Highlights of History from The Whitehorse Star

Explorer's Guides to Yukon Communities

1940

January

• January 5, 1940: With this issue the Whitehorse Star commemorates the fortieth anniversary of its publication.
• January 5, 1940: Word was received here by wire last Friday that the Mayo mining camp was to be closed down. About forty of the company's employees at the Calumet were laid off last Saturday and only twenty odd men will be kept working in the whole camp. Many of the miners have already left for the outside. It is understood the camp will re-open on or about April 15th next.
• January 5, 1940: Dr. R. S. Woodsworth, son of the leader of the C.C.F. party in the Dominion House, has arrived in town to act as locum tenens during the absence of Dr. N. A. Stewart. Dr. and Mrs. Stewart left by Y.S.A.T. plane Sunday for Edmonton, New York, Chicago and other eastern points at which different centres Dr. Stewart will undertake post graduate studies. They are expected to return next June.

• January 12, 1940: Pan American Airways officials state they would be ready to start an air line between Seattle and Alaska on non-stop commercial flights as soon as construction of larger ships was completed. The 700-mile non-stop flight would necessitate the use of larger craft with greater cruising range than the 14-passenger ships now being used in Alaska. The present airports in Alaska are not large enough to allow for safe landing of the larger craft. They will therefore have to be extended and the necessary improvements made before the contemplated service is put into operation.
• January 12, 1940: A large sum of money is awaiting to be claimed by an Indian woman whose tribal name was "Clearsky." About 1890 while young, she married a white man named Wellington Tracey and there were two children of the marriage, their names unknown. About this time Tracey was engaged in mining in the Atlin district. About 1900 when he left the north, he is believed to have purchased a reservation of land for his wife and two children, probably near Vancouver.
• January 12, 1940: From Paris comes the report that Mrs. Grace Brown, the mother of a ten-year old son and a pilot, flew to the front to deliver a quantity of blood to be used for transfusions at field Hospitals and upon alighting proceeded calmly to powder her nose. She is one of the first women aviators to be doing her "bit" in France.

• January 19, 1940: Yukon No. 3 dredge, operating at the mouth of Bonanza, and Yukon No. 5 at Granville are still working.
• January 19, 1940: "Happy" LePage leaves with his truck this week for a point about six miles north of Yukon Crossing in order to pile wood on the river bank, ready for when navigation opens.
• January 19, 1940: The Y.S.A.T. plane left on its return trip to Kamloops at about 7.15 o'clock Monday morning, In town the thermometer registered 53 degrees below zero and at the airport over sixty.

  

• January 26, 1940: It is feared that Alfred Burian, 28 years of age, has drowned at a point about six miles below his brother Rennie's camp located at the Twenty Mile Post on the Stewart River. He has operated as a wood contractor for the W. P. & Y. R. for the past four years.
• January 26, 1940: Edwin S. Keene, one of the first to go over the Chilkoot Pass in the early days of the Klondike stampede, died on January 8. He became a hero in the winter of 1897 when he hiked 20 miles back along the trail to get a stove which he packed on his back over an ice laden and snow covered route. The stove was used to heat an enclosure where a leg of a boy that had been frozen could be successfully amputated.
• January 26, 1940: Mr. Frank Suffecool, one of the real old-timers of the north, passed away in the Skagway Hospital on January 2nd at the ripe age of 76 years. Before taking up his residence in Skagway the late Mr. Suffecool was located in Dawson where, it is stated, he drove the first four-horse team ever to be seen on the streets of the Gold City. Later he operated the first freighting outfit in Skagway which plied in those early days between White Pass City and Skagway.

February

• February 2, 1940: A new overland stage service between Dawson and Whitehorse began on January 31 when Jack Graham with a crew of two left Dawson with a diesel Caterpillar drawn caravan.
• February 2, 1940: Mayo pioneer Harvey Henderson died in Mayo General Hospital on January 15th last at the age of 63 years, the victim of silicosis contracted during the many years he mined in the silver district.
• February 2, 1940: Weather conditions this week have heen again ideal and the river is still open in front of the commissary. Some of the old-timers state that they have never in all their experience seen anything like it before for this time of the year. They should know, for some of them have been here for the past forty odd years.

• February 9, 1940: Encased in four feet of solid ice with his head level with the surface of the frozen Stewart River, the body of Alfred Burian has been recovered by his brother Rennie. The gruesome task of chopping the ice away from the body took the party two days and nights to accomplish.
• February 9, 1940: Landing at Carcross, the White Pass Ford airplane collided with the Northern Airways shops. Passenger Mrs. Garrett sustained a broken nose and the aircraft was a complete wreck.
• February 9, 1940: F. T. Holzapfel, an old-time Klondiker, recently underwent his 33rd operation in Vancouver. He said the doctors are all plenty worried seeing that, according to the dope, no person has ever survived more than seven of these operations.

• February 16, 1940: The Governor-General of Canada, Lord Tweedsmuir, has died at the age of 64. He suffered a concussion in a fall at Government House on Tuesday of last week. Three operations were performed and everything humanly possible was done in his behalf but he passed away without regaining consciousness.
• February 16, 1940: A direct link between the great playgrounds of Banff and Jasper National Park, known as the Banff-Jasper Highway, is to be officially opened on Dominion Day, July 1st. It will enable motorists to drive through mountain fastnesses which were formerly impenetrable except by way of saddle horse and pack train.
• February 16, 1940: D. W. Ballentine and crew are taking out coal at the old Coal Creek mine up on the Klondike. They report getting into good coal recently and big shipments are expected to reach Dawson in the near future.

• February 23, 1940: Mr. N. J. Neff, manager for Ordways Photo Shop in Juneau, paid Atlin a visit by Barr Plane to take some views of the delightful scenery around Atlin. Mr Neff left today for Teslin on snowshoes to take further scenic views and of dog teams, etc.
• February 23, 1940: A quiet wedding was solemnized at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George A. Walker on Sunday when their eldest daughter Mary Elizabeth, became the bride of Donald Smith Murray, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Murray of Whitehorse. The bride, attired in a blue navy suit, was attended by Miss Eva Milne, while the groom was supported by his elder brother Norman Murray, Jr. Both the bride and groom were born in Whitehorse and are popular members of the younger set here. The bride for sometime past has been in charge of the Whitehorse Inn Cafe while "Don" to his many friends is in the employ of the T. C. Richards Transportation.
• February 23, 1940: Mr. and Mrs. Swanson are due to arrive in town tomorrow en route to Ben-My-Chree where they wil be in charge of this famous hostel during the coming tourist season.

March

• March 1, 1940: At a well attended meeting of the Atlin Board of Trade held last week, Mr. Barney Phillips, traffic manager for the Yukon Southern Air Transport, was afforded an opportunity to discuss the feasibility of the Y. S. A. T. regular service now in operation between Whitehorse and Vancouver being extended so as to include Atlin in its itinerary thus providing Atlin with a weekly mail, freight and passenger service.
• March 1, 1940: Frank Nakagawa, popular baker at the Whitehorse Inn Cafe, is also a talented carver. A 4-engined airplane he carved from mastodon ivory is shown on the front page of this issue.
• March 1, 1940: While hunting wolves on Atlin Lake, Ture Mattson and Dan McKay hit a 2-foot-high pressure ridge at high speed in their car. Both were thrown into the windshield and required Dr. Roth to install several stitches to repair the damage to their faces.

• March 8, 1940: Sir Hubert Wilkins of Australia, the internationally known explorer who became famous by undertaking the first attempt ever to reach the North Pole by means of under water craft, arrived in town by the Y. S. A. T. plane Wednesday evening via Edmonton. He was en route to Nome to make the necessary arrangements for carrying out another expedition by submarine to the North Pole next year. He will give a lecture at the Masonic Hall tonight, "Over and under the Polar Regions by aeroplane and submarine".
• March 8, 1940: The Discovery Day Association at Dawson has written Miss Goulter of Carmack, who was crowned Queen of the Yukon last year in the Discovery Day celebration in Dawson, to the effect that they are unable to furnish her with the promised free trip to the Fairbanks Ice Carnival this year through lack of funds. A public fundraiser is being conducted to defray the necessary expenses.
• March 8, 1940: Dan Van Bibber and Bob Sheridan have left by the former's dog team for Rennie Burian's place at 26-Mile where an attempt will be made to recover the sunken "cat."

• March 15, 1940: Through the instrumentality of Mr. Charles Reid, the Liberal candidate here in the coming Federal election, the well-known Idaho-Canadian Dredging Co. of Boise, Idaho, who operate on a large scale in the United States, have signed an agreement to take over the interests of the Holbrook Dredging Co. on the Sixtymile.
• March 15, 1940: Ed. Kimbel and his crew have left with his "cat" and caboose for his wood camp thirty miles up the Stewart. On the way up the caboose tipped over and Jimmy Lang received a cut on his forehead but it was not serious.
• March 15, 1940: Dredge Canadian No. 3 located at the mouth of Bonanza Creek, is the first dredge to open the Co.'s dredging activities when the crew returned to work last week commencing the usual spring overhauling. Eighteen men reported for duty at the Guggieville camp.

• March 22, 1940: Contracts for the construction of fourteen mine sweepers representing an expenditure between eight and nine millions have been awarded the Pacific Coast Yards by the War Supply Board. These orders bring to a total of approximately fifteen million the amount spent on ship construction by the government in British Columbia Yards.
• March 22, 1940: As far as the Yukon is concerned the International Highway is the subject which supercedes all others in the present election campaign in importance. Just as in the case of the war, this Highway is not and cannot rightly be construed as a political issue but its vital importance to the future development of this Territory and to the welfare and prosperity of its inhabitants cannot well be over-estimated.
• March 22, 1940: For the first time in his political career, Capt. George Black faced a hostile audience at a meeting in Dawson. His well-known sarcastic propensities did not avail him on this occasion nor did they prevent him from heckling and interruption.

• March 29, 1940: George Black (Progressive Conservative Party) held his seat in the federal elections, with 868 votes. Charles Reid (Liberal Party) came in second with 742 votes.
• March 29, 1940: Charles Robert Rush of Paris, died in St. Mary's Hospital in Dawson on February 15th at the age of 76. He arrived in Dawson in 1898 by way of St. Michael, after running a dredge on the Columbia River. He had been mining at No. 1 Below Discovery at Paris since 1931.
• March 29, 1940: The Spruce Creek Mining Company at Atlin has had another big loss due to fire. This time they lost the house and office, and the store and garage where a large truck was stored. A stick of 17 thousand dynamite caps exploded and broke windows in neighouring homes.

April

• April 5, 1940: The International Alaska Highway Commission recommends that the highway run north from Prince George, east of Hazelton, to Fort James and Whitehorse, then northwest to the Yukon-Alaska border and then due west to Fairbanks.
• April 5, 1940: Recently pilot Dick Hawley of the Polloch Flying Service at Fairbanks was detained upon his arrival at Dawson for alleged illegal entry into Canada. He had on board with him at the time one passenger Paul Wickstrom. Confusion over the present status of aviation relations between Canada and Alaska was quoted as being the root of the whole trouble. Apparently Hawley had failed to first secure from the district inspector of air regulations at Vancouver the necessary permit before making his entry into this Territory.
• April 5, 1940: Mr. Robert Patton of Vancouver ived in town Wednesday in connection with the Cuyuni Goldfields Ltd., a company incorporated under Dominion Charter and having its registered office in Whitehorse. This company owns large concessions in British Guiana and Bill Dann's story of their discovery and of their fabulous wealth reads like a fairy story.

• April 12, 1940: Major Snyder, former Superintendent of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police in Whitehorse, died at his home in Vancouver.
• April 12, 1940: Percy DeWolf Sr. has left Dawson for the lower river with eight dogs, a load of freight and mail and one passenger.
• April 12, 1940: The Whitehorse Liberal Association, a new political organization, was formed in Whitehorse on April 6th. The elected officers of the association are Rt. Hon. W.L. Mackenzie King P.C. (Hon. President), Charles Reid (Hon. Vice-President), J.R. Alguire (President) and Horace E. Moore (Secretary Treasurer).

• April 19, 1940: After being reported missing for several days, the body of 67-year-old Thomas Hardy was found in deep snow on the West Dawson side last week. He had been a patient of St. Mary's Hospital for the past year or more and periodically made trips to town without leave but on previous occasions he was easily located and returned to that institution.
• April 19, 1940: A new maternity wing is under construction as an addition to St. Mary's Hospital in Dawson. The official opening, it is hoped, will be on the annual observance of Florence Nightingale Day, May 12th.
• April 19, 1940: Mr. J. Barnwell, representing the famous Blue Ribbon tea and Willard's chocolate houses, is entitled to the silk hat for being the first drummer to reach this port this year.

• April 26, 1940: John William Benoit, trapper and woodsman, was heading for Dawson from the west side about 1500 feet below the Klondike when the honey-combed ice gave way and he was precipitated into the icy waters of the Yukon river. He had with him two dogs at the time. Major T. V. Sandys-Wunsch, officer commanding the R. C. M. P., observed the accident and immediately raised an alarm. Police were quickly able to rescue Benoit.
• April 26, 1940: Samuel McCormack, a pioneer in the transportation business in Dawson, died suddenly at St. Marys Hospital in that city on April 18th, at the age of 79.
• April 26, 1940: Work has resumed at the Elsa, upwards of twenty men having already left Mayo to commence work there, where Charley Beck is the mine boss. Some men have also been put to work at the Calumet.

May

• May 3, 1940: Dr. Alfred Thompson died of a heart attack in Vancouver on Saturday, April 20th. He had been the Conservative member for the Yukon from 1904 to 1909 and 1911 to 1921, and practised his profession in the Territory for many years before moving to Vancouver. During the Great War he was a member of the Canadian Medical Corps.
• May 3, 1940: The rapid recession of the Grand Pacific Glacier has extended Tarr Inlet, southeastern Alaska, with the result that open sea water now exists on the Canadian side of the boundary where hitherto the ice blocked all navigation. The potential new seaport, however, is inaccessible by land due to the mountainous terrain.
• May 3, 1940: Work at the local shipyards has been proceeding satisfactorily. Boats have been put into condition, the gear and supplies placed on board and everything put in readiness for launching. The Keno is expected to be placed in the water tomorrow and the Casca on Monday, ready for the boat crews which are due to arrive here on Tuesday. It won't be long now before the familiar steamboat sirens will be "going on the air" again.

• May 10, 1940: Shattering all known records, states the Dawson News, the ice moved out this year on Sunday, April 28th, at 1:54 p.m. The earliest previous record was in 1934 when it moved out in the forenoon of May 2nd.
• May 10, 1940: George Fleming, the first government telegrapher in Whitehorse, back in the days when the town was on the other side of the river, died recently in Sacramento, California.
• May 10, 1940: The local depot was a hive of activity on Tuesday when the train arrived from Skagway with about one hundred and fifty passengers. The majority of them were the officers and boat crews of the B. Y. N. Co., who had arrived to make ready for the opening of this season's operations.

• May 17, 1940: Robert D. Macaulay, son of the Honourable Mr. Justice C. D. and Mrs. Macaulay, died in Vancouver on May 7th. In his forties, he leaves a widow and a young son to mourn his loss. He was but a child when he came north with his parents. He received his early education in Dawson and later went outside to study for the Bar. He has practised his profession in Vancouver for some years past.
• May 17, 1940: From Edmonton comes the report that the Yukon Southern Air Transport, through its president Mr. Grant McConachie, intends making application to both the Canadian and United States government to extend its air lines from Whitehorse to Fairbanks. Mr. McConachie also stated that the first survey flight on a proposed air route from Edmonton to Vadivostok will probably be made this summer.
• May 17, 1940: At the local territorial offices on Tuesday Miss Ada Mary Johns of Carcross, daughter of Mr. Johnny Johns the well-known guide and Mrs. Johns, became the bride of Mr. Albert Beattie who works on the section and has resided in Southern Yukon for the past four or five years.

