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.
This is also one of the several murals which, shortly after it was completed, earned a story in the local newspaper, the Williams Lake Tribune. That story is reproduced below and includes more of the story of the Crosinas.
New mural unveiling
wraps up Art Walk
GAEIL FARRAR | Sep. 15, 2015
The city’s newest mural on the alley side of Crosina Realty was part of the Art Walk and Sale 2015 wrap up ceremonies Saturday.
Fittingly, the mural is dedicated to the Crosina family history, one of the founding families of Williams Lake.
The artists and Mayor Walt Cobb, along with representatives from the Crosina family, were there to participate in the unveiling, along with representatives of the BIA, which sponsored the mural project.
“I think the mural program is an excellent one. I am particularly pleased that the murals are showing some of our history,” Mayor Cobb said.
Louis Crosina left Italy in 1882 and settled in the Cariboo, marrying local school teacher Clara Noble in 1897. Together they established the 153 Mile Ranch, general store, stopping house and blacksmith shop which the family continued to operate for many years.
After it was closed and sold the old 153 Mile House store has continued to be a point of historical interest, kept in historical condition by new owners Joe and Peggy Patenaude who bought the ranch in 1958. Peggy restored and opened the old store as a museum in the 1970s.
The store and its contents have been left in trust to the city and the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin.
Mayor Cobb said the city and museum are now in the early stages of working out a plan and fundraising to have the store and its contents moved to a location near the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin on Fourth Avenue in downtown Williams Lake.
He said Peggy Patenaude catalogued all of the contents of the store and that record is now with the museum archives in Victoria.
From the Williams Lake Tribune