By Andrea Walker
Ashcroft’s Legacy Park is home to a stunning new glass mosaic commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Canadian National (CN) Railway.
Sponsored by Ashcroft Communities in Bloom with a grant from Second Time Around, the mosaic was designed and completed by Andrea Walker and Patricia Denis, two local glass artists. The roofed wooden structure housing the mosaic was built by Bruce Walker and designed by Daniel Collett, and crew with the Village of Ashcroft poured the footings.
Those viewing the glass mosaic will see behind it, across the Thompson River, the Canadian National main line running through North Ashcroft. CN Rail is a major sponsor of the Communities in Bloom program in Canada, and when the Ashcroft CiB committee learned that it was CN’s 100th anniversary in 2019, they felt it would be appropriate to commission a mosaic to recognize them.
The Canadian National Railway was created by an act of Parliament in Canada on June 6, 1919, and was a federal crown corporation for 75 years, until its privatization in 1995. It spans North America from Eastern to Western Canada and south to the Gulf of Mexico.
This is the fifth large mosaic for Ashcroft that has been completed by Andrea Walker and Patricia Denis, and sponsored by Ashcroft Communities in Bloom. The first three, located at the north end of the Heritage Park, were created to commemorate Ashcroft CiB’s 10-year anniversary in the CiB program, and includes the Communities in Bloom logo, a day lily (Ashcroft’s official flower), and a local scene with the prickly pear cactus in bloom. The fourth mosaic, completed for Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017, is displayed on the historic fire hall at the end of Railway Avenue.
The Ashcroft Communities in Bloom committee is proud to add their mosaic contributions to the many other stunning mosaics found throughout our Village.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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