  

• May 24, 1940: A disastrous fire on May 22nd wiped out the Orpheum Theatre and the Yukonia Hotel in Dawson.
• May 24, 1940: River navigation for the season opened Monday night when the steamer Casca (Capt. D. M. McKay) pulled away from the local dock at 7 0'clock amid a scene of great activity and witnessed by a large crowd of local residents who lined the wharf. For the first time this season the siren wafted the familiar 3-2-1 signals upon the air.
• May 24, 1940: In Police Court on Wednesday night before Stipendiary Magistrate Aubrey Simmons, an interdicted person was fined $20 and costs, or in default 14 days imprisonment, for being intoxicated in a publie place. The Indian who supplied the liquor was fined $50 and costs or in default 30 days imprisonment with hard labour. In both cases the fines and costs were paid.

• May 31, 1940: Major Cranston and Carl Beal of Los Angeles, who are heavily interested in Northern Mining Resources Ltd. on Pine Creek at Atlin, have left on a hunting trip to try their luck to "bag" a bear with bow and arrow. Emil Turnquist has heen engaged as guide for the occasion. We understand no gun or rifle is being carried by the party.
• May 31, 1940: The first flight of the P. A. A. clipper over the new Seattle-Juneau route will probably not be made until about June 15th next. The big plane to be used on the flight is still in New York.
• May 31, 1940: The wartime strength of the Royal Canadian Air Force has been fixed at 3,500 officers and 41,000 airmen. This number includes the permanent active air force, the special reserve and such members of other empire air forces attached to the R. C. A. F. temporarily.

June

• June 7, 1940: Captain "Paddy" Martin died at the Whitehorse hospital on June 4 at the age of 76. Read that and another article about Captain Martin here.
• June 7, 1940: Admiral Richard Byrd has returned the floats loaned to him by Yukon Southern Air Transport. Used on the Antarctic Ocean, they are now in service on the lakes and rivers of the Yukon by the Y.S.A.T. Barkley-Grow.
• June 7, 1940: After the show or when down town visit the newly opened Whitehorse Inn Cabaret which is a great addition to the town. Equipped with the latest model Mills Freezer the most delicious ice cream can now be secured freshly made daily from Jersey milk, with 16% butterfat content, refrigerated and shipped direct from Vancouver.

• June 14, 1940: We are glad to see the Dawson News being republished after the forced cessation caused by the recent fire which demolished a portion of the premises in which the plant has been housed for so many years. It was a most difficult ordeal which Mr. Harold Malstrom, its publisher and proprietor, had to face but it was the first time in forty-one years that the News failed to appear on its regular publishing date.
• June 14, 1940: the Hon. Norman Rogers, Canadian Minister of Defence, has been killed in an airplane accident at Belleville, Ontario, whilst in an army plane. He had only recently returned from an official visit to England.
• June 14, 1940: Italy has joined the war on the side of Germany, formally declaring war against the Allies on Tuesday. This was followed almost immediately afterwards by formal announcements that both Canada and New Zealand had declared war on Italy.

• June 21, 1940: Tuesday night the Casca sailed for Dawson with a large American Express party of circle tourists who came north to get a glimpse of the midnight sun. There were 76 passengers on board all told.
• June 21, 1940: While this panic-stricken world anxiously awaited news regarding France's overtures for peace, Hitler and his aides occupied the historic railroad car in which the armistice of 1918 was signed and there heard Germany's peace terms delivered to the French delegation.
• June 21, 1940: Drilling for oil - vital force of mechanized war - is under way in regions extending from New Brunswick to the Mackenzie river. In the Peace River district of British Columbia, drilling is expected this summer. Alberta's Turner Valley field is responsible for most of the production in Canada, with a yield in 1939 of 7,456,000 barrels of petroleum, 96 percent of the country's production.

• June 28, 1940: Charles G. Burdick and Walter J. Clark, who for the past six months have been purchasing reindeer in Alaska for Uncle Sam, are the first passengers to travel the entire P. A. A. route from Nome to Seattle. They arrived in Whitehorse last Friday and remained here for a day on account of bad weather conditions.
• June 28, 1940: Last Thursday night Juneau residents were given a big surprise as they watched the big P. A. A. Alaska Clipper alight upon the surface of the water of Gastineau Channel after slipping through fog, rain and "soupy" weather. On the return trip south the clipper will carry over 22,000 letters bearing the Juneau post stamp inaugurating the first flight. The ship's flying time to Seattle is given as approximately seven hours.
• June 28, 1940: Pilot Verne: Bookwalter arrived here Wednesday with the newly acquired Boeing plane which the White Pass has added to its air fleet. It will be operated from Skagway, taking the place of the Condor which was given a Canadian registration some time ago With Whitehorse as its base.

July

• July 5, 1940: Dan G. Snure died in Whitehorse hospital last week, at the age of 77. He came to the Yukon during the gold rush and had a varied career, starting with operating a roadhouse at Hootalinqua.
• July 5, 1940: Frank McAlpine, member of the Yukon Council, arrived on the Whitehorse Sunday morning on his way to the new town of Stewart on Portland Canal where he has promising mining interests.
• July 5, 1940: Government grants for the Mayo district passed at the recent session of the Yukon Council are as follows: Mayo Public Library $450.00; district roads $7,000; Hospital $7,000; Mayo School $3,420; Elsa School $2,300; Town of Mayo $5,325.

• July 12, 1940: Mrs. Wernecke and her daughter, Claire, arrived at Mayo recently with Mr. Wernecke and have been spending a delightful holiday at Mayo Lake. It is some years since they were in the district. The trip in was made in Mr. Wernecke's private Bellanca plane with pilot Gropstis at the controls. The party returned south last week.
• July 12, 1940: From 5,000 to 5,500 British children between the ages of 5 and 15 years inclusive are arriving this month and will be given refuge in Canada for the duration of the war. Offers to take these children in and give them a comfortable home have been pouring in to the provincial organizations set up for that purpose. The number of offers far exceeds the demands for the present time.
• July 12, 1940: Messrs. Taylor & Drury Ltd., this week installed a new refrigerator counter which is also a silent salesman. It has a large plate glass front and is electrically lighted and operated. It is a very attractive addition to the store fixtures.

• July 19, 1940: An amendment to the Motor Vehicle Ordinance has been passed, allowing increased speed on city and town streets and curves. Maximum speed being 20 miles per hour and 15 on curves instead of the original 15 and 10 miles respectively.
• July 19, 1940: A grizzly bear wandered into town Tuesday morning from the foothills much to the surprise and consternation of those who saw it. It occasioned no damage however. Later it swam across the river in the neighborhood of the T. C. Richards residence and on reaching the opposite bank continued its perambulations to parts unknown.
• July 19, 1940: To counter a statement by Henry Ford that Ford would only build military equipment in defence of the United States, the Ford Motor Company of Canada ran a full-page ad in this issue. It begins with this statement: "This Company is in the war to the full limit of its resources. Until the British Empire is victorious, until the battle for freedom of nations and liberty of peoples is won, we have pledged all the vast manufacturing facilities of our Canadian and overseas affiliated companies to the service of the Empire."

• July 26, 1940: Mr. Harry Gleaves, proprietor of the old Orpheum Theatre in Dawson which was demolished by fire some months ago, has started the erection of a new theatre on the original site of the old one.
• July 26, 1940: A new Bristol Bolingbroke twin-engined bomber, costing $100,000, gift of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire has been received into the Royal Canadian Air Force in a special presentation ceremony at Ottawa air station. The aircraft, purchased by the contributions of members and friends of the I. O. D. E. all over Canada, is a counterpart of the Bristol Blenheim which has earned fame in air engagements in Europe. The total amount sent so far from Yukon Chapter to the Bolingbroke Bomber Fund is $1,120.50.
• July 26, 1940: Government road crews have put Whitehorse area roads into good shape, particularly the scenic road leading up to the Canyon and on Puckett's Hill. The new government road running parallel to Puckett's Hill bulldozed by the W. P. & Y. R. has now been gravelled by the government road gang, approximately 200 yards of cracked rock being used for the surfacing. With the completion of this new road there are now four routes available for use between the airport and town. We are given to understand that in the near future the W. P. & Y. R. intend gravelling their private road leading up to the airport and also surfacing the field with decomposed granite.

August

• August 2, 1940: A new service is being inaugurated on Yukon Southern Air Transport's twin-motored Barkley-Grow airliners operating on a twice-weekly schedule to the Yukon, the Peace River area and the British Columbia interior from Edmonton and Vancouver to Whitehorse. Beginning July 24th, the company will serve lunches to their passengers in flight.
• August 2, 1940: After 28 years in France, Robert W. Service is en route to Victoria, B. C., where he and his wife and 23-year-old daughter, Iris, will make their future home. The Services resided in Britany up to June 17th last and also owned a villa in Monte Carlo. Bombing at the nearby town of Rennes killed over 4000 people in three hours, and the Services lost both their home and villa.
• August 2, 1940: It is reported that the Idaho-Canadian Dredging Company, whom Mr. Charles Reid was responsible for bringing into the Yukon, will establish its first bucket line dredge operation this year in Canada at the Holbrook holdings on Sixty Mile, which it acquired sometime ago. The new type of dredge to be used is built in sections for the convenience of transportation; the 82-foot-long hull is built in 23 pontoon sections.

• August 9, 1940: Roy Chambers, the four-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. George Chambers was tragically killed on August 3rd by falling from his father's truck whilst on his way to his home at Champagne. Read the lengthy article here.
• August 9, 1940: "Billy" Wood, the four-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. James Wood, was drowned at Mayo on July 22nd when he fell off the airplane landing float into the river. He was playing with four other youngsters at the time of the tragedy, but they didn't report it until 11 p.m. the following night.
• August 9, 1940: The Halliburton party arrived back in town from their hunting trip into the Kathleen Lake district well satisfied. Mr. Erle P. Halliburton and his son each shot a goat and Dr. Paul H. Esslinger bagged a moose. Pilot Ralph Oakes with the White Pass Bellanca plane escorted the party on the trip. The party lett yesterday for Skagway where their palatial yacht, the second largest in the U. S. A. and manned with a crew of 35, awaits them.

  

• August 16, 1940: On Monday next, August 19th, national registration commences throughout Canada and will continue for the following two days. Everyone sixteen years of age and over is required to take notice and govern themselves accordingly.
• August 16, 1940: Throughout the United States wide publicity is being given urging the immediate construction of the International Highway as a defence measure.
• August 16, 1940: On Sunday evening next the Rev. Alex. Anderson terminates his incumbency as Rector of Christ Church here, he having accepted a call to St. John's Episcopal Church in Ketchikan.

• August 23, 1940: Dr. F. Burns Roth is elected the new superintendent of Whitehorse General Hospital.
• August 23, 1940: Mrs. George Black's new book, "Yukon Wild Flowers," is now available. It is 96 pages, with 100 illustrations. All proceeds will go to the I.O.D.E. chapters in Dawson, Whitehorse, and Mayo.
• August 23, 1940: Every owner of a rifle or shotgun in Canada must register same with the R.C.M.P. by September 15th under an amendment to the National Defence Act, otherwise they will be liable to a fine of $50 or up to 30 days imprisonment or both.

• August 30, 1940: On Sunday last Dr. N. S. Stewart and Corporal Allan, R.C.M.P., made a hurried plane trip to the Thirtymile where four Indians were found suffering from ptomaine poisoning, the result of eating fish eggs not fit for human consumption. The wife of Dawson Charley they found dead, the other three, Big Salmon Harry and his wife and niece, were brought to the Whitehorse General Hospital. Big Salmon Harry's wife died on arrival while he and his niece are lying seriously ill with little hope of recovery.
• August 30, 1940: The Rev. Father Antheme Dutilly, research associate professor in biology at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C., was a visitor in town this week with Rt. Rev. Bishop Coudert. For the past seven or eight years Father Dutilly has been journeying each year into the Arctic Circle by plane for the purpose of collecting flora. During the two months he has been in the north this year he has collected and pressed 2382 sheets of specimen plants to take back with him.
• August 30, 1940: James Stewart, one of the founders of the town of Stewart, B. C., died recently at his home in Victoria, at the age of 78. Born in Midlothian, Scotland, he and his brothers developed the well-known Dunwell, Glacer Creek and Silverado properties.

September

• September 6, 1940: Mr. Herbert Wheeler, President of the White Pass and Yukon Route, has delegated himself an authority on the hazards, utter impossibility and uselessness of the proposed International Highway. He further delegates to himself sole authority on why British Columbia should not enter in or condone such unwarranted expenditure, when such a proposed project would be doomed to failure at the outset.
• September 6, 1940: Dr. Elmer H. Thompson of Burbank, California, and his son John have spent the past three weeks in the Kathleen lake country with Bobbie Auston and George Chambers as their guides. They shot one moose, three bear, a sheep and a mountain goat and were also successful in securing a plentiful supply of lake trout on their fishing expeditions.
• September 6, 1940: The action of President Roosevelt in disposing of fifty U.S. destroyers to Great Britain has met with world acclaim except, of course, from Germany. Although these destroyers are considered in naval circles to no longer be of use for naval action, they nevertheless will serve admirably for convoy purposes.

• September 13, 1940: National registration has revealed that there are 988,625 single men and widowers without dependents between the ages of 19 and 45 years available for national defence purposes. Of these, 821 are from the Yukon Territory.
• September 13, 1940: With the death of Gunnar Fordal on August 19th, the Klondike district lost its oldest resident. Mr. Fordal, who was 73 years of age, had been a resident of Dominion Creek for the past 63 years. He came to the Yukon in 1888, camping at the mouth of the Klondike eight years before the famous gold discovery.
• September 13, 1940: According to the Fairbanks News-Miner, gold production in Alaska during 1939 was greater than that of any previous year, amounting to $23,279 000. The mineral output of Alaska since 1908 totals $803,000,000, nearly 112 times the purchase price paid to Russia by the U.S.A. for the Territory.

• September 20, 1940: William S. "Sam" McGee died at his daughter's home in Calgary on September 11. He lived in Whitehorse for many years and was responsible for the construction and maintenance of the roads and bridges throughout the southern part of the Territory. Read the entire article and other material here.
• September 20, 1940: Whitehorse pioneer Mr. W. A. Puckett died Monday morning in the hospital at Long Beach, California, following the amputation of one of his legs at the knee. He had left Whitehorse four years ago due to ill health. Read the entire article here.
• September 20, 1940: Cam Smith and Dave Wilson left in the latter's launch for Dawson Monday afternoon with a large landing barge which has been constructed at the local shipyards and which is to be used in connection with the operation of the Dawson ferry.

• September 27, 1940: "Jimmy" Morrison, a resident of Mayo for many years, died in the Mayo Hospital on September 6th, the result of a paralytic stroke which he suffered three weeks earlier. He was over 70 years of age. On August 9th he left the Calumet camp to walk to Keno. When he did not arrive, a search party started out, and he was found about four miles past the Calumet lying in the bush, about thirty feet off the main trail, in an unconscious condition, He had apparently lain there in rainy weather for two days and nights.
• September 27, 1940: The Hon. Mr. Justice C. D. Macaulay and Mrs. Macaulay are now on their way up the river from Dawson aboard the Yukon which is due to arrive here within the next day or so. The Judge will hold Court whilst here and, with Mrs. Macaulay, expects to be able to catch the October 3rd boat for the coast where they will spend the winter in their Vancouver home.
• September 27, 1940: W. R. (Bill) Carruthers, in charge of the Whitehorse Star for a few years, is now publishing the Penticton and District Advertiser with partner W. L. (Watt) Francis.

