The 153 Mile House is one of the last surviving roadhouses built along British Columbia’s historic Cariboo Waggon Road. During the Cariboo Gold Rush, thousands of miners, freight teams, and travellers passed through the region in hopes of striking it rich. They stopped at the houses at the mile markers for meals, supplies, and rest before continuing to the goldfields.
The gold rush in British Columbia was over by the end of the twentieth century, however, the 153 Mile House remained an important gathering place for those in the surrounding ranching community. The general store served the local ranching families and travellers in the Cariboo region.
153 Mile House Store – Credit: BC History Diary
The Crosina and Patenaude Families
In 1900, Louis and Clara Crosina opened the general store at 153 Mile House. They served ranchers, travellers, and local families and overtime built close relationships with their neighbours and customers. The store was more than a place a business, it was also a meeting place where neighbours exchanged news and travellers stopped to rest, resulting in lasting friendships.
153 Mile Log House – Credit: BC History Diary
After Louis and Clara passed away, Lil took over running the store. By 1958 she decided to step back and sold the ranch to Joe and Peggy Patenaude. Today, the store opens up for tours to students and others.
153 Mile House: More than A General Store
Before telephones connected rural communities, general stores such as the one at 153 Mile House served as important communication hubs. Customers mailed in their orders and often included requests for the latest news from neighbours and friends. Because the 153 Mile House also operated as a roadhouse along the historic Cariboo Waggon Road, travellers constantly passed through its doors, bringing news from other communities and carrying local stories onward. As a result, the Crosina family became one of the best-connected families in the district.
Freight Wagon on Cariboo Waggon Road Credit: Reference BC Archives F-02645
When local men left to serve overseas during the First World War, they continued writing to the Crosinas. Their letters were more than simple correspondence—they were a way to remain connected to the people and places they had left behind. Even from thousands of kilometres away, the 153 Mile House remained a link to home.
Connections
These letters offer a glimpse into the close relationships that developed between the Crosina family and the people who passed through their store. Emma Ede writes not simply as a customer, but as one mother speaking to another. She thanks Mrs. Crosina for her kindness toward Harold and looks forward to hosting the Crosina girls in Victoria, showing that their relationship had grown into a genuine friendship.
Credit: Crosina and Patenaude Families
Harold’s letter continues that sense of familiarity. Along with sharing news of his training and travels, he asks about life at 153 Mile House, the surrounding district, and the well-being of mutual friends such as Mr. Whittaker. Although several men from the Cariboo were training together at Witley Camp, Harold’s interest remained firmly rooted in the community he had left behind.
This pattern appears throughout the series. Many of the soldiers address Louis and Clara Crosina as “Mother” and “Father,” a remarkable reflection of the affection and trust they felt toward the family. These letters reveal that the 153 Mile House was far more than a stopping place along the Cariboo Waggon Road, it was a place where lasting friendships were formed and where a community stayed connected, even across an ocean.
About Harold A. Ede
Credit: The Daily Colonist
You can read more about Harold in the last post in the series located here.
After the War – Harold Ede
After the war, Harold moved to Oliver, British Columbia where his family was now living. In 1922, he married Beatrice Adelaide Frazer. Beatrice was well know in musical circles as a singe rand pianist. After she married she taught music lessons from their home. Harold worked as the postmaster for the town of Oliver. At least one of her students went on to the Toronto Conservatory of Music. You can imagine their house was always full of music and laughter.
Mrs. Beatrice Ede – Credit: The North Shore Press, July 23, 1926
Harold and Beatrice had three children: Donald, Deirdre, and Lucy. Sadly in 1941, their youngest daughter Lucy died at the age of nine.
Reference: The Province, December 20, 1941
Harold Ede is Missing
Only a few years after the family said goodbye to Lucy another tragedy befell them. In 1944, Harold left to work on his orchard and never returned. A search party of over 200 people joined together to search for him. Police, rangers, boy scouts, bloodhounds, school children, everyone went out to search for their missing postmaster. Sadly after 9 days of searching his body was found. It appeared that he drowned in the Okanagan River. They found footprints showing he had been walking around aimlessly the day he went missing.
Credit: Times Colonist, June 15, 1944
About These Letters
Among the items preserved by the Crosina and Patenaude families, are the letters written between their customers and their families. Customers had the habit of mailing in their orders and also wanting to know the last gossip in the region. This didn’t stop when these customers and friends went off to war. Instead the store received letters from those overseas fighting in the First World War, still eager to remain connected to the Crosinas and their community.
