Bramlage, now living in Dayton and Dillman, now of Tipp City, grew up in the same house in Troy where their mother, Gerry Spraul, still lives. But while many dads suggest to their kids they should find ways to make extra money by getting part time jobs, Doug Spraul had a rather unique idea for his daughters.
“I was 13 and my sister was 10,” Bramlage said. “The Troy Strawberry Festival was fairly new, having started in 1977 and my dad suggested we make extra money by painting faces.”
The first year of the festival, Doug Spraul, who was very artistic himself, thought his daughters could make some extra money if he taught them how to paint strawberries.
“We saw painters up at the square the first year and the next year they were gone,” Dillman said. “My dad said we needed to take advantage and start our own booth.”
This began an annual family tradition that continues to this day, both in honor and in memory of Bramlage’s and Dillman’s dad. That first year, the family set up a table on the levee and charged ten cents for each strawberry they painted. They also added a ladybug and a flower to their offerings.
“The festival grew over the years, and they added food and arts and crafts vendors,” Bramlage said. “But every year we continued to go back to paint faces of kids and adults.”
The event, which is always the first full weekend in June each year, now welcomes more than 15,000 visitors annually. Bramlage and Dillman now handle the painting on their own, but over the years their dad got into it, at the same time talking and laughing with Strawberry Festival guests.
Their mom watched grandkids, picked up lunch and helped work behind the scenes.
“My dad was this great personality,” Bramlage said. “He was very well known around town, and they were engaged in the community. He just loved being up here on the levy and socializing with friends and coworkers.”
As the years went by and the sisters grew older, they began to question why they were spending one weekend in June every year painting faces. But they decided they needed to keep doing it.
“The year my dad got sick, I clearly remember sitting up there and midway through the day, we weren’t real busy,” Bramlage said. “He looked at us and said maybe we should just pack up and go home.”
But Doug Spraul didn’t teach his daughters to be quitters, and they insisted they were going to finish the weekend. Within a few weeks. Doctors found a brain tumor in Spraul. The family didn’t know what to do, but since they had to sign up a year in advance for the festival, they did just that.
“We agreed we’d do this one more time,” Bramlage said. “We were in our 40s and had kids of our own but we wanted to honor our dad.”
The family gathered photos after Spraul’s passing and made a collage that they displayed at their tent at the festival. They explained to visitors what had happened and told them their dad got them started.
“I always loved being on the levee painting faces when I was a kid because I saw all my friends from school,” Dillman said. “Now looking back, we really enjoyed spending time with Dad and watching how much he enjoyed being there.”
Now having just completed their 47th year of painting faces at the festival, Bramlage and Dillman. who have involved their own children over the years, are celebrating Father’s Day this Sunday by remembering and honoring their dad and his devotion to the Troy community.
“We’ve become very wise about this,” Bramlage said. “My sister is the logistical genius. But we don’t do any other event, even though people ask us all the time.”
Not only did their dad come up with a unique way for his daughters to make money, but he supported and encouraged them all along the way — creating a true sense of community pride in the process.
“We often tell stories about my dad and his outgoing, friendly personality,” Bramlage said. “Dad was only 65 when he died. Kari and Mom and I promised him we would take care of each other when he was gone. I think we feel his spirit with us each June up on the levee.”
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