October

• October 4, 1940: Ottawa gives instruction to recruit 150 men for the army, at Dawson, Mayo and Whitehorse.
• October 4, 1940: A fire last Thursday night destroyed the Bank of Montreal in Mayo whilst the staff were at dinner. The manager and accountant lost all their personal belongings to the value of approximately a thousand dollars each.
• October 4, 1940: Three Indian youths from Carcross, two of whom were 16 years of age and the other 17, were charged with breaking and entering the Chooutla School and stealing goods to the value of $26. They each pleaded guilty to the charge and Justice Macauley sentenced them to three months' imprisonment in the R.C.M.P. barracks at Whitehorse with hard labour.

• October 11, 1940: Madame Emily Tremblay, one of the pioneer business women of Dawson, was married to Mr. Louis Legras of Bonanza Creek on October 3rd. Shortly after the ceremony they motored to their fine home on Bonanza.
• October 11, 1940: Steamboat navigation on the river closes for the season on the arrival of the Casa (Capt. McKay) which is expected to dock here Monday. This is earlier than usual. The last boat left Dawson last year on November 12th.
• October 11, 1940: The Federal government has placed an embargo on the exportation of all war materials from Canada excepting to Britain and her Allies. For the past few weeks public resentment has been steadily growing over the large shipments being made to the Orient of material to be used for war purposes.

• October 18, 1940: The local depot was a busy place Tuesday morning when the boat crews of the Casca and Whitehorse and a large number of passengers from Dawson and Mayo left for the Outside. Everybody seemed happy and the day of their departure was undoubtedly ideal and one of the very best we've had this year.
• October 18, 1940: Capt. Ralph C. Parker, newly appointed Commander of the new Alaska section of the 13th Naval District, announced that Juneau is likely to have a U.S. Naval destroyer based permanently at that port.
• October 18, 1940: Michael J. Heney, the well known railroad contractor, died in San Francisco on Tuesday. His work in the north began on the morning of May 24th, 1898, when the first shovelful of dirt was thrown on the W. P. & Y. R. at Skagway, he having the contract for constructing the entire line.

• October 25, 1940: Mrs. Marie Tomoff, who wandered from her home in Keno early this month, is still reported as missing. Her footsteps were tracked as far as the bridge over the McQuesten, and owing to the present condition of this bridge it is feared that the unfortunate woman may have lost her footing and fell into the river.
• October 25, 1940: The twice weekly service now in operation by the Southern Yukon Air Transport will for the first time be continued throughout the coming winter. Planes will leave Vancouver, Edmonton and Whitehorse on Wednesday and Saturday mornings and meet at Dawson Creek where they will stay over night. They will leave there on Thursday and Sunday mornings and arrive at their respective destinations by noon the same day.
• October 25, 1940: Sven "Fred" Swanson, a trapper in the Mayo district for the past twenty odd years, left a short time ago for his winter headquarters at No Gold located five miles above Fraser Falls. Whilst handling his loaded rifle a bullet was discharged which pierced the palm and thumb of his left hand. He unfortunately bled to death from this wound. He was about 55 years old.

November

• November 1, 1940: For the territorial elections, only W.L. Phelps is nominated for the Whitehorse district. He is therefore declared elected for a three-year term without elections actually taking place. In both Dawson and Mayo elections are to take place on November 25th. The contestants in Dawson are ex-councilman John A. MacDonald and Andrew T. Taddie and in Mayo ex-councilman Ernest J. Corp and Richard Gordon Lee.
• November 1, 1940: It was reported over the radio early this week that the Alaska Steamship Co.'s steamer "Alaska" had struck a reef off Ketchikan, making a hole in her hull. The passengers were removed to safety with no loss of life and no one being injured. Latest reports are that she is now sailing for Seattle under her own power.
• November 1, 1940: The death of Sir Wilfred Grenfell in the United States recently brings to a close one of the outstanding achievements on this continent. For the past forty years this gallant missionary and physician had devoted his life and energies unstintingly in the service of those living in the isolated sections of Newfoundland and Labrador.

• November 8, 1940: A very pleasing and attractive piece of civic improvement is about completed to the grounds surrounding the R. C. M. P. barracks. These improvements take the form of a very artistic rustic fence - some six hundred feet all told - enclosing these grounds. At a well spaced distance inside the fence have been set out about a hundred ornamental shade trees which in the course of time will contribute their share to the further attractiveness of these grounds. Around the cenotaph and library the grounds have also been put into fine condition.
• November 8, 1940: Latest reports from headquarters at Hamilton Field is to the effect that orders are expected to be issued for transference of the eighteenth pursuit squadron to Anchorage early in the new year. It will be the first regular pursuit aircraft unit assigned to the task of protecting the U.S.A. from a far northern outpost.
• November 8, 1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected as President on Tuesday, for his third term. This is the first time in U.S. history that anyone has been elected to serve as President three times.

• November 15, 1940: This year, throughout the Empire, no Remembrance Day services were held around the cenotaphs, nor was the customary two-minute silence observed as formerly.
• November 15, 1940: Mr. James Langlois Bell, police magistrate in Whitehorse from 1915 until 1925, died at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria on October 26th, at the age of 84. He came to Dawson in 1898 as assistant gold commissioner.
• November 15, 1940: Nick Flatoff of the F. & F. Cafe in Dawson died suddenly in his room at the Westminster Hotel last week, the result of a heart attack. He was a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, serving in the Republican Army. His father had left for the coast the morning previous to his son's death.

• November 22, 1940: At Mato, caribou are plentiful all around the valley, and a number have already been bagged. They have been tracked at Canyon, Five Mile Lake, Minto Lake and other points.
• November 22, 1940: Jim Eastman and Elliott Tyler, managers for the Columbia Development Company at Atlin, seem to be highly pleased by work now in progress on the property leased from John Noland. The crew comprises about forty-five men and it seems to be a most happy camp. We hear Mr. Eastman is shortly going to fix up a recreation room equipped with a billiard table, etc.
• November 22, 1940: We are still enjoying fine weather here. No ice is running in the river as yet. At Dawson it is reported that the river closed on November 6th and at Stewart on November 5th. The snow at the present time is on a visit to the coast.

• November 29, 1940: PAA will commence a twice-weekly mail service between Seattle and Fairbanks almost immediately and a regular passenger service will commence about the beginning of the new year. Two extra trips will be made from Fairbanks to Whitehorse to connect with the Y. S. A. T. thereby giving Alaskans a plane service four times weekly. The inland route is being substituted for the coastal route.
• November 29, 1940: On Monday night before Stipendiary Magistrate Aubrey Simmons in police court, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Kardanoff were fined for failing to have registered under the National Registration Act. The fine and costs amounted to approximately $70.
• November 29, 1940: All trappers and prospectors arriving in Atlin report no moose to be seen, only dead carcasses left by packs of wolves. What's to be done about it?

December

• December 6, 1940: The possibility of Canada granting to the United States a corridor for a through highway to Alaska over which troops and supplies could be moved in an emergency has been mentioned in Washington.
• December 6, 1940: Miners in the Fortymile had a successful season's operations this year. The Central Development Syndicate, who have heen operating on Jack Wade for the past three years, had twenty men employed in dredging and nine more in tractor operations.
• December 6, 1940: After a lay-off of 4 or 5 days awaiting the arrival of a shipment of gasoline and the installation of machinery, the Big Thjng mine near Carcross resumed operations last Saturday.

  

• December 13, 1940: On Monday afternoon fire broke out in one of the hangars of the White Pass & Yukon Route which spread so rapidly that within an incredibly short time the building and the machine shops adjoining were a blazing inferno. The fire started from a heating element that was being used to dry a patch that was placed on the lower wing of the big Bellanca plane. All the machinery, tools and equipment in the machine shop, together with airplane engines (including a new one still crated), were a total loss. The loss is around eighty-five thousand dollars.
• December 13, 1940: Another Wurtlitzer nickelodian, one of the very latest type, arrived from the coast on the last Princess and is now in operation at the Whitehorse Inn cabaret.
• December 13, 1940: Last week Les Cook must have been packing nothing less than a ton of horseshoes with him, as over Ten Mile point while flying his Fairchild around three hundred feet from the tall timber, owing to heavy fog banks, his engine started to buck and suddenly stopped, at the same time spraying heavy oil over his windshield, making it difficult to even see. Les first sized up the icy beach for a quick landing but decided in seconds that the rocks and ice cakes looked too big so he made for a creek close by and landed with a thud that made him think all the bones in his body had left him. To make a long story short, he walked away from a junk heap that used to be his airplane.

• December 20, 1940: Heartiest congratulations are extended to Jack Turnquist, an Atlin born boy who left here to offer his services to his country and joined the Radio Dept. of the R. C. A. F. Jack is now in Toronto and expects to leave any day for (he thinks) Egypt. We must say a lot of credit is due this young man and we all trust that he will survive the great ordeal he is facing and return safe and sound after this wretched war is over.
• December 20, 1940: The swiftest linotype operator in the north as well as the proprietor of the Dawson News, Mr. Harold Maelstrom, arrived here by White Pass plane Tuesday afternoon en route to the coast. From there he intends to wing his way on the slick PAA Clipper to Honolulu, Hawaii, there to spend a happy and well-earned holiday as the guest of his niece and her husband.
• December 20, 1940: Mr. Erie Johnson, winchman on dredge No. 11, arrived from Dawson by White Pass plane recently and left Tuesday to spend Christmas at the coast.
  Dave Ryan, head electrician at the North Fork power plant, arrived from Dawson last week-end and left Tuesday for the coast where he will spend the winter.

• December 27, 1940: Roderick Thomas, about 75 years of age, was found dead in the woods about a hundred yards from his home on Christmas night. He had wandered away and apparently suffered a mental relapse during his absence. For several years past he had suffered from ill health. He came north in the early days, and for many years was one of the stage drivers for the W. P. & Y. R.
• December 27, 1940: Sterling A. Haynes, longtime resident of Hunker Creek near Gold Bottom, died in St. Mary's Hospital at Dawson on December 18th. During all the years he remained on Hunker, Haynes seldom came into town.
• December 27, 1940: One of the heaviest snowfalls in years fell since we published our last issue.

1941

January

• January 3, 1941: With this issue the Whitehorse Star enters upon its forty-first year of service to this community.
• January 3, 1941: On May 1, Pan American Airways (PAA) will begin service from Seattle to Fairbanks via Juneau 4 times a week with new Lodestar Electras. The Electras are stated to be considerably faster than the ordinary transport and will probably carry 12 passengers each.
• January 3, 1941: Syd Palmer, son of Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Palmer of this place, was among the passengers aboard the Ginger Coote plane that caught fire recently over Nanaimo harbour. Syd was on his way back to Zeballos from a trip to Vancouver, and escaped with minor burns.

• January 10, 1941: Two employees of the Columbia Development Co., Bob Smith and Lawrence Pettigrew, both about 24 years old, were skating on Atlin Lake when the ice gave way. Both disappeared before rescuers could reach them. Their bodies have not been recovered.
• January 10, 1941: Have you ever pondered what we are facing? Do you realize that we have not yet felt the shock of the full momentum of a total war by a regimented nation of nearly 75,000,000 people, all of these people subordinating every interest to that of the state, obedient to and worshipping with fanatical faith this new-found god of theirs - the former Austrian paperhanger.
• January 10, 1941: Owing to the illness of her mother, Miss Mildred Warner has resigned her position on the school staff at Skagway and returned to her home at Health, Montana. Miss Frances Huffman of Dillon, Montana, has arrived to fill the vacancy on the school staff. Miss Huffman graduated from the University of Idaho with the B. S. degree in Education, and for the past four years was a member of the staff of the Dillon Normal School.

• January 17, 1941: The Indians of Mooschide recently held their annual potlach which was as colorful as ever and attracted many visitors from nearby points. The absence of former Chief Charlie Isaac, who was always a great booster for the potlatch but is now serving with the Canadian army, was sadly felt this year by all his tribesfolk.
• January 17, 1941: The bodies of Bob Smith and Lawrence Pettigrew, who drowned ater the ice they were skating on broke, have been recovered from Atlin Lake by draglines.
• January 17, 1941: Under authority granted by the Canadian government to the U. S. A. War Department, a detachment consisting of two officers and ten men, with five sleds and forty-three dogs, will leave Haines on or about January 18th en route to Fairbanks. It is estimated that the trip will take from thirty to forty-five days to complete, the major part of which will be spent in Canadian territory.

• January 24, 1941: Mr. Ernest Johnson died at the local hospital last week. He was brought here recently from Robinson where he had resided for many years, suffering from the effects of a paralytic stroke and was unconscious all the time he was in the hospital. His passing may therefore be construed as a happy release from his suffering. He arrived here before Whitehorse was onn the map, but spent 30 years prospecting in the Wheaton valley.
• January 24, 1941: Norman Mervyn has left with his one-dog team on the long 120 mile trip to the headwaters of the Stewart to rejoin his brother Kaiser and the Kelly brothers who are trapping in that area this winter.
• January 24, 1941: A dry-land dredge or washing plant, the cost of which runs into five figures, is to be shipped into Atlin for Northern Resources Ltd. The dredge will be capable of handling approximately 2300 cubic yards of material per day. The company has already on the ground considerable heavy equipment including a P. & H. dragline and International tractor.

• January 31, 1941: Captain Alexander Clark Fisher, who has spent many years prospecting and trapping in the Kluane country, died on Sunday last from the effects of a paralytic stroke. On the previous Friday his close neighbour, Harry Fromme, called at Fisher's cabin and found him seriously ill. Arrangements were made to have him flown to Whitehorse but he died before the arrival of the plane. His remains were laid to rest in the Kluane country amid the familiar scenes he loved so well.
• January 31, 1941: John Gannon, who has been a resident of Dawson for quite a number of years, was on January 16th the recipient of a congratulatory message from the Mayor of his Home Town on his 79th birthday. The greetings were forwarded by Mayor Hume of New Westminster, as he was the first white male child born there, in 1862.
• January 31, 1941: Dr. J. L. Curry, the popular Chiropractor who is doing such good professional work in Dawson, arrived here Tuesday night from the coast where he has been spending the past five or six weeks. His practice in the Gold City prevented him from staying Outside longer. He left by White Pass plane for Dawson Wednesday morning.

February

• February 7, 1941: A pall of gloom descended upon this community on the afternoon of January 3ist, when it was known that the B. Y. N. Company's Fairchild Aircraft, CF-AXJ, had crashed near Dawson Airport, carrying to instantaneous death Pilot Lionel A. Vines and passenger Ernest H. Chapman. Read the entire article here.
• February 7, 1941: The Mayo camp has shut down for an indefinite period and the services of the skeleton crew of about eighteen men who have been employed during the winter have been dispensed with.
• February 7, 1941: B. R. Nelson nearly got trapped in the fire which gutted his cabin in the north end of Dawson last Friday. As it was he lost all his belongings. The fire started, apparently, in the bedroom where Nelson was asleep at the time. He had only just completed rebuilding the cabin to make it more comfortable under winter conditions.

• February 14, 1941: Joe Martin was a recent arrival in town from the Fifteenmile. He reports fur very searce and states he saw no lynx tracks at all in his travels.
• February 14, 1941: Ellis Johnson, who did some prospecting last fall about 54 miles below Duncan in the Mayo district, has now a hole down 70 feet. Rich pay was found at this location in former years and Ellis expects to make another "find" before long.
• February 14, 1941: Louis Kazinsky is now in camp near Ottawa attached to the Royal Canadian Engineers. There are now 15000 soldiers in the camp and this number will likely be doubled in the near future. Louis says he likes army life.

