Iowa.

FAQs

  • The Walldogs are an international group of muralists and sign-painters who volunteer their time to create community art. They have painted throughout the US and around the world.

    The Walldog movement started in Allerton, Iowa, in 1993. Local artist Nancy Bennett invited dozens of signpainters to Allerton to paint murals in Allerton’s downtown, and the local community opened their homes to host these artists. Since that first gathering, the Walldog movement has grown tremendously.

    The Walldogs celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2023 by returning to Wayne County, Iowa. They have meets planned for the next several years to continue this community art tradition. You can learn more at thewalldogs.org.

  • In 2023, the Walldogs painted 16 murals. They also painted new signage at the Wayne County Fairgrounds.

    These murals included 12 new designs, as well as 4 restorations of the original 1993 Walldog murals in Allerton.

  • We recommend starting at Prairie Trails Museum in Corydon, Iowa. The “Come, Come Ye Saints” mural recognizes the passage of the Mormon Trail through Wayne County.

    From there, you can drive in an approximate circle to Promise City, Seymour, Allerton, Clio, Lineville, Humeston, and Millerton, before returning to Corydon to see the rest of the murals there.

    Alternatively, you can start at any mural that works for your route.

    The entire route takes approximately 2 hours to drive.

  • Check our main FAQ page for more details and contact info.

Next stop

Visit Allerton to see the “Round Barn” mural.

The Round Barn mural commemorates the Nelson Round Barn, which is preserved alongside a one-room school, a church, and a Queen Anne-style house one mile east of Allerton.

You can find the Round Barn mural in Knapp Park: 100 S Central Ave, Allerton, IA 50008. There are five total murals in Allerton.

To reach Allerton on paved roads:

  • Leave Seymour via the northwest corner of the square and drive north on Hwy S60 (4mi).

  • At Highway 2, turn west (left). Drive 12mi west, passing through Promise City and Corydon.

  • At Hwy S26, turn south (left). Drive 3mi to Allerton.

Gravel shortcut + opportunity to see the original Round Barn:

  • Leave Seymour via the southwest corner of the square and drive west on J46 (7.7mi). Paved road.

  • At 160th St (aka S40), turn north. Drive 1mi. This is a paved road and passes through the former town of Harvard, Iowa.

  • At Idaho Rd (the first left turn), turn west (left). Drive 4mi. Gravel road.

  • At 120th St, turn north (right). Drive 1mi. Gravel road.

  • At Iowa Ave, you can turn east into the Round Barn Site. Or, turn west (left) and drive 1mi to Allerton. Gravel road.

  • The Round Barn Site is open by appointment only, but pictures of the exterior are allowed anytime. See the Round Barn website for more info.

For the full list of murals and locations, visit this page or download the map.

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