Quesnel’s Little People Painted Fire Hydrants
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.
A few years ago I was redrawing a hydrant whose sponsor had changed and had a little fellow come up and give his opinion that we should have a fireman too.
I discovered from his mom that he went up to Prince George several times a month for cancer treatment and loved to stop and walk the tour to see how many he could find. They were all his size.
His mom said that was about the only time he did a lot of walking. I was re-inspired.
All sponsor spots have been taken up now, but hey there are more hydrants out there!
We have had someone sponsor one in their yard, so we now have “Betty Boop” who has join the historical troupe in Quesnel.
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-grafitti 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.
Contact: LeighCassidy@live.ca