• February 21, 1941: Messrs. W. S. Lawson and J. S. Knox of the Dept. of Transport arrived at the local airport recently in their own blue Wacco plane to survey the various landing fields between here and Dawson.
• February 21, 1941: Mr. G. G. Berg of Fairbanks, one of old-timers in Alaska, registered at the Whitehorse Inn on December 18th last. He was then 94 years of age and stated that he would live to be 100 and would die in Alaska. He was then on his way out to Seattle after an absence of 41 years. A recent issue of the Alaska Weekly contains a notice of his death in the Sound City. The remains are being shipped north for burial.
• February 21, 1941: A large black Timber Wolf was spotted by the wolf hunter Frank Henning four miles across the lake from Atlin. Frank soon had the car under way with a good guuman in the rear. Going was very hard owing to slush and a slight mist started to make seeing rather hard. The car was boiling her anti-freeze in good shape and was gaining rapidly when Frank hollered to his gunman to get ready as there were three large black wolves coming right towards them. But it was three dogs in harness in front of an Indian sleigh.

• February 28, 1941: The local airport is about to undergo extensive alterations in order to make it conform with the other large government-owned airports throughout the Dominion. When the contemplated Trans-Canada and Orient air service is put into operation Whitehorse will be the most southerly airport on that route. All the buildings now standing on the airport will have to be removed to new locations to make way for the extended runways when constructed.
• February 28, 1941: John Mellish died recently at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. The late Mr. Mellish was one of the best loved sourdoughs of the north. A year before the gold rush of '98 he and a party of miners left the Nanaimo coal mines for the Yukon, travelling over the perilous Dyea route. After a brief venture in placer mining Mellish returned to coal mining and became one of the outstanding miners engaged in this industry in the Territory.
• February 28, 1941: Edward Borders, University of Alaska student, has started out on a 1300 mile solo ski jaunt from Fairbanks to Hazelton, B. C. He hopes to complete the trip in ninety days.

March

• March 7, 1941: Pursuant to recommendations of the United States-Canada Joint Defence Board, the Canadian Government is establishing air bases at Grand Prairie, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, Watson Lake, Whitehorse, Prince George, and Smithers. Fields will provide all necessary ground facilities for planes travelling from United States or Canada to Alaska.
• March 7, 1941: The food situation grows steadily worse in Norway. The huge German army of occupation (estimated at more than 300,000 men) continues to requisition meat, eggs and other foods, and the Norwegian puppet-Nazis have first pick.
• March 7, 1941: Seventeen local skiers made an exciting trip to Five Mile Lake at Mayo last Sunday. Strung out in three lines they were whisked to their destination hitched to Charley Taylor's car.

• March 14, 1941: Out of the bush after 40 days on the trail, Ed. Borders completed the first 600 miles of 1340 mile ski jaunt from Fairbanks to Hazelton over the proposed route of the International Highway at 10.30 when he slid into Whitehorse the evening of March 4th, after travelling 46 miles during the day.
• March 14, 1941: The PAA are to operate the most modern commercial aireraft in the world on their Seattle-Fairbanks route. Three Lodestar planes each with accommodation for 12 passengers will operate between Seattle and Juneau and DC3 Mainline planes, with accommodation for 20 passengers, will operate between Juneau and Fairbanks. The first Lodestar plane arrived at the local airport Sunday and remained here over night. Starting May 1st next there will be four round trips made weekly.
• March 14, 1941: Two new locomotives arrived at Skagway recently for the White Pass & Yukon Route. They were built at Schenectady, New York, by the American Locomotive Company, and will be placed in service in the near future, operating under numbers 80 and 81. They each weigh slightly over one hundred tons.

• March 21, 1941: A few weeks ago Mr. Chas. Burnell of Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, went into the Burwash Creek reek country on a prospecting trip by dog team. He was so satisfied that he purchased the properties of Messrs. Macaulay & Vass and Mike Savtchauk on Shorty Creek and also staked a claim in his own name. He is now on his way back to Idaho to arrange for shipping mining equipment north. It will consist of dragline shovel, a portable washing plant, bulldozer, pumps, etc. of very latest type and will be capable of handling 80 to 100 yards per hour.
• March 21, 1941: Fred Lefebvre, widely-known pioneer lumberman and sawmill operator, died in the Mayo General Hospital on Saturday, March 8th after a lingering illness extending over a couple of years, at the ripe age of 80 years.
• March 21, 1941: The untimely death of Sir Frederick Banting, the result of an airplane accident, is a great blow to Canada. In scientific and medical circles he was an outstanding figure not only as the discoverer of insulin but also as a research worker. It is reported that one of his last acts, after the accident, was to bandage the injuries of Captain Joseph Mackey, the only survivor of the crash. This done he made his own bier with the broken branches of the trees caused by the plane in its descent and there he was later found, twenty-yards from the wreeked plane, by the man whose life he had saved. Such true heroism is worthy of more than just a passing mention.

• March 28, 1941: The T. C. Richards Transportation left last Friday with a heavy load of freight on its last trip of the season for Dawson. The fast disappearance of the snow during the past few days is making travelling on the trail very difficult.
• March 28, 1941: In presenting figures for the 15,296 applicants for admission to the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Toronto Telgram commented: "With one exception, the provinces of Canada seem to have contributed proportionately to this phase of the war effort. The province which lags is the same province which failed to contribute proportionately in the last war. Ontario provides 8,475 applicants for entry to the air force as against 751 from the second largest Province in the Dominion - ??"
• March 28, 1941: At a well-attended meeting of the Granville Company Ciub held recently a resolution was enthusiastically received and adopted for the erection of a public hall in that wide-awake community. The meeting culminated a highly successful social season.
• March 28, 1941: Harry Welland arrived in town on foot this week from Bear Creek. He was unable to use his motor cycle owing to the heavy fall of snow here.

April

• April 4, 1941: Much interest was evinced in town last Saturday in the arrival of the 73rd Bombing Squadron of the U. S., in charge of Squadron Leader Captain J. N. Donohew. As the eight bombers circled over the town in flight formation they made an unusual sight for these parts where commercial aviation is the order of the day. The thirty-seven officers and crew remained here Saturday night, leaving Sunday morning for their destination under sealed orders.
• April 4, 1941: Malcolm S. McCown died recently at Winnemucca, Nevada, at the age of 66. He left Mayo, where he still owned valuable silver claims, to go to Nevada two years ago, to work cinnebar claims there.
• April 4, 1941: Mrs. Anne Black, who has been a resident of this town since the gold rush days, passed away at the White Pass Hospital on March 10th last. She is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Guy Sipprell and Mrs. Frank Feero, one son Captain George Black, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.

• April 11, 1941: Harry G. Dickson, pioneer Dominion Land Surveyor in the Yukon, died on Friday, April 4th, in St. Mary's Hospital at Dawson.
• April 11, 1941: The recent passage of the seven billion dollar Lease-Lend Act was a most decisive blow to the Axis partnership and sounds the death knell to totalitarian as a world-wide power. It must be counted amongst the most important and far-reaching pieces of legislation enacted in modern times and no doubt will be so recorded in history.
• April 11, 1941: A pleasing sight here at the present time is the office window of the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation which is literally plastered all over with the names of men who are being employed this season. About forty men left town last Friday for the various creeks to commence working for the company, and many more were expected to get away the beginning of this week.

• April 18, 1941: The April 11th issue of the Dawson News states that if the elements continue to dole out such fancy weather as at present, this April will be a record. The road crossing the river at the ferry landing has already lost its shape and ribbons of water mark the sleigh tracks of a very short time ago. Many are wary of the fact the ice pool does not close until the 25th of the month and are of the opinion that it just won't be there then.
• April 18, 1941: At midnight last Friday the dial system was put into operation in the telephone service in downtown Vancouver. No longer will the familiar feminine voice "number, please" be heard over the wires from the charming operators who have so consistently furnished such good service in the past from the telephone exchange on Seymour Street.
• April 18, 1941: His many friends here will be sorry to hear that Rev. Father Delarue, O. M. I., who was formerly the priest in charge at the local Catholic Church and who was captured by the Germans upon his arrival on his native soil of France, has now been removed from the concentration camp in France in which he was interned to a concentration prison in Germany.

• April 25, 1941: Captain Austin E. Lathrop of Fairbanks, Alaska, passed through here last week on P. A. A. en route to Seattle, where architects are preparing plans for several large buildings Lathrop is going to build at Anchorage, including a 950-seat theatre, a radio station, apartment block, and others.
• April 25, 1941: Funeral services for the late Mrs. Stella Jackson, wife of Captain Jimmy Jackson, was held last Friday, the Rev. L. G. Chappel) officiating. Inter- ment took place in the local cemetery. The deceased, a pure blooded Tlinket Indian, was 58 years of age and came into the Yukon from Sitka thirty-two years ago.
• April 25, 1941: James Oglow, known both far and wide as "Apple Jimmy," is contemplating returning to the hospital at Dawson again.

May

• May 2, 1941: Owing to the failure of the official clock to stop when the ice moved at Dawson yesterday morning, it was decided to pay I. O. D. E. its twenty-five per cent of amount collected now; with balance of fund, together with guesses, lodged with the Bank and handled as a separate pool on next year's break-up.
• May 2, 1941: Adam Birnie died suddenly Saturday morning at the W. P. & Y. R.'s Marsh Lake Dam, the result of a paralytic stroke. He had been in charge of the dam for many years.
• May 2, 1941: Rev. Father Leo Bosse, O. M. I., the parish priest at Mayo, is gaining quite a reputation as a hunter. Recently, on his return trip from Dawson he caught upwards of thirty muskrats along the trail. More recently he succeeded in wounding a big black bear near the cemetery which was accompanied by a yearling cub. He tracked but was unable to locate the wounded animal.

• May 9, 1941: Contracts for the construction of one hundred steel cargo ships at a cost of $175,000 000 are to be awarded at once to the British Columbia shipyards by the Canadian and British governments. It is estimated that for the execution of these contracts an additional 20,000 skilled men will be required in the Vancouver area.
• May 9, 1941: Chief Tom, the aged leader of the Indian tribe at Mayo, died recently at his home after returning from town, at the age of about 70. The remains were laid to rest in the Indian cemetery last Friday on the high ridge where lie the bones of his ancestors and tribesmen.
• May 9, 1941: The annual report of the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation Ltd., shows a net profit for 1940 of $769,806 as compared with $781,837 for 1939. Gold production amounted to $2,621,256 as compared with $2,742,161 for the previous year.

• May 16, 1941: A big move is under foot to launch the building of a 200-mile-long overland road connecting Fort Norman and Mayo. Canadian government officials have been trying to figure out a practical way of tapping the rich Fort Norman oil fields over a period of several years, but transportation has always proved the stumbling block.
• May 16, 1941: Tuesday, May 14th, will be a memorable day for it marks the earliest date in the history of navigation on the river for a steamboat to leave here on her north-bound trip. On this occasion the honour fell to the good ship Nasutlin (Capt. Marion master and Capt. Gardiner pilot), which left with five passengers and a large barge laden with heavy machinery.
• May 16, 1941: "Chuck" Gropstis, who is well-known throughout the Yukon as the private pilot for Mr. Livingston Wernecke, is now engaged in ferrying U.S. bombers across the Atlantic as and when required. He will still be in the cockpit of Mr. Wernecke's plane when the president and general manager of the Treadwell-Yukon Corporation makes his trip north this summer.
• May 16, 1941: On April 18th, Grant McConachie, President of Yukon Southern Air Transport Limited, and Lewis Parker, senior test pilot for Lockheed, flew two new Lodestars into Edmonton, setting a record for the mountain crossing from Vancouver. Pushing a 20-mile head wind the planes landed on Blatchford Field in two hours and forty-seven minutes from the time of their take-off from Sea Island Airport in the Coast City.

• May 23, 1941: "Apple Jimmy" Oglow died in St. Mary's Hospital recently at the age of 74 years. Of Greek origin and with a surname which was as difficult to spell as it was to pronounce he adopted that of Oglow and as he sold apples in the early days at a dollar each he was nicknamed "Apple Jimmy" by which name he became famous to the many thousands of people who passed through the Gold City each year.
• May 23, 1941: Peter Buyck, a veteran employee of the Treadwell Yukon Corporation Ltd., passed away in the Mayo General Hospital on May 5th from the effects of silicosis at the age of 43 years.
• May 23, 1941: Last Sunday evening the Aksala cleared from the local docks on her first northbound trip of the season with twenty passengers bound for Dawson, Harry Walker for Little Salmon and Henry Arp for his destination near Gold Point. All the steamboats are now in the water ready to be placed in service.
• May 23, 1941: A gent's hat found in "No Man's Land" on May 19th. Claimant can secure same by proving ownership. No charges will be made and no questions asked: Apply "The Three Sisters" over Meat Shop.

• May 30, 1941: What it is costing to beat Hitlerism. Every time a Spitfire pilot fires a burst of 100 rounds of .303 ammunition at a Hun raider it costs $5.00. When a R. A. F. bomber drops a 500-ound bomb on a German munitions factory or railroad centre the explosive costs from $80 to $200, depending on the type of bomb used. A complete Bofors 40-millimetre anti-aireraft gun, capable of hurling as many as 120 shells per minute at enemy aircraft flying at an altitude of less than 10,0000 feet, costs in the neighborhood of $12,500.
• May 30, 1941: A squadron of eight U.S. bombers arrived at the local airport Saturday and remained im town over-night. They left for Anchorage, Alaska, Sunday morning. A 4-engine U.S. bomber passed over Whitehorse Tuesday afternoon at an altitude of five miles.
• May 30, 1941: Mr. F. G.. Davies of the Treasury Department, who has charge of all the costing for the construction work now being carried out at the Whitehorse and Watson Lake airports, made a trip to Skagway last week. In the near future he will be leaving for Watson Lake.

June

• June 6, 1941: Few if any small towns can boast of a more frequent airmail service than Whitehorse now enjoys. We are practically having a daily service, via P. A. A. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and via Y. S. A. T. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Airmail to Dawson via B. Y. N. Co. leaves Whitehorse at 9 a. m. Thursday, and Dawson to Whitehorse at 10 a. m. Saturday.
• June 6, 1941: Mr. Garnet Watt, well-known representative of the Mutual Life Insurance Co., died suddenly on the trail Saturday, two miles distant from the McQuesten river whilst hiking to the Barker camp at Haggart Creek, presumably the result of a heart attack. He had hiked about 14 miles, about half-way.
• June 6, 1941: Estimates for the maintenance and operation of publie service in the Yukon for the current year, as submitted by Controller G. A. Jeckell and approved by the Yukon Council, have been tabled at Ottawa. The total is $220,000 which includes $38,340 for schools, $79,800 for hospitals and public health, $52,435 for roads, bridges and public works, and $22,700 for miscellaneous including airfields.

• June 13, 1941: The Hon. Mr. Justice C. D. Macaulay has retired from his official duties as of June 1st. Elevated to the Bench in 1902, he has presided over the Court in this Territory for thirty-nine years. For the greater part of this period he resided in Dawson, where he still has a residence, but in later years he and Mrs. Mac- aulay have, for the greater part of each year, made their home in Vancouver. For some years past he has suffered ill health and is still far from well.
• June 13, 1941: A new Fargo truck arrived yesterday for the Whitehorse Inn. A short time ago two new Ford trucks were delivered to Mr. George Ryder and Mr. A. R. "Happy" LePage. These new trucks are an indication of the progress being made in this community at the present time.
• June 13, 1941: Pte. Elijah Smith who enlisted last Fall was home on furlough last week and left Monday to return to his regiment in readiness for overseas service. We believe he is the first native leaving here for overseas and wish him the very best of luck and a safe return.

