The Station House Gallery

A storage problem at the Station House Gallery & Gift Shop in 2021 led executive director Diane Toop and her board members to an artistic and historical solution. The gallery used a lot of wooden shelving units, tables, and plinths that needed a home on the ground floor. The building at #1 McKenzie Ave. N. is an historical building that can’t have major alterations, so after a lot of discussion a storage unit was purchased. A modern storage unit does not add beauty to a 100+ historic building though, so Diane described her vision to artist and board member Brandy Stecyk. Brandy created a mock up of a mural, and the project to beautify the storage container was launched.  Diane, with support from the board, carefully chose the people to be depicted in the mural who had connections with the building itself and with the arts community in the Cariboo.

The mural depicts Libby Abbot, a resident of the Station House in its early days, holding a bucket used for whitewashing the building – her mother’s job. Libby later went on to work in The Station House Gallery’s gift shop. Vivien Cowen is the woman with the sketch pad, who along with her daughters Sania Cornwall and Dru Hodgson were part of the driving force behind the beginnings of the Cariboo Art Society and The Station House Gallery. The seated man is George Keener, a well-known member of the community and long-time director with the Cariboo Friendship Society. He was also involved with the Williams Lake stockyards for more than fifty years. Standing on the left is Vivienne Dandridge Lanford, who came by train to teach at the Chimney Valley School in the late 1940’s. Shown in her uniform, Vivienne was part of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps and was a member and supporter of the gallery.

The mural was brought to life thanks to the planning, design, and artistic talents of Brandy Stecyk and Dwayne Davis, in the fall of 2021.