The Letters
Emma Ede’s Letter to Clara and Lil Crosina – August 31, 1918
1505 Elford Ll Victoria, BC Aug 31/18
Will address this to you Lilian as I do not know father’s initials.
My Dear Miss Crosina & Lilian
Your kind letter of July 24, I received and should have answered sooner. But we like yourselves have been very busy. Thought I do not do much work myself, a very little seems to tire me. We were please to hear that the girls arrived home safely and glad to be there too. I am sure there is no place like home? Is there Lilian? We are so sorry to hear of so destructive frost- in your district and trust the revenue from your ow and the hay and other sources will make up for it. Ever one seems to have drawbacks one time or another.
Yet- we have our homes and families which so many have not –especially in Europe. I trust Mrs. Crosina that your boy has not been called up yet. I think twenty one is quite young enough for them to go over seas and for all the hardships of life at the front. Thank you so much for your kind wishes for Harold.
Am happy to say he is in London since the 13th July. He’s there for special training for the next four or five months and hope by that time that the war may be over. It is such a relief to know that he is out of the strife for awhile. Yet one does not feel like rejoining, knowing that some other boy is taking his place. We can only hope the loving Father will spare that one, as he has our boy, the War news is indeed good and growing brighter as time passes. Harold spent his two weeks leave in London Scotland visiting Stirling, Edinburgh and other interesting places which he enjoyed immensely.
Dear Mrs. Crosina I do not forget that Harold — us of some pleasant hours spent in your home. Which I appreciated very much. And had planned to give your girls a good time. Sickness came & upset our plans much to our disappointment. Should any of you ever visit Victoria again we will hope to see you.
With kindest love to yourself & the girls and best wishes to the rest of the family.
From Emma Ede
Credit: Crosina and Patenaude Families
Harold A. Ede’s Letter to Alice “Lil” Crosina – September 3, 1918
Witley Camp Surrey, Eng, Sept. 3/18
Dear Alice,
Please accept my hearty congratulations on your passing your exams with honors. It has no doubt been a great pleasure to you to reap such a nice reward for your labours so spent and I can assure you it is also a pleasure to your friends, Mother told me of your success in the last letter I had from home. How did Doroty make out? Ok I suppose.Wrote to you from Scotland and also sent some snaps of some places I ha visited. It was indeed a delightful two weeks holiday and shall always look back on it with pleasure.
Keep going along from day to day here on different lines of artillery work. It is quite looked old times to be going to school again but at first found it rather strange. Like the course very well so far and it is also interesting and instructive. Have some boys who were in my gun crew in France in part of this same camp so we see one another quite often.
This last push of the Allies has been very successful. It started in two days after I left France so I missed it. The boys write me though and so keep me posted on events. They say that they never had such an exciting time nor have they ever known so few casualties to occur during such an extensive and successful battle. It is indeed most cheering to know that we have the fun of marching on to Berlin at last. It seems to me to be the beginning of the end at last. It is a beautiful district round about this camp and one can take many walks to fine, old historical places.
One walk I like is to a hamlet about four miles from here where there is an old Inn that has ben serving the public for over six hundred years. In the coffee room is a large fireplace which extends the full width of one side of the room. The ceiling is supported by rough hewn oak beams that have become blackened by years of exposure to the atmosphere.
A week ago yesterday (Sunday) two other cadets and I took a walk to a small place called Compton where Sir Watts the famous English artist and painter lived. There is a gallery which has some of the best paintings in and really they are delightful to look upon. They are so good that once having seen them one could never forget their shape, design, and colouring.
We are fortunate to be enjoying some of the best of English weather these days. The crops here are quite above the normal. How is everything going at 153 mile House and the district as well?
Saw Whitaker the day before I left France and he was enjoying good health. Hope you will enjoy the holiday and am sure you will be glad to bee home once more even though Victoria is pretty. Should like to have some snaps of you and also the district if you could spare me some.
Good by for now and please remember to the rest of the family.
Your friend,
Harold A. Ede
313879 Cadet H.A. Ede, O.J.C. Canada, School of Gunnery Witly Camp, Surrey, England
The Patenaude family has carefully preserved the original manuscripts featured in this post at the 153 Mile Ranch. I transcribed the letters verbatim, retaining the original spelling, grammar, and punctuation to preserve their historical authenticity. To make the collection more accessible, I added editorial introductions and historical context that place the letters within the broader social and historical landscape of twentieth-century British Columbia.
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