• June 20, 1941: Two lovely models from Los Angeles, and Earl Theisen, ace photographer for "Look" magazine, arrived here last Saturday by Yukon Southern Lodestar, culminating a 4000-mile journey. The girls, Betty Ann Anderson, 18, and Gale Storm, 19, who is a movie starlet in Hollywood, were photographed here and en route through Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff and Jasper National Parks. A picture story of their exciting trip will appear in late July and early August issues of the American picture magazine, which is one of the largest in the States.
• June 20, 1941: It was a pleasing sight to watch the Victory Loan thermometer on Front St. rise until it passed the quota mark of $50,000 on Tuesday and then splash over in various directions. At the time of going to press (Thursday morning) the total amount of bonds purchased locally amounted to $56,000. The support given has been most commendable especially when one remembers that the Yukon ranked first in all Canada on a per capita basis, in connection with the recent War Savings Certificates drive and the many other calls of a patriotic nature which have been and are still being made upon the public.
• June 20, 1941: Mr. C. M. Helmer, who since the beginning of the year has had charge of all the Canadian operations for Western Air Lines, arrived in town on Saturday last aboard the Y. S. A. T. Lodestar. He is well-known here, having brought the first Ford plane, BEP, to Whitehorse on floats for United Air Transport on July 5th, 1937.

• June 27, 1941: The Rev. Father Harley Baker, who was born in Skagway, chanted his first Solemn High Mass in his home parish on Sunday, June 15th. He is the first Alaskan-born Roman Catholic priest to officiate in such a capacity. Father Baker will reside in Skagway for a time as a member of the Mission staff.
• June 27, 1941: In charge of Mr. Walter A. Wood, head of the Dept. of Exploration and Field Research, American Geographical Society, a party arrived in town last Friday for the purpose of carrying out further research in various phases of geography. This is the fourth trip the party has made to the north, the others being in 1935, 1936 and 1939. It is understood they will journey as far as the St. Elias Range in Alaska and will arrive back in Whitehorse about October 1st.
• June 27, 1941: The W. P. & Y. R. are running an excursion train to Carcross next Tuesday July 1st. Round trip $2.00, plus 20c tax. Returnable either same day or July 2nd.

July

• July 4, 1941: Daylight saving time goes into effect in British Columbia Monday by Order-in-Council. Premier Pattullo stated that it was adopted for the purpose of affording longer working hours on important shipbuilding contracts.
• July 4, 1941: The Klondike (Capt. Coghlan) left on its first northbound trip of the season last Friday with 26 passengers on board 17 of whom were making the round trip to Dawson and two others, Rev. J. R. B. Vance and Mrs. Vance, bound for Mayo.
• July 4, 1941: Mr. Lloyd Ryder arrived home Wednesday from Vancouver where he has been taking a course in aviation engineering. He will remain here until the Fall and is employed at the local airport.

• July 11, 1941: A sad accident, claiming the life of one man and causing serious injuries to another, occurred on Thursday, July 3rd, when the Travelair plane of the B. Y. N. Co. crashed near the Richtofen landing field just west of Lake LeBarge. The pilot, Vaughan Leigh Woods, was instantly killed, and the only passenger, Tommy McKay, the well known mining man, sustained a broken arm and other injuries. Photos of the wreckage as it looked in 2018 can be seen on The ExploreNorth Blog.
• July 11, 1941: Mr. Ed. Stockhauser, an enterprising young man arrived in town last Thursday from Sitka and on the vacant lot adjoining the Bank built a boat with which to make the trip down the river. He is going to Fairbanks first and then on to Anchorage. Mr. Stockhauser assures us this is the first boat he has ever built. The craft is first-rate in construction and a credit to its maker.
• July 11, 1941: As part of its military exercises the largest mechanized force ever seen in Canada "invaded" Toronto recently and took over the charge of all public utilities and services in the face of an imaginary Fifth Column threat to seize the city. The column which marched on the Queen City was sixty miles long and consisted entirely of mechanized troops with their field kitchens.

• July 18, 1941: The taking of the census in Whitehorse and vicinity has been placed in the hands of the local R. C. M. P. detachment and the work of compiling the records has already commenced. To expedite the completion of this work and in order to save time for all concerned we append the list of questions which will require to be answered at the time the forms are being made out.
• July 18, 1941: Complaints are being voiced about the rowdyism around town on certain occasions which is becoming a public nuisance. Those responsible for same are reminded that the hallmark of a gentleman is due consideration for others.
• July 18, 1941: Dr. S. C. Ells of the Dept. of Transport, Ottawa, arrived in town this week and we were pleased to have had the opportunity of conversing with him at the Star office yesterday. Dr. Ells at the present time is located at Dease Lake superintending the transportation of the large quantities of equipment now being freighted into Dease Lake, Telegraph Creek and Watson Lake.

• July 25, 1941: The Canadian commissioners appointed two years ago for the purpose of studying the feasibility of the various proposed routes for the construction of the proposed British Columbia-Alaska Highway, have now completed their report. The U.S. Commissioners do not agree with their recommendations, though. Since it is more than likely that the U. S. A. will be furnishing the funds with which to carry out the construction of this particular undertaking it is almost a foregone conclusion that the choice of the U.S. Commissioners will prevail. Read the entire article here.
• July 25, 1941: The steamer Casca (Capt. D. McKay) arrived last Friday with ten passengers, two others leaving the boat at Britannia and four at Indian River. She left on her fourth northbound trip the following night with 78 circle tourists, four making the round trip to Dawson, two others for Dawson and two for Tanana Reef.
• July 25, 1941: Henry Jack of Atlin, eldest son of the late chief Taku Jack, is at Princess Louisa Inlet in BC, helping millionaire Thomas F. Hamilton build Indian, Swiss, and Scandinavian villages there.

August

• August 1, 1941: Two of the newest and largest commercial transports in Canada flying between Edmonton, Vancouver and the Yukon are to be stripped of their comfortable trappings and fitted out as troop transports for use by the British Government in Egypt. In accordance with their own policy of all-out aid in the war effort, Yukon Southern Air Transport Ltd., are sacrificing their recently purchased Lockheed Lodestars for service in Egypt. The extra large gas tanks with which these ships are equipped will prove of the greatest advantage in the new services they are to perform.
• August 1, 1941: Atlin MP Hon. W. J. Asselstine recently announced that through his instrumentality the provincial government is furnishing a thousand dollars to be spent on improving the air field at that community. With this amount available, coupled with the loan by the largest mining companies in the camp of their large bull-dozers at cost of operation only, they are going to be able to make a real air field there.
• August 1, 1941: At noon Monday between five and six hundred men in the employ of the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation Ltd., staged a walk-out when their demand for an increase in wages of one dollar a day per man was not acceded to by the company. As a result all operations have been suspended excepting that of the North Fork power plant. The majority of the men left the camps for Dawson, and a number are already on their way Outside. We are informed that the walk-out was the work of C. I. O. operatives who recently arrived in Dawson from Fairbanks.

• August 8, 1941: Employees of the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation Ltd. have accepted the fifty cent wage increase per day offered by the company and had all returned to work Wednesday morning.
• August 8, 1941: The largest nugget discovered so far this year in the Atlin district was found by Alec Munro on Spruce Creek a few days ago. It was a very pretty nugget weighing over 26 ounces and nearly all gold except for about two ounces of white quartz.
• August 8, 1941: Effective midnight last Saturday the Office of Production Management in Washington, D. C. ordered the complete stoppage of all processing of silk by non-defensive industries owing to a shortage of silk, the result of the strained relations between the U. S. A. and Japan. It is estimated that this will result in 175,000 becoming unemployed. The production of silk in Canada was substantially reduced some time ago.

• August 15, 1941: The many friends of the late Capt. Paddy Burke, who died on the Liard River over ten years ago following a plane disaster, must tender their thanks to Mr. Ross Peebler of Atlin who has erected a very fine monument to Paddy's memory which takes the form of a large wooden propeller fastened to a large white timber. It stands out very prominently at the head of the grave and is a splendid symbol of the profession this noted flyer followed while in life.
• August 15, 1941: Western Air Line, with headquarters in Los Angeles, recently filed application for international service between Lethbridge, Alberta, (northern terminus of the line) and Alaska over the inland route of Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie and Whitehorse.
• August 15, 1941: Pilot F. J. Baker and his brother A. W. Baker, flying from Portland to Fairbanks, escaped uninjured Sunday when their Culver monoplane crashed during a take-off at the Atlin airport. The plane was completely wrecked.

• August 22, 1941: Harry George Walker, who formerly prospected both in the Yukon and Alaska, died in St. Paul's Hospital at Vancouver recently, at the age of 59. In 1914 he enlisted with Col. Boyle's Yukon Machine Gun Battery which later became part of the 2nd Motor Machine Gun Brigade in France, and he was awarded the military medal in 1917 for bravery.
• August 22, 1941: Last week the big Standard Oil barge, No. 95, the largest sailing tanker in the world, was holed by the sharp pinnacle of Ripple Rock in Seymour Narrows. Three of her holds were badly punctured but she retained sufficient buoyancy to remain afloat with the aid of pumps of ocean-going tugs. Ripple Rock is a great menace to navigation and has claimed many victims in the past.
• August 22, 1941: Miss Avis Hulland, daughter of the Superintendent of Schools for the Territory, graduated from High School this spring and last week left for the Outside. She is going to take a commercial course at Sprott-Shaw schools in Vancouver.

• August 29, 1941: Mrs. Teresa Rapuzzi, pioneer merchant of Skagway and mother of Mrs. Aubrey Simmons of this city, died at her home in Skagway last Friday morning, August 22nd, of a cerebral hemorrhage.
• August 29, 1941: Residents of Whitehorse are to be given a delightful two day's outing at a very moderate cost this coming Sunday, August 31st when the W. P. & Y. R. is running an excursion to Ben-My-Chree. This marvelous trip by rail to Carcross, then aboard one of the company's luxurious excursion steamers down Atlin Lake to Ben-My-Chree traversing as it does through the most scenic beauty spots of the northland will undoubtedly be taken advantage of by a very large number of citizens.
• August 29, 1941: It would be a pity if the stamina of Canadian citizenry were to be judged by the spectacle of a few thousand motor car drivers in Ontario, who knew that gasoline had to be saved for the decisive battles overseas, and knowing it, deliberately travelled thousands of miles for the long week-end holiday. It would be too harsh perhaps to say that all of these motorists deliberately thumbed their noses at the Empire's war effort. The answer might be that they have not yet been sufficiently impressed by the seriousness of the situation.

September

• September 5, 1941: Miss Alice Hayden, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Hayden of Kluane, died at the Whitehorse General Hospital on Sunday, August 3lst, after being at the hospital for the past six weeks. She had been a resident of Whitehorse for the past year and had been assisting Mrs. Viaux at the White Pass Hotel.
• September 5, 1941: A strangely-assorted party of adventurers from San Francisco is plodding over the faintly-marked Telegraph trail on the first leg of a journey from Hazelton 1,000 miles northwest to Skagway. Dr. H. F. Pencovci of San Francisco, leader of the party, estimated it would take from three to four months to complete the journey with 5 horses.
• September 5, 1941: Gasoline, diesel fuel and other refined products are now being commercially produced from the famous "tar sands" of the Athabaska area. The first delivery of refined products by Abasand Oils Limited, a consignment of diesel fuel to Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company, was made recently. The Abasand plant has been in operation since May 19th. Output at the first was about eighty barrels of oil per day, but with increasing experience it has already climbed to more than two hundred, and for short periods it has been at the rate of more than four hundred barrels a day.

• September 12, 1941: This week there arrived for the Yukon Electrical Co., Ltd., additional new equipment including a 160 h.p. Vivian Diesel engine weighing about eight tons, connected with 125 K. V. A. generator. This machinery is now being installed in readiness for the use of the airport and range station. The company has also recently installed a new 500 gallon-per-minute electrically driven centrifugal pump to be used as an auxiliary fire unit.
• September 12, 1941: The new Beechcraft plane for the British Yukon Navigation Co. which has been on order for some time, arrived here on floats Tuesday and is being placed in service right away. The ship was flown from Boston, Mass., by pilot James Towne.
• September 12, 1941: Ian Murray, who left here recently for Edmonton to enlist in the R. C. A. F. arrived back home last Friday, not being eligible on account of his youth. He was advised to renew his application next February.

• September 19, 1941: Recently in police court before Stipendiary Magistrate J. Aubrey Simmons, a half-breed found with liquor in his possession in an Indian cabin was sentenced to thirty days imprisonment and a fine of $50 and costs. On a charge of supplying another party, he was fined $50 and costs. Two other Indians, charged with being intoxicated, were sentenced to fourteen days imprisonment without the option of a fine, and another was fined $5 and costs.
• September 19, 1941: Permanent records of the languages, folk tales and customs of Alaskan tribes in the neighborhood of Unalaska will be preserved through the work of Dr. John P. Harrington of the National Museum at Washington, D. C., and_ two assistants who have sailed from Seattle for the North on the motorship Penguin.
• September 19, 1941: The body of Martin Lawson, a sixty odd years Sourdough of Dawson, was found by Constables Bond and Cameron, R. C. M. P. last week, the old-timer having taken his own life. He had been suffering from ill health for sometime past and had spent the past month as a patient in St. Mary's Hospital.

• September 26, 1941: Mr. J. E. Gibben arrived in town Tuesday by Y. S. A. T. plane and left yesterday morning by B. Y. N. Co. plane for Dawson to assume the duties of his new official appointment as Stipendiary Magistrate for the Territory with all the powers vested in a Supreme Court Judge.
• September 26, 1941: Owing to heavy rainfalls air transportation in this part of the country has been practically at a standstill for the past week or so. Some of the Old-Timers report never having remembered such continuous rainy weather at this time of the year.
• September 26, 1941: Mr. George Simmons, president of Northern Airways Ltd. informs us that his company is erecting a fine large hangar at Carcross. A contract for the work has been awarded to W. Chandler of Whitehorse and the lumber is already on the site. Construction will be started as soon as the necessary crew of workmen has been secured.

October

• October 3, 1941: George Johnson, a 79-year old miner of the Telegraph Creek district, shot at a bear looting his food cache then was attacked by another bear. The grizzly grabbed his arm and crushed the flesh to the bone. Johnson's faithful dog "Chappie" came to the rescue and attacked the bear tearing a piece of flesh from one of its legs. Johnson then shot the bear.
• October 3, 1941: Carpenters left here this week for Dawson to construct a new hangar for the B. Y. N. Co. at the air-field there. They will be away for the next few weeks.
• October 3, 1941: A new theatre is in course of construction on the west side of Broadway in Skagway. When completed it will be operated under the management of Mr. Gross who already operates a number of theatres in south-eastern Alaska.

• October 10, 1941: All the elemintary flying training schools throughout Canada originally projected under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan are now in operation. The Air Minister now states that the plan is to be extended until the number of schools now operating will be doubled. "After the war," stated Mr. Power "aviation will make undreamed of strides in our country."
• October 10, 1941: Navigation on the river will soon be closed for this season and the various boat crews will be leaving for the coast on the Princess Louise sailing from Skagway October 18th. The str. Keno, (Capt. C. Coghlan) sailed from this port at daybreak Monday morning and the str. Casca (Capt. D. McKay) at 5 o'clock Monday night. These being the last two northbound trips of the season, both had barges heavily loaded with freight.
• October 10, 1941: Lloyd Cambpell, checker at the Dawson dock for the W. P. Y. R., has been missing for over a week. Although a diligent search is being made by the R.C. M. P. the missing man has not yet been located but a cigarette case belonging to him has been found on he ferry. Mr. Campbell had only recently been released from St. Mary’s Hospital where he had been receiving Medical treatment.

