Lake City Glass has a brand new mural that pays tribute to the company’s founder Chester Mortensen.
Chester’s wife Sheila had the mural painted for her husband as a 76th birthday present.
“I haven’t been able to buy a gift for him for a long time,” Sheila says. “At our age we don’t really need a lot so I thought it would be nice to put our stamp on our building showing a bit of our early days when our first shop was in a garage.”
The mural created by Williams Lake muralist Dwayne Davis shows Chester next to a vintage vehicle that he was working on in the garage they bought from Alf Smallenberg on Yorston Street when they were first starting out.
As a young man out of high school Chester worked for the Chilco Ranch for a few years and fell in love with the Cariboo. Chester also did some bull riding in his younger days.
Sheila and Chester met in Langley where Sheila grew up.
Chester, tired of rice, macaroni and deer meat said he left the Cariboo to pursue a trade in Vancouver.
He become a journeyman glazier so when they married, the draw of the Cariboo brought them back to Williams Lake where they set up their first glass shop.
“Coming from the Lower Mainland it was a real eye-opener for me,” Sheila said. Back in 1972, she said Williams Lake still had boardwalks for sidewalks.
Lake City Glass moved to several locations around the city as their business grew, finally settling in their present building at 113 Yorston Street in 1986.
The mural now gives the city a fresh new look when driving down First Avenue South to Yorston Street.
Today Chester and Sheila are joined in the glass business by their sons Clayton and Byron who are both journeyman glaziers.
Chester, Clayton and Byron also have their auto-glass technician certification. The company also recently certified with the Auto Retailers Association.
Both Clayton and Byron are also American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers certified to install commercial operators in buildings that provide easy access for people with disabilities.
In addition to installing residential, commercial and automotive windows and doors Lake City Glass carries a wide variety of automotive accessories.