One of the newer painted hydrants in the town, this is
Billy Barker, the famous miner who sparked the Cariboo gold rush in 1862 and after whom Barkerville was named. Each hydrant has a sponsor; Billy Barker's sponsor is its namesake hotel, the
Billy Barker Casino Hotel, which stands just across the street.
Billy Barker, the hydrant, is so new that he hasn't yet made it onto the
Little People Walking Tour Guide. The "Little People" project was a city beautification project undertaken by the City of Quesnel to have many of the city's fire hydrants dressed up as citizens of the city from days gone by. In 2001 the city asked artist Leigh Cassidy to beautify their hydrants and this is what she came up with. To date 22 hydrants in the downtown area have been transformed into "Little People".
In 2001 the Quesnel Downtown Association asked me what could be done with their fire hydrants. My suggestion was to turn the hydrants into local historical figures. The sponsors got to choose or were offered who from our local history could represent their business and away we went.
This year, 2013 will be 12 years the hydrants have been enjoyed by tourists and locals alike. They do have an anti-graffiti coating I purchase from Canadian Building Restoration. The hydrants do get touch ups every couple of years as they are in the near vicinity to just about everything including the salt trucks, the plows and of course dogs.
It has been a very pleasurable job sitting on street corners painting the little guys and gals. I get people from just about everywhere asking about them and their history.
From Leigh Cassidy's Little People Page