• October 17, 1941: An unfortunate accident occurred at Carcross last Saturday when two well-known Yukoners were injured during the construction of the new hangar for the Northern Airways Ltd. Mr. Leroy Churchill and Clem Eminger fell from a scaffold, the former sustaining a broken collar bone and shoulder injuries and the latter a broken arm. A train was despatched from here Saturday night to bring the two injured men into Whitehorse for medical treatment.
• October 17, 1941: An unexplained explosion of an underground dynamite magazine at the Sitka Naval Air base occurred last Sunday, killing six men, jnjuring dozens of others in a nearby fishing village and causing heavy property damage including many homes recently constructed for the officers.
• October 17, 1941: Louis Cameron and Harold Cam were on their way to Dawson to secure a truck with which to bring in several caribou which they and Bob Warner had shot. On reaching Five-Mile hill on the West Dawson road their car got out of control owing to brake trouble with the result that the car and its occupants rolled down the steep incline. The car was a complete wreck and both occupants suffered painful injuries. They managed, however, to walk to town when, upon examination, it was found Cameron had sustained injury to several ribs and Cam a deep gash in the back.

• October 24, 1941: Henry Arp, a resident of Whitehorse for many years, doed. on October 12th aboard the steamer "Keno" en route up river from Dawson. He was 75 years of age. Read the entire article here.
• October 24, 1941: A Civil Aeronautics Board examiner has recommended that Pacific Alaska Airways Inc., be permitted to designate Tanana Crossing, Alaska and Burwash Landing, Y. T., as flag stops between Juneau and Fairbanks. He also recommended that the company be permitted to acquire the properties and equipment of Lavary Airways who operate between Fairbanks and Anchorage.
• October 24, 1941: Cecil Richards, who has been working at the Barker camp on Haggart Creek for the summer, arrived back home by B. Y. N. Co. plane latter part of last week. We understand he is leaving for the coast on Monday to take a course in Diesel engineering.

• October 31, 1941: Dr. George Wallace Elliott, retired Canadian government immigration physician, died at his home on Lulu Island on October 21st at the age of 77. He had practised in Dawson from 1899 until 1903.
• October 31, 1941: When Mr. Livingston Wernecke left the local airport southbound recently in his own Bellanca plane with his pilot, Charles Gropstis, at the controls it was little thought that they were both making their last airplane trip but such, unfortunately, it turned out to be. They were first reported missing somewhere between Hyder, Alaska, and Alert Bay, B.C. Read this and other articles about the crash and about Livingston Wernecke here.
• October 31, 1941: With Germans now within twenty minutes flying time of Moscow, the Whitehorse airport is a pivotal point for transport of U. S. supplies to the U. S. S. R. At present U. S. army planes are flying from McChord Field, Tacoma, and other fields on the Pacific slope over the British Columbia route via Prince George, Fort St. John, Whitehorse and then on into Alaska. Another route available is by way of Edmonton, Grand Prairie and Fort St. John.

November

• November 7, 1941: Northern Airways pilot Shell Gunn narrowly averted disaster at the Atlin airport when a tire burst as he was taking off. He veered off the runway, badly damaging the undercarriage and a wing.
• November 7, 1941: A shipment of socks, sweaters, gloves, helmets and mitts was sent away on the last "Princess". These were knit since July by ladies of Whitehorse, Carcross, Teslin, Robinson and Selkirk for soldiers, sailors and airmen. Last month, a case of clothing, quilts and blankets was shipped to England for evacuees.
• November 7, 1941: Weather has been colder this past week due to the north wind and ice is beginning to run in the river. Looks as if winter is here to stay.

• November 14, 1941: Pilot Les Cook will arrive from Vancouver tomorrow to enter the service of the BYN.
  Cecil Walker, who has been employed on the erection of the new Northern Airways hangar at Carcross for the past several weeks, returned to town Tuesday.
  Mr. Boyle, airplane mechanic for the BYN and his wife and daughter Lucy Jane, arrived from Skagway Tuesday to take up their residence in this community.
  Mr. George Simmons, president of Northern Airways Ltd. arrived from Carcross Tuesday and is spending a few days in town on a combined business and pleasure trip.
• November 14, 1941: Gasoline rationing by the card system is to be put into operation throughout Canada shortly according to Munitions Minister Howe. At the beginning of each month the oil controller (G. R. Cottrell) will announce how many gallons a coupon will be allotted to each person. This will only be applicable to vehicles used for private transportation and pleasure.
• November 14, 1941: Missing since last Friday afternoon, Ray Renshaw, U. S. Game Warden, was discovered on Tuesday afternoon by the P. A. A. Electra plane fifteen miles from Selkirk on a sand bar up the Pelly River.

• November 21, 1941: _ The Controller of the Territory, Mr. G. A. Jeckell, has been officially notified that a Canadian warship has been named "Dawson" in honour of the town which was brought into being by the famous gold rush days of '98. In notifying the Controller, the Commander of the ship requests that a drawing of the city's Coat of Arms be forwarded so that it may be emblazoned in a conspicuous place aboard the ship.
• November 21, 1941: To Pte. Otto Nordling, R.C.A.S.C., who was born and raised in Dawson and later was for some years a member of the staff of the Bank of Montreal there but who enlisted sometime ago, fell the honour of being the first in Vancouver to utilize the airgraph service which was officially inaugurated last Saturday. Special forms are photographed, the miniature films then transmitted overseas for enlargement.
• November 21, 1941: Capt. Jackson was crossing over the ice on Fish Lake with his dog team when half way across the lake the ice gave way, precipitatiing him into the icy water. By digging a pocket knife into the ice he was able eventually to extricate himself but his three favourite dogs were drowned and his sleigh and trapping equipment lost.

• November 28, 1941: Work at the local curling rink is progressing satisfactorily and it is expected the rinks will be marked off over the week-end. If the present weather conditions prevail it won't be long before curling will be in full swing again.
• November 28, 1941: November 20th was the eighty-fifth birthday of Bishop Peter Trimble Rowe who for the past forty-six years has been Episcopal Bishop of Alaska. The event was celebrated at his son's home in Seattle. Bishop Rowe appears to be enjoying good health and states he is looking forward to coming north again next Spring.
• November 28, 1941: Archie Cameron died in St. Mary's Hospital last week, the result of a severe paralytic stroke, at the age of 65. He came to the Yukon in '98 with Governor William Oglivie's party in which he acted as bursar. Later he entered the mining field. Meeting with but little success in this venture he returned to the government service and for many years was on the staff of the Dawson Post Office, being superannuated in the early part of this year.

December

• December 5, 1941: Frank Cantin, pioneer wood and lumber dealer of Mayo, has been awarded a contract for taking in freight from Dawson over the winter trail to Mayo. He has the necessary equipment including a caterpillar tractor. It is not yet known when the first trip will be but it is understood if will be very shortly. Mel Olsen and Crandall Dickie who recently mushed over the trail reported the snow knee-deep on the Summit. They were eight and a half days making the trip over the trail, Dickie having suffered two frozen toes.
• December 5, 1941: At the urgent request of British Naval authorities the Canadian Red Cross Society will supply several thousand dunnage bags for survivors of shipwrecks. Ships picking up survivors are often stripped of every extra garment the crew can muster in order to give a minimum covering to these victims. The Red Cross will provide good-sized dunnage bags containing an overcoat, windbreaker, trousers, sweater, braces, socks, running shoes, cap, mitts, handkerchiefs and scarf.
• December 5, 1941: Another shipment of Tin-foil is ready to be shipped to Winnipeg by the I. O. D. E. This has been collected from the different boxes placed in stores, hotels and depot, also from Carcross friends. About 125 pieces of aluminum, now worth 11 cents per pound, were collected by the Junior pupils of the school. All the White Horse boys overseas and in Canada known by the Chapter are receiving 1000 cigarettes for Xmas and New Year.

  

• December 12, 1941: This week has been a momentousone for all of us on this continent with the outbreak of war in the Pacific precipitated by Japan. With Canada taking the lead the Government of the United States and of the various Republics of South America quickly adopted a similar course with the result that this whole continent is today solidly united in a common bond of mutual assistance more than ever before.
• December 12, 1941: There were approximately two hundred in attendance at the public meeting held in the W. H. Theatre last night for the purpose of forming a Home Guard for the protection of life and property in Whitehorse in case of emergency. A committee was formed with T. C. Richards as Chairman, H. G. Macpherson as Secretary, and George Ryder as Air Raid Warden.
• December 12, 1941: We have been reliably informed that as of Monday, December 15th, the B. Y. N. Co. will discontinue the operation of their air service, which will be operated by the Y. S. A. T.

• December 19, 1941: Reliable sources indicate that the Laforma group of mines on Mount Freegold, forty miles northwest of Carmacks, will resume operations immediately after the New Year. Under the management of Emil Forrest and W. J. Langham, supported by Yukon backing, a crew of five men will get out enough ore to fill the bins and prepare for more extensive operations next summer. A Fordson, purchased in Mayo, will be brought over the trail by E. "Slim" Keobke and used later to supply power to run the compressor, A. R. "Happy" LePage will handle the freighting between Whitehorse and Mt. Freegold.
• December 19, 1941: Charged with theft from the local government liquor store Gordon Silcox was found guilty and sentenced to six months imprisonment by Stipendiary Magistrate J. Gibben yesterday.
• December 19, 1941: Miss Evelyn "Babe" Richards, who is attending Crofton House School in Vancouver, is expected to arrive home this week-end for the Christmas holidays. A royal welcome awaits her.
• December 19, 1941: A "utilicon van" is a new type of gift which the Canadian Red Cross is giving to the British Red Cross. It is a small ambulance which holds one stretcher case and three sitting cases or six sitting cases. It costs $1500. The British Red Cross ordered 130 utilicon vans to meet their needs for the next 18 months.

• December 26, 1941: In a letter received from Hon. Ian Mackenzie the local Home Guard committee has been informed that the authorities do not for the present consider the Yukon Territory an area subject to enemy attack. However, states the letter, "The spirit of the people of Whitehorse in proceeding to organize on a voluntary basis is greatly appreciated and may perhaps be of value at some time if the area of hazard should be extended in your direction."
• December 26, 1941: Miss Mary Eleanor MacBride, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. D. MacBride, was married at Carcross on Saturday, December 20th, to Sheldon Gunn, only son of Mr. and Mrs. James Gunn of North Bay, Ontario. Pilot Gunn has recently been in the service of Northern Arways Ltd. He and his bride will be leaving on the next Princess boat for the coast en route to Montreal. They will probably be making their home at some Eastern point.
• December 26, 1941: "Stampede" John Stenbraten, located on the Sixtymile, tried to make the trip into Dawson. En route he got in an over-flow and had to return to camp with a few of his toes frost bitten. Sorry John.

1942

January

• January 2, 1942: In view of current emergency conditions a quantity of steel helmet caps will be needed. Red Cross branches are asked to have their knitters concentrate on these immediately. They are also urged to make up as soon as possible all materials for hospital pyjamas, pneumonia jackets, bed and surgeon's gowns and hospital handkerchiefs, and send these to the Provincial Warehouse as soon as possible.
• January 2, 1942: The New Year's Dinner which is held annually at the Whitehorse Inn Cafe was well patronized by local residents and out-of-town visitors alike. A sumptuous meal had been prepared by the chef, Ed. Negroponte, and his assistant Ray Harris, the tables were tastefully decorated for the occasion and the novelties handed to all guests were much appreciated. The best of service was dispensed by a bevy of beauty clad in the familiar colours of the cafe and in a spirit of gaiety which was contagious and appreciated by all in attendance.
• January 2, 1942: The McCormick Transportation overland stage pulled out of Dawson for Whitehorse at 8 p. m. on December 9th. Twenty passengers clambered aboard amid shouts and laughter and the cry went up "Whitehorse or Bust." Read the entire story here.

• January 9, 1942: Five U. S. army bombers arrived at the local airport yesterday afternoon from the east. They are en route to an un-named destination.
• January 9, 1942: According to a statement made by Hon. Herbert Anscoreb, now Minister of Trade and Industry, British Columbia received war-time contracts during 1941 totalling $266,000,000. The great majority of the contracts were for merchant cargo ships, which amounted to $200,000,000.
• January 9, 1942: "Cap" Cowley, famed Captain of the onetime Queen of the lower river steamboat fleet, "The Lightning", plans on entering active life once more and has something in view that "spells" of Rivers and Steamboating. Its hard to keep a deep sea man on land despite the many moons that has passed.

• January 16, 1942: Organization of the western district of all the air services recently acquired by the C.P.R., under the general superintendency of C. Becker of Edmonton, was announced Thursday by Grant McConachie, assistant to the vice-president in charge of air services. Mr. Becker flew airplane sinn the Arctic in the late 1920s and early '30s, and is now a barrister.
• January 16, 1942: With several U.S. Army planes having recently been in Whitehorse and many more expected, an editorial encourages locals to invite air crew who are overnighting to spend an evening with them, to show them "the spirit of the Yukon."
• January 16, 1942: On Friday morning, the Atlin Co-Operative Store on Spruce Creek caught fire and all stock and store was completely burned up. Mr. Frank Kivi the manager, had just gone over to their cold storage plant to cut some meat to fill orders and was leaving the plant when he saw smoke coming from the cellar part of the building. He rushed over to the store, but the fire had too much of a hold and before anything could be done to put out the flames the fire was out of control. The cause is thought to be a gasoline lamp kept in the cellar to keep stock from freezing.

• January 23, 1942: Declaring the announced forty-five per cent increase on fright and passenger rates by the Alaska Steamship Co., as "an outrage," Dr. Ernest Gruening, Governor of Alaska, has made a vigorous protest to the authorities in Washington.
• January 23, 1942: Officials of the Alaska Steamship Co., have suspended their arrangements with the American President Lines for the duration. The reason given is that there will be no tourist travel north, either as individuals or in parties, under present war conditions.
• January 23, 1942: The U.S. pursuit planes which have been passing through this port lately are capable of a speed of 420 miles per hour - 7 miles per minute.

• January 31, 1942: It is announced that the life story of "Klondike Kate" (Kate Rockwell Matson) is to be filmed in Hollywood. Kate Rockwell Matson travels to Hollywood to choose herself the woman who is to play her role.
• January 31, 1942: A telegram received in Whitehorse announced that new sugar rationing limits each person to 12 ounces per week.
• January 31, 1942: J. Love, clerk of the Terrtorial Court, and Mrs. Love will be leaving for the Outside about the middle of February. Jack is going to enlist in the R. C. A. F. whilst Mrs. Love will proceed to Saskatoon here she will remain with her parents until it is known where her husband will be located. Their home on Third Avenue and contents are now up for sale.

February

• February 6, 1942: His many friends in the north will be pleased to learn that P. O. Acton Daunt has added to his laurels since he received his wings in the R. C. A. F. at No. 3 Service School, Calgary last month. He tied the record for shooting at the Blair Range, North Vancouver, making a score of 104 out of a possible 105. Acton, who is a member of the U. B. C. Officers' Training Corps, is well-know throughout the Yukon and particularly in Whitehorse.
• February 6, 1942: Recently a new three-oven range of the latest type was installed at the Whitehorse Inn Cafe and on the last boat the latest model frigidaire arrived having double doors and thirty-four feet of shelf space which assures freshness under ideal conditions at all times. These new additions have been made necessary due to the steady expanding business enjoyed at this popular and up-to-date restaurant. New flooring has also been laid in the kitchen and other improvements made to facilitate prompt and efficient service and the dining room has been redecorated.
• February 6, 1942: Notwithstanding any inconveniences which may arise from the adoption of Daylight Saving on Monday next throughout Canada there is to be no organized opposition to it as far as the coast is concerned provided, as it is pointed out, it is Dominion-wide in scope and adopted by all transportation companies. The fact that we in the north will shortly be experiencing day light nearly all the time is not sufficient reason why we too should not conform with this nation-wide movement.

