CNP Prohibition 16-4.5.6 Traditional Cache

This series has been put together for you to follow the trail of the Bootleggers “Rum Runners” in the Crowsnest Pass. 

Coleman Hotel: This is the site of the Coleman Hotel which opened in Christmas 1905. This is the rumoured spot where Constable Lawson shot sixteen-year-old Steve Picariello in the hand on September 21, 1922. The shooting occurred after Picariello fled from police in Blairmore, outside the Alberta Hotel. He was there with his father, Emilio Picariello, and Jack McAlpine, the bootlegger’s mechanic, unloading a load of illegal liquor from Fernie when they were caught by police. The Blairmore Constable warned Coleman’s Constable Lawson of the young Picariello’s approach and Lawson ventured out onto the street at this spot to stop him. Picariello did not stop his car so Lawson fired two warning shots before jumping out of the way. Steve Picariello, although wounded in the hand,  was able to continue his journey to the BC border where he was safe from apprehension because he had not broken BC laws.

APP Building  7809-18^th  Ave–site where Constable Lawson was shot by either Picareillo or Losandro

Coleman Senior Centre 7801- 18^th Ave. – was the Mine Union Hospital where Constable Lawson was taken and pronounced dead.

Town of Coleman Jail Cells in Museum Yard 7701- 18^th Ave.

WAYPOINT:  

APP Building/Miner’s Hospital/Town of Coleman Jail Cells: The Senior’s Centre was formerly the miner’s hospital and the brown building to the right of it was the Alberta Provincial Police building. It was at this site that Emilio Picariello and Florence Lassandro allegedly shot Constable Stephan Lawson on September 21, 1922. Earlier in the day, Constable Lawson had shot Picariello’s son in the hand and, shortly after 7 PM, Picariello and Lassandro arrived at the APP Building. The purpose of their trip to the building is contested, but, in any case, an altercation ensued and between four to six shots were fired. Constable Lawson was struck and taken to the Miner’s Hospital next door where he was pronounced dead.  The sole witness to the shooting, the nine year old daughter of Constable Lawson, Pearl Lawson  testified she saw her father engage in an altercation with a man and a woman in a McLaughlin Six automobile . She was able to identify Picariello’s mustache and noted that, "[Lawson] put his arm around the man’s neck and then they shot him, the lady shot, and then the man shot, and then they shot again." This was the major testimony of the trial.

Picariello and Lassandro fled the scene and headed to Blairmore. If you would like to know more about Lawson’s shooting, consult the informational sign at this site. To see artifacts, such as the Coleman jail cells, can be found at the Crowsnest Museum.

Opera House 7750- 17^th  Ave (Post Office) where Picariello and Losandro Preliminary Hearing was

Grand Theatre –7755-17^th Ave where Margaret Lawson saw Picariello and Losandro drive to APP  Building

WAYPOINT:

Grand Theatre and Opera House: Across the street from the post office was the Grand Theatre , Coleman’s first theatre. It was there that Mary Lawson, daughter of Constable Lawson,  witnessed the bootlegger Emilio Picariello and his associate Florecne Lassandro drive by in a McLaughlin Buick enroute to the Alberta Provincial Police Barracks Building where Constable Lawson was shot by Picariello and Lassandro. She was on her way to the Grand Theatre to see a show when she saw  the automobile drive past.

This site, in front of the post office, is the Coleman Opera House which opened in 1908. This very popular venue was known to present locals with shows from as far off as England. This was also the site of the preliminary hearing for Lassandro and Picariello on October 2, 1922 following the murder of Constable Lawson. At the hearing, a provincial court judge ruled that the two would not receive a fair trial if tried in the Crowsnest Pass and ordered the venue to be changed to Calgary.  

This series has been put together for you to follow the trail of the Bootleggers “Rum Runners” in the Crowsnest Pass. There are 13 Caches. All called CNP Prohibition 16-(?). 16 is for the year 2016 and the number behind that is the number of the cache.

These caches will be “Part 1” of a series of our historic Corridor. We will be adding new caches, to be discovered during the Heritage weekend every year, with each year having a new historic theme.