The City of Williams Lake has styled itself the
Mural Capital of the Cariboo and not without good reason. It was the local chapter of
Communities in Bloom which provided the initial impetus for a downtown mural project. The project was embraced by city council and got underway in (as best we can tell) 2002 with the first mural,
When Duty Calls, being placed on the fire hall in 2002. The artist was Dwayne Davis of
Davis Arts. Davis has been the artist for the majority of the downtown murals, which now total around 30, some inside but the majority outside.
Louis James Crosina &
Clara Anna Noble
Louis James Crosina arrived in Victoria B.C. in 1882, from Italy. He married Clara Anna Noble, a school teacher at Lac La Hache, in 1897. In 1903 he took up a pre-emption, later to be known as 153 Mile House, built a hotel, store, home and blacksmith shop. As the years rolled by, Louis kept on prospecting, acquiring more meadows, livestock, building up a ranch and comfortable home, through hard work and fair dealing. Louis was an excellent blacksmith noted for the bells amongst many other items he made.
Louis and Clara raised four children, one son and three daughters. Clara passed away in 1936 and Louis in 1943. Louis and Clara's daughter Lil took over operations of the Crosina Ranch, roadhouse, and store. In 1958, Lil sold the ranch to Joe and Peggy Patenaude but continued to run the store until her death in 1963.
The Crosinas are now working on the 6th generation of Canadians, in the Williams Lake area.
This is one of the few murals in downtown Williams Lake which is accompanied by a historical plaque, this one revealing a brief history of Louis and Clara Crosina. Louis and Clara actually settled, lived and worked in 153 Mile House, which is about 10 kilometres southeast of Williams Lake. The Crosina Realty building, at 171 Oliver Street, is on the south side of Oliver Street, in the centre of the block between 1st and 2nd Avenues. The mural fills the entire rear wall of the building, with three windows incorporated as scene divisions.
One may check out all the downtown murals at the Mural Tour.
Crosina Mural
171 Oliver St., Williams Lake, BC V2G 1L9 Canada
Artist: Dwayne Davis, 2015
Funded by: Crosina Family, Downtown Williams Lake BIA, City of Williams Lake, Cariboo Regional District
About:
The mural is on the wall of a building owned by Louis James Crosina and Clara Anna Noble’s great-granddaughter, Anita Crosina. This was a fun mural to paint because many people stopped by to tell Dwayne and Steven their memories of the Crosina family and of that era of local history. Back in 1963 Lil died unexpectedly of a heart attack while working in the 153 mile store, after which the door was locked and was never re-opened. The store has remained undisturbed, just as Lil left it, and is now a time capsule and a treasure for historians. There is a plan to move the 153 mile store and contents to downtown Williams Lake where it can be enjoyed by the public. Louis and Clara Crosina (1800’s) beside their only daughter Lil Crosina’s portrait and their one of their three son’s with his horse and dog. Also depicted are the Crosina family’s 153 mile store (1904 -1963), roadhouse and ranch.
Artistic Notes:
Dwayne used the three windows in the building to separate the mural into scenes spanning time and place. Sepia tones set the mural in the deep past. The scenes are so compelling the viewer has the experience of not seeing the windows at all. The texture of the wall itself was a challenge for the muralist. It is bumpy, deep and porous stucco and it soaked up a lot of paint. Dwayne used caulking to smooth out sections were detail was needed, and some of those areas now come out further than other parts of the wall. Dwayne’s son Steven helped paint this mural.
From Downtown Williams Lake