• February 13, 1942: Olof Wickstrom of Tanana Reef arrived in town Wednesday with Bob Jones and his 4-dog team. It took them four and a half days to make the trip. Olof is leaving tomorrow by Y. S. A. T. plane for Vancouver to have some dental work done.
• February 13, 1942: Atlin has experienced one of its warmest winters since 1926 when Clarence M. Sands caught a six pound trout trolling on Atlin Lake on the 18th of January. The coldest this winter so far has been around 20 below zero.
• February 13, 1942: CKWX recently introduced to radio listeners a new feature in its programme under the caption "Weekly News Desk." It is a fifteen minute digest of news and comment culled from the weekly newspapers published in British Columbia and the Yukon. The broadcast will be a weekly feature and will be carried over CKWX each Thursday evening at 9.30 p.m. (PS.T.) on 980 kilocycles or 6.08 megacycles on the short wave band.

• February 20, 1942: President Roosevelt emphasizes the vital necessity for an immediate construction of the Alaska Highway to assure an uninterrupted flow of supplies.
• February 20, 1942: The first to shoot a timber wolf on Atlin Lake this year were Frank Henning and Carl Gray. Vic Carlson who has a poison permit for wolves bagged seven at one bait. There were around fifty timber wolves seen in one bunch at the north end of Atlin Lake. They were chased for hours by Carl Gray and Harold Leach who happened to have a truck, but were unable to get within shooting distance. Had there been a few cars on the spot it would have been a different story, at least for the wolves.
• February 20, 1942: Pete Matson, Oscar Carlson, Erick Magnuson, Manne Magnuson and Fred. Hjem who have been running a tunnel for some years past on Volcanic Creek, Fourth of July district, are now through the rim and into gravel in which some small gold prospects have been seen. This is certainly encouraging for a chance when they reach bedrock. We wish 'em all the luck in the world.

• February 27, 1942: In their ready response to their country's call for subscriptions to the Second Victory Loan, residents within the Whitehorse unit have again demonstrated they stand solidly behind the man behind the gun as well as with the personnel of all the other branches of our armed forces. For the second time the Whitehorse unit was the first throughout British Columbia and the Yukon to reach and surpass its quota in record time.
• February 27, 1942: We gladly avail ourselves of this opportunity to pay tribute to our local advertisers all of whom, when approached by us, so readily acceded to the request that they donate their advertising space in this issue for Second Victory Loan purposes.
• February 27, 1942: Harry Clarke spotted a coyote close to the third island in front of Atlin, and took his car and gun and went after it. He had not gone far when he spotted a large timber wolf so he made for the bigger and better priced game. Catching up to it going thirty-five miles an hour he steered with one hand and shot from the other. After a real good chase and his trusty gun getting hot at the barrel he managed to get a shot home in true form and was a proud man when he came back to town with one weighing 150 pounds, earning Harry a $25 bounty. Well, anyway, this will be the cause of a few more moose living longer.

March

• March 6, 1942: Scientists announce that severe magnetic disturbances caused by an unusually large and active sun spot passing across the surface of the sun has been responsible for the poor radio reception of late. This fact, coupled with other disturbances of a more local nature, have certainly put radio owners in this community on edge.
• March 6, 1942: Assistant postmaster L. A Vinal died of an apparent heart attack while talking with his friend George Armstrong in the Burns & Co. store. He was 60 years old. He arrived in the Yukon in 1903, and for a number of years was a member of the R.N.W.M.P.
• March 6, 1942: Eric Ericsson, well-known Yukoner, died in Seattle last month at the age of 84, the result of an auto accident. He built dredges for the Guggenheims here in 1906-07, then mined for six years near Haines on property of Porcupine Gold Mining Co., and later built_a sawmill at Pavloff Harbour on Chicagof Island. On arrival in Seattle years later he opened the Swedish Wood-craft shop. craft shop.

• March 13, 1942: The construction of the Alaska Highway is officially approved by the U.S. and Canadian governments for military purposes. Thirty million dollars have been appropriated by the U.S. government for the project. The highway will follow the route of the airlines: Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Watson Lake, Whitehorse. No civilians will be employed in the work.
• March 13, 1942: Mrs. L. T. Hodges of Atlin has been declared prize winner at the coast a wooden air raid shelter in the Victory Loan contest. Mrs. Hodges is leaving immediately for Atlin and what to do with the shelter is a problem. She is undecided whether to sell it, give it away or pay for its shipment to Atlin.
• March 13, 1942: Alec. Dempster who was employed by Canadian Placers af Clear Creek last season was drowned recently at Burns Lake, B, C. when the "cat" he was driving across the lake broke through the ice. His widow resides in Seattle.

• March 20, 1942: Additional B.C. provincial police constables are being taken on at the request of the U. S. mililtary authorities directing the building of the Alaska road. It was felt that in view of the importance of the work there should be a force available for the enforcement of the civil laws of Canada. The extra police, while under the jurisdiction of the commissioner of B. C. police, will be paid for by the U.S. military authorities. The first squad of a dozen men have already been sworn in.
• March 20, 1942: CKWX will begin broadcasting a new series on March 6th. "Flying for Freedom" will be built around the lives of four youths who start out in the Empire Air Training Plan, complete their course, and meet high adventure in operations overseas. The whole series will be founded on actual happenings within the RAF and R.C.A.F.
• March 20, 1942: As soon as the route of the new B.C.-Alaska Highway was made known, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce sent a delegation to interview Premier John Hart in Victoria to urge the construction of a connecting link between the Cariboo Highway and the new highway which is to be constructed. Hope that British Columbia could provide several thousand Japanese for construction of the proposed link was voiced, and Premier Hart assured them that the suggestion would be considered.

• March 27, 1942: It is announced that three large parties are to be employed for the construction of the Alaska Highway, two of which will be working out of Whitehorse and the other out of Dawson Creek. The general plans are being prepared under the supervision of Brigadier General Sturdeyant, but the actual construction is to be carried out under the direction of Colonel W. M. Hoge.
• March 27, 1942: Once again a Whitehorse boy makes good. We are informed that in a special R .C. A. F. course for pilots, Trask Johnson ranked first in his class. It will be remembered that last fall Trask ranked high in a class of 55 when he secured his "wings." He is now engaged in spotting enemy submarines on the East coast of Canada.
• March 27, 1942: In the exchange of notes made public by Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles it is revealed that the B. C.-Alaska Highway now being constructed with American funds will be maintained by the U. S. government for six months after the termination of the war and will then revert to Canada.

April

• April 3, 1942: Under the caption "Twenty-four Hours to Asia" a very interesting article by Mr. and Mrs. Mark Finley appears in the March 14 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. It centres around the development of Yukon Southern Air Transport Ltd., and the active part played by Mr. Grant McConachie in its formation and expansion. The article is illustrated with coloured photographs of the town of Whitehorse taken from the east side of the river and of Miss Jewel Butler, one of the company's charming stewardesses, standing alongside one of the company's big air-liners dressed in mukluks and parka.
• April 3, 1942: Ken Shore and his assistants have completed the installation of a tripod on the Yukon river ice to which has been attached the wire that connects with a stop clock at the Jeanneret Jewellery Co's store. A sixteen-foot pole was sunk into the fifty-eight inches of ice and braced both above and below so that it is reasonably certain the big event will be properly recorded this year.
• April 3, 1942: It has been officially announced by the Minister of Munitions that there will be no gas rationing in the Yukon Territory.

  

• April 10, 1942: The advance party of the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, 130 men, arrive in Whitehorse for the construction of the military highway to Alaska. Between three and four thousand men will be engaged on the project, which will be one of the greatest of its kind ever undertaken on this continent.
• April 10, 1942: Compulsory regulations to ensure all Canadians making their full contribution to the civilian war effort are now in force under the War Measures Act. In order to free younger men for direct war service, civilian tasks, as far as possible, are to be performed by older men or women.
• April 10, 1942: Movement of approximately 450 Japanese families from Pacific Coast areas to Southern Alberta started this week with thirty families comprising the first group. A flow of small groups of other families will continue until the movement has been completed, by the beginning of May. Most of the families will be employed in the sugar beet fields to alleviate a labor shortage.

• April 17, 1942: Several weeks ago, the first alarm sounded in Skagway. The night watchman at the power plant thought it was the air raid alarm and immediately doused all of the lights in town. Then the woman in charge of the air raid alarm saw the lights go out and thought the Japs were coming so she sounded the air raid alarm. The night watchman at the power plant heard this and thought it was the all-clear signal so turned all of the lights back on. While all of this was going on, the house which was on fire when the fire alarm was sounded, burned to the ground.
• April 17, 1942: The Treadwell-Yukon Gold Corporation has again reported a deficit on operations for the latest fiscal year. The net loss was $88,072 for the year 1941, compared with a deficit of $25,177 in the previous year. President P. R. Bradley will be asking shareholders at the annual meeting on April 20 to approve a proposal to wind up the affairs of the company for several reason: available commercial ore has been exhausted, lack of working capital for the development of new ore bodies and the difficulty in getting needed supplies.
• April 17, 1942: There is every indication that in the near future restrictions will be placed upon all non-essential travel throughout both Canada and the United States. Pleasure travelling may be limited to within one hundred miles of the permanent residence.

• April 24, 1942: Large crowds gathered at the junction of Front and Main Streets last Sunday afternoon and enjoyed immensely the concert given by the U. S. army band. They rendered number after number in quick succession like nobody's business. History was made on that occasion for never in the history of the Yukon had a U. S. military band given a performance in the Territory.
• April 24, 1942: Holbrook Dredging Company, in receivership, continued operations on the Sixtymile River on about the same scale as during 1940. Owing to the condition of the dredge it could be worked to only about 50 per cent of capacity. The Holbrook dredging equipment and leases have been acquired by the Idaho Canadian Dredging Company, which has operated extensively in Idaho and Oregon. They plan to renovate and rebuild the present dredge and will reconstruct a dredge which was shipped in from the United States last year, on property taken over from W. A. Williams on Big Gold Creek.
• April 24, 1942: The Big Missouri mine near Stewart, first staked in 1904, is being closed down permanently and the camp will be dismantled during the coming summer. It has been operated for some years by the Buena Vista Mining Co. Ltd., a company owned 60 per cent by Consolidated Mining & Smelting, and 40 per cent by Big Missouri Mines Corporation. A large underground mill, one of only two or three on the continent, was built in 1934 to avoid heavy snowfalls.

May

• May 1, 1942: The population census states that in 1941 1,679 women and 3,008 men (a total of 4687) lived in the Yukon Territory.
• May 1, 1942: Ballot boxes arrive in down river settlements near Peace River by dropping them from C.P. Airline planes (April 24, 1942).
• May 1, 1942: The Polaris-Taku mine, operating in the Atlin district is closing down for the duration of the war, due to inability to secure sufficient labour and supplies.

• May 8, 1942: Tent City. American engineer soldiers, and attached quartermaster, medical, and finance troops, are in the Whitehorse area to work on the Canadian-Alaska military highway. This column hopes to picture some of the amusing, everyday incidents that happen in camp life.
• May 8, 1942: The ice moved down the Tanana river at Nenana on Thursday, April 30, at 1.28 p. m. Fairbanks time. It is estimated that 85,000 tickets in the Fairbanks Ice Pool were sold, and approximately $80,000 prize money will be divided among several people.
• May 8, 1942: There are reports stating that President Roosevelt is considering the construction of a railroad connecting the United States with Alaska, possibly following the route of the Alaska Highway. Costs are estimated between 68 and 200 million dollars.

• May 15, 1942: Survey parties arrive in the Territory for the purpose of mapping out a feasible route for the proposed United States-Alaska railroad
• May 15, 1942: Yukon Southern Air Transport Ltd. inaugurated a daily service between Edmonton and Whitehorse (Fridays excepted) on May 10th.
• May 15, 1942: Leslie Grove, a linemen in the employ of the Skagway Telephone Co., lies seriously ill in the hospital there as the result of an accident which occurred last Sunday afternoon. Grove was working at the top of a pole when it broke suddenly precipitating Grove to the ground. In its descent the pole fell upon him crushing one of his arms and causing serious head injuries. At the time or going to press we understand the unfortunate man still lies in a critical condition.

• May 22, 1942: The bodies of seven of the twelve United States officers and men who were drowned last week near Fort St. John were recovered Saturday and dragging operations were still being carried out for the recovery of the other five bodies. A "jeep" and caterpillar tractor and other equipment were being taken across the lake when the accident occurred. Two officers, a major and a lieutenant, were sitting in the "jeep" at the time.
  In 2008, a monument was erected at Charlie Lake to commemorate the tragedy.
• May 22, 1942: There is one drawback to the showerbath which the regimental headquarters company has constructed in the woods. It is a fine structure, built of logs, covered with heavy tar paper, and with an ample supply of hot water. But the boys lose their soap. The flooring was hewn from small trees. It has been smoothed out as much as possible, but still there are cracks through which slippery wet soap can fall through.
• May 22, 1942: The Department of Munitions and Supply published a large ad in this issue, informing readers that "drastic new regulations restricting sales of new, retreaded, and used tires, new and used tubes, and retreading services are now in effect." Only essential vehicles can now buy tires, tubes or retreading services.

• May 29, 1942: On May 22, 1942, Minister Howe tells the House of Commons that private air lines will not be allowed to operate in competition with the projected new Trans Canada Air Lines services to the Yukon and Alaska.
• May 29, 1942: Belgian Joe, who winters at Indian River, arrived in Dawson last week and has gone to work for the company for the season.
• May 29, 1942: Rev. Father M. Bobillier, 0. M. I., formerly in charge of St. Joseph's Church in Atlin, arrived in town recently and will be leaving for Fort Selkirk.

June

• June 5, 1942: Japanese bombing planes struck twice at the U. S. naval station, Dutch Harbour, on the southwestern tip of Alaska on Wednesday, causing a few casualties but little damage was done. The first raid at 6:00 a.m. was carried out by four bombers accompanied by fifteen fighting planes. This is the first aerial attack ever made by a foreign foe on mainland North America.
• June 5, 1942: The U.S. government is considering a pipeline connecting the oil wells in Fort Norman, N.W.T. with Whitehorse. Negotiations between the Canadian and U.S. governments are underway.
• June 5, 1942: The Indian Beaver catch at Atlin has been better this season than for the past few years, around 170 pelts arriving to date. Clarence Stands purchasing 130 of the catch and Ross Peebler the balance along with a few hundred rats.
• June 5, 1942: A report on the May 20th airplane crash which killed former Yukon pilot Sheldon Gunn, 23 years old, was published.

• June 12, 1942: Louis Nadeau of Chief Gulch, a tributary of Eldorado Creek, discovered one of the largest nuggets ever found in that district, valued at $1,200.
• June 12, 1942: The Canadian Pacific Airlines Ltd., Western Division, have added another 10-passenger twin-engined Boeing to their fleet operating out of Edmonton. The new ship arrived at Edmonton from Winnipeg last Thursday, piloted by A. MacRore. The company now has five Boeing_ships hased at Edmonton.
• June 12, 1942: Recently a nation-wide drive to raise nine million dollars for the Canadian Red Cross Society was held. The response to same, as far as the Whitehorse district is concerned, has been disappointing. Several local residents made their contributions promptly and were generous in the matter but a large percentage of the local population has as yet allowed the appeal to go unheeded.

• June 19, 1942: Controversy has arisen over American contractors working on the B.C.-Alaska Highway and other major projects hiring Canadians at higher than normal wages. The Dominion Government how has under consideration regulations to stop that. A minimum wage scale has been set for labor engaged on government contracts - 35 cents per hour for men and 25 cents an hour for women.
• June 19, 1942: Mr. Arthur Einboden arrived in town from Prince Rupert last week and will be employed in the big construction work now being carried on throughout the Yukon. Despite his sixty-eight years Mr. Einboden is in the best of health and in the course of conversation with him this week he gave a very interesting account of his first trip into the Yukon by way of Edmonton in the hectic days of '98.
• June 19, 1942: A bush fire near Moosehide last Thursday threatened the whole village for a time. A change of wind direction saved it from destruction.

• June 26, 1942: In the early hours of Wednesday morning the local store of The Northern Commercial Co. was broken into and approximately $900 stolen from the safe. Approximately $500 of the loot was in American bills, including a $100 American bank note. It is believed that there is not another of its particular denomination in Whitehorse at the present time.
• June 26, 1942: Frank A. Waller died recently at the Whitehorse hospital at the age of 56. He had been brought by airplane from the river boat he was working on. He joined the B.Y.N. in 1920, and became first mate on the Tutshi in 1927. His remains were shipped Outside for burial.
• June 26, 1942: Mrs. Phil Allen and daughter, Patsy, who have made their home in Vancouver for the past two years, are back in town again. It is understood that Mrs. Allen will be projectionist at the Orpheum Theatre here, a position held by her husband before he enlisted in the Armed Forces.

July

• July 3, 1942: The biggest budget in Canada's history was presented last week - $3.9 billion. Sharply increased income and national defence taxes are now to be combined in one tax and where possible. The compulsory savings plan calls for most of us to lend the government from $80 to $300 a year, according to our income, repayable after the war with 2% interest. Most items will cost more due to increased taxes - you'll pay 25% more for practically everything in the "luxury" class.
• July 3, 1942: The Hazel B. arrived in town Sunday morning, bringing the mail and a small shipment of merchandise. Passengers on board were Mr. and Mrs. Burt. Mr. Burt is on the Post Office staff in Dawson. The Hazel B. returned to Dawson immediately after discharging her cargo with Mr. and Mrs. Burt and W. Mervyn as passengers.
• July 3, 1942: We're giving Germany a paper shower. You'd be surprised to see how many different articles made of paper can be brought to a shower of this kind. One used envelope is transformed into a cartridge wad; 12 old letters become a box to hold cartridges; 6 books, a mortar shell container; 2¼ lbs. of waste paper make 448 washers for rifle grenades.

• July 10, 1942: The U. S. navy department has announced that on July 4 and 5 five Japanese destroyers were put out of action off the Aleutian Islands. Two were sunk and another set on fire by torpedoes at Kiska, one of the Rat Islands of the western Aleutians and two others in the same group.
• July 10, 1942: The trappers got lucky this spring, as just after they had sold their catches of beaver, rats, etc., the market went to the place where Hitler and his gang will end up.
• July 10, 1942: Mr, Harper Reed has moved from Telegraph Creek to Atlin where he intends to make his future home. Mr. Reed has been with the Dominion Indian Dept. for many years past and has now been superannuated.

• July 17, 1942: The extremely hot weather in the northern part of the Territory during the past few weeks has been the cause for forest fires being ignited in the Dawson and Mayo areas as well as in Northern British Columbia and the Peace River bloc. One of the worst fires in the Territory is still raging up the Klondike and has already, it is reported, spread over an area of from fifteen to twenty miles. One of the government road camps in the district was completely burned out whilst Oscar Miller, an old-time individual miner had his cabin destroyed on Goring Creek, a tributary of the Klondike, and lost a year's supplies in the conflagration.
• July 17, 1942: Canadian Pacific Airlines Ltd., have acquired the premises formerly owned by the late Capt. P. Martin on Front Street and are moving to their new location as soon as the necessary alterations have been completed. For sometime past the accommodation in their present quarters have been somewhat cramped with the large volume of business the company is now conducting at this point.
• July 17, 1942: There is a little activity at the Elsa Camp at present. About six left Mayo on the Moreland to do what will possibly be the "Final" clean-up of the Treadwell Yukon Corp.

• July 24, 1942: Strict military control over all civilian travel to and from Alaska is established on July 14. A military pass is now required for any civilian entering or leaving the territory.
• July 24, 1942: Alaska Delegate Anthony J. Dimond has received reports that twenty to twenty-five thousand Japanese trops had been landed on the islands of Attu, Kiska and Agattu in the Aleutians. Army and navy bombers are continuing to hammer away at the enemy whenever weather conditions permit. U. S. submarines are attacking relentlessly through the fog and rain and have sunk three more Japanese destroyers raising the number of enemy ships sunk or damaged to eighteen.
• July 24, 1942: We have been requested to publish the following telephone directory for the benefit of those interested:
  British Yukon Navigation Company - Two long-one short.
  Department of Transport - One long-two short-one long.
  See the entire directory here.

• July 31, 1942: There was a great shock felt throoughout the community when it became Known that Mr. Cecil Richards, 23, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Richards of this city, was drowned whilst swimming in Ear Lake last Sunday afternoon.
• July 31, 1942: Councillor W. L. Phelps on his return from the recent session of the Territorial Council informed us that $10,000 has been allocated for the construction of a much needed addition to the Whitehorse General Hospital. It is understood the work will be carried out as soon as both lumber and labor are available. A special grant of $500 was made toward the $1600 new X-Ray machine now in operation at the hospital.
• July 31, 1942: Lengthy reports on the many baseball and softball games being played around town are printed throughout the summer. "The 691st Clearing Company softball team gave the Military Police their first defeat of the season in an extra inning game played at Sports Field last Sunday when they scored one run in the eighth to win 6-5."

August

• August 7, 1942: John Klee, age 40, a mine operator on lay from Spruce Creek Mining Co., was shot to death in the early hours of Wednesday morning by William Scott of Stewart, B.C., who is about 48 years of age and employed by the Columbia Development Co., Ltd., of Spruce Creek. Scott tried to crash a party but was ordered to leave, He returned and shot Klee on sight.
• August 7, 1942: In the Battle of Britain the R. A. F. destroyed 3,692 Axis aircraft in three months - more than four times the number of British planes lost. In Britain today, every fit man between eighteen and one-half and forty-one has already been drafted into the forces, unless irreplaceable in an essential job. The age limit has now been raised to fifty-one. In the huge raid on Cologne on May 3, 1942, the bombers employed, which numbered over 1000 were all British made.
• August 7, 1942: Berry pickers in the Dawson area are busy nowadays. The crop of raspberries and blueberries is stated to be normal.

• August 14, 1942: After placing third in its class two years ago in the Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association competition, we are happy to report that the Whitehorse Star has been unanimously declared by the judges to be the best all-round newspaper in its class this year.
• August 14, 1942: In police court on Monday Eric O. Larsen, a naturalized Swede, appeared before Stipendiary Magistrate. J. Aubrey Simmons charged with being intoxicated and disorderly. He was fined $5.00 and $5.25 costs or in the alternative five days in gaol with hard labour. The fine was paid. The following day he appeared again in court charged with supplying intoxicating liquor to an Indian woman. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three months' hard labour in Dawson.
• August 14, 1942: Jackie Nelson, Miss Sheila Nelson and Miss Mary Gordy have left Atlin by boat for Carcross where they intend taking a car on the new road to visit with friends in Teslin for a few days.

• August 21, 1942: Plans are prepared for the erection of a new wing to Whitehorse General Hospital. The construction of the new wing starts on November 13, 1942.
• August 21, 1942: The Government of Canada approves the establishement of restricted military areas as established by General W.M. Hoge. The area includes portions of the Whitehorse airport and its vicinity. Hunting is prohibited in this area and travel is restricted to those with a pass.
• August 21, 1942: $2,000 is allocated for improvement of roads and sidewalks in Whitehorse during the year. Wood sidewalks are retained on the two main streets. On the other streets, the wood sidewalks are replaced with crushed rock surfaced with decomposed granite.

• August 28, 1942: It caused a distinct shock throughout the world when it was announced Tuesday that H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, brother to H. M. King George VI and Air Commander in the R. A. F., was killed in an airplane accident, along with all the other officers and crew aboard the ship, when the Sutherland Flying Boat in which they were travelling crashed over Scotland whilst en route to Iceland.
• August 28, 1942: After spending forty-three years in the Territory, eighteen of which were in the Dominion Postal Service, Mr. H. Daglish is retiring on superannuation the end of this month. He came from Dawson to Nibitehorse eight years ago to assume the position of postmaster. He and Mrs. Daglish will make their future home in Victoria.
• August 28, 1942: We much regret to report the death of Einard Tatley which oc- curred at the St. Andrew's Hospital in Atlin Thursday. The late Mr. Tatley had been ailing fer the past year, suffering from silicosis contracted whilst employed in the Mayo district.

September

• September 4, 1942: Mr. N. Morant the popular photographer for the Dept. of Public Information, Ottawa, who has been in ithe Territory for the past several weeks, left yesterday morning for the coast en route to Kamloops and through the prairie provinces.
• September 4, 1942: A Bakerfield, California, paper reports that Donad F. Purdy, president of the Curran Lumber Co., has received his commission as a captain in the U. S. army and will serve as a technical executive officer. He was educated in the Dawson Public School and later graduated from Stanford University. He Was a second lieutenant in the First World.
• September 4, 1942: Mrs. Doris Walton, who for so many years has been running a Taxi service between Spruce Creek and Atlin, is going to Whitehorse and already has shipped her car.

• September 11, 1942: Negotiations between the U.S. government and the White Pass and Yukon Route are in progress for the U.S. government to operate the railroad for the duration of the war.
• September 11, 1942: All travellers passing through Alaskan Territory must secure a permit from the U.S. Military Police.
• September 11, 1942: The attention of the ladies in this community are directed to the government advertisement published in this issue, calling upon them to register for national service. The first group called upon to register are those between the ages of 20 and 24.

• September 18, 1942: We were pleased to have an opportunity of discussing with Mr. J. H. Sissons, M.P. for Peace River, the various government projects now being carried out through the Territory. Mr. Sissons is particularly interested in the new highway and has keen ideas of its possibilities in the future as an arterial route through his constituency and the Yukon into Alaska. In the railroad project about to be undertaken he also displayed a lively Interest as well as the pipe-line from Fort Norman to this point and stated that he had come to Whitehorse in order to secure data.
• September 18, 1942: The department of National Defence Tuesday announced that Canadian casualties at Dieppe aggregate 3,350 wounded and missing, The known dead amount to 170 including 40 officers, and 2417 missing including 130 officers.
• September 18, 1942: After spending five years in the Yukon, Corpl. Metcalfe, R. C. M. P. who was located at the Summit this summer, has left for Regina to which point he has been transferred.

• September 25, 1942: Mr. J. G. Diefenbaker, K.C., M.P., Conservative member of parliament for Lake Centre, Sask., arrived here via Canadian Pacific Airlines plane on Monday on his first trip into the Territory. He is here to secure at first-hand information regarding the large government undertakings now being carried out here and the great possibilities which the same, when completed, will have for this whole northland. The aircraft he arrived on was flown by Mr. Grant McConachie, General Manager, Western Lines, C.P.A.
• September 25, 1942: Miss Sybil Primrose arrived in town Tuesday night from Edmonton to join the clerical staff of Canadian Pacific Airlines Ltd. as stenographer. Miss Primrose will be welcomed into this community the more so because it came to our knowledge that it was her late father who erected the R. N. W. M. P. barracks here in the early days.
• September 25, 1942: Mr. and Mrs. Jack Egdell and their son Robin have left Atlin for Vancouver, where Jack will report for duty with the Armed Forces. We highly appreciate the spirit of Jack, who has resigned his position with the Government Dept. at Atlin to accept a Buck-private's pay.

October

• October 2, 1942: The first combination canteen-clubhouse in the Yukon opens in Whitehorse for the army. The space is an annex to the library and former meeting hall of the I.O.D.E.
• October 2, 1942: The Rev. W. Randall Stringer, son of Bishop Stringer, was married to Miss Edith Harding on August 29 in Toronto. Rev. and Mrs. Stringer will be coming to the Yukon later in the fall to take charge of the Mission at Fort Selkirk.
• October 2, 1942: Henry J. Stimson, U. S. Secretary of War, stated recently that the Alaskan Highway will be ready for use by December 1 next. Parts of the southern portion are already in use, a car arriving in Whitehorse from Dawson Creek this week. It is also reported that it is now possible to drive from Whitehorse to Edmonton over the highway.

• October 9, 1942: A second highway to Alaska, along route "A" from Seattle north is recommended by the Alaska International Highway Commission, but not favoured by the Federal Works Agency.
• October 9, 1942: Councillor Andrew T. Taddie, the well-known Granville merchant, passed away recentiy in Dawson, the result of a foot infection that necessitated the amputation of a leg above the knee.
• October 9, 1942: Kai Gertsen, who operates the Cascade Laundry in Dawson, has removed his dry cleaning plant to Whitehorse and is having same installed on Main Street nearly opposite the Star Office.

• October 16, 1942: Brigadier General James A. O'Connor has arrived at Whitehorse to head the farthest north service command ever established by the United States Army. Read the entire article here.
• October 16, 1942: A distinguished party arrived in Whitehorse this week to get a bird's eye view of the Yukon Territory and Alaska as the guests of Canadian Pacific Air Lines Ltd. Mr. Grant McConachie, general manager of the C. P. A. western division was at the controls and Capt. Don V. Patry was co-pilot, with Miss Ethel Hailes as stewardess.
• October 16, 1942: Atlin's new hospital, which will soon be completed, is certainly a very beautiful building and now in the finishing process as all the plumbing and wiring has been completed by a first-rate plumber that Mr. Stevens the foreman in charge brought with him from Victoria about six weeks ago. We must say that the work that has been accomplished by five men the past few weeks is neary unbelievable.

• October 23, 1942: Torpedoed in darkness, the Newfoundland-Nova Scotia ferry steamship Caribou was sunk in Cabot Strait Oct. 14 with the loss of 137 lives in the greatest marine disaster of this war in the coastal waters fringing on Canada.
• October 23, 1942: It is reported that pilot trucks will be put in operation probably next month to make test runs all the way from Dawson Creek through to Fairbanks. For the past fortnight testing between Dawson Creek and Whitehorse has been carried out but no test runs as yet been undertaken throughout the 1630 miles stretch of the highway. There is still a section of approximately forty miles to be constructed near the Alaska-Yukon border.
• October 23, 1942: Shortly after midnight Wednesday locomotive No. 71 went off on a jamboree in front of the commissary just past the yard switch. Luckily she was travelling "unattached" at the time. The following morning she reclined at an awkward angle with one set of wheels on the roadbed but not on the rails and the other set buried "Deep in the heart of Texas."

• October 30, 1942: Hon. J. L. Ilsey's office in Ottawa has announced receipt of a Victory Loan investment of $5000 from Finlay Beaton, of Minto, Yukon Territory. Beaton is one of the most interesting characters in the north, having resided in the Klondike area since the days of '98. He is today the only resident of Minto, outside of a group of Indians, and he lives the life of a hermit. Years ago he lost a hand in a shooting accident, but he gets along splendidly with a steel hook protruding from his sleeve. He meets almost every steamer passing up and down the river and having an excellent radio is able to give an interesting five-minute summary of the news of the world, as he stands with his shaggy dog on the bank, shouting his message to the passengers.
• October 30, 1942: USO Campshows Overseas Unit No. 17 was flying through on its way north when inclement weather forced the plane down at the local airport. Contacts were immediately established with the troupe and before the first "please" had been uttered a generous "yes" was forthcoming and one of the most delightful evenings in the hiistory of Whitehorse was in the making.
• October 30, 1942: The Occidental Hotel, which has been a Dawson landmark for many years, has closed its doors due to lack of business. Many of the former patrons have left for other parts. It may re-open later on business conditions warrant it.
  Dredge Yukon No. 9, located on Upper Sulphur Creek, has discontinued operations and may not be put into commission again until after the war.

November

• November 6, 1942: Tuesday night one of the large granite lions which adorn the main entrance to Vancouver Courthouse on Georgia Street was badly damaged by a dynamite explosion. So great was the blast the windows in all the large buildings facing on to the court house square were blown out or smashed by the repercussion including the old Vancouver Hotel, Georgia, Devonshire and the Hornby St. side of the