“Say hello to friends you know and everyone you meet.”

Those words from “A Holly Jolly Christmas” paint an idyllic holiday scene, but for Fairmont resident Greg King they have become a reality.

King, a retired elementary teacher, has been gaining local fame and meeting friendly faces since buying the property at 78 Downtown Plaza in Fairmont nearly a year ago. He has enjoyed painting his own storefront window, and his work on the nearby El Agave window mural has garnered attention.

King was able to share his history as an educator, and how his painting hobby came to be.

“I taught fourth grade for about 20 years, and the last seven years of my career. I was a library media specialist, which was a nice step out of the classroom,” he said.

King, who retired about four years ago, said many of his former students still recognize him today, and he said it is fun to talk with them.

Almost a year ago, King closed on his downtown property. Unbeknownst to him, this would later lead to being recognized for his painting skills.

“It was last January,” he said. “My friend Curtis Schultz and I were having lunch at El Agave in late December after Christmas. I was getting in my car across the street, and all of a sudden Curtis yells for me to come over to him, and there was a little for sale sign in the ledge of the window.

“I got excited because that building had been empty for about 28 years.”

The building was formerly a shoe repair shop. King said the owner had passed away, and it had been used for storage for many years after.

When asked what he plans to do with the building, King said he was looking for a man-cave/workshop/storage type of place. He and Schultz have had a fun time working on the building, discovering more about its history along the way.

“Curtis and I got in there and we stripped all the plaster and lathe and the dropped ceilings out, and now we’ve discovered this really cool building with old brick walls and a vaulted room,” he said. “In 1896, it was a photography studio. It’s about 40 feet deep and the last 20 feet on the north side has a window wall that slants back into the building and then goes up above the normal roof and then comes back down.

“This window wall was painted over and shingled on the outside, but we assume that was for natural light for the photographer in 1896,” he continued. “It’s going to be really spectacular, but I’m on a budget and there’s no set pace, it’s just when I have the money. In the meantime, Curtis and I are having a great time, and painting the windows is part of that.”

King said it was his window painting for the 2017 Homecoming season that really kicked off the paintings he has started to become known for.

“The people we’ve met, and people going to El Agave while I’m out there painting just stopped by and asked me what I was doing and talking to them was really a lot of fun for me this summer,” he said. “Just getting out of my daily routine and the friends and people I normally say good morning too, and now here’s all these other people.”

“I didn’t intend to be a window painter,” he continued. “But I thought for Homecoming, I’ve got this big glass here and I can do something to show team spirit. So I did that, and the people at El Agave, when they came to work, the manager said that was really good.

“So in my mind I started thinking that I could really help their business, and help hide that cracked window. When I got finished with my window, I drew up that mural on paper and showed it to them, and they took a chance. Then Jeff Rouse said he was moving his Kluk TV office headquarters, and he wanted me to paint a sign for that.”

King reiterated that he wasn’t looking for those jobs, but he had a lot of fun doing them. Now he notices large windows as he drives past businesses, thinking of them as billboards the owners don’t know they have.

“That’s just kind of where I’m at with it,” he said. “I think that maybe I could have a little part time business.”

When asked about his history with art and where it comes from, King said his interest extends back to childhood. From there it was a talent he utilized in his teaching career, and he still finds it enjoyable today.

“I find things from childhood and my high school years where I was interested in art, and I took a couple of art classes in college, and I really liked all that,” he said. “So in teaching 10-year-olds, kids just naturally like to draw and I just used my cartooning skills on the overhead projector as kind of a brain break.

“You can see it in their eyes when they’ve had enough long division, so I’d have them put their math away and we’d cartoon. They would tell me about the ‘Doug Funny’ cartoon and I would draw some of that, and now they come to me and tell me they still remember that. I ask them about the fractions I taught them, but they don’t remember that so much,” he said with a laugh.

King noted that while he likes the work, what he most enjoys are the friends he’s made and the experience he’s gained.

“I made friends and met people with the kitchen help at El Agave, who came out on their break and they shake hands with me and give me a thumbs up, and I admire those people and how hard they work,” he said. “So behind the building is all these unintended benefits of friendship and recognition. It’s fun to have people approach me and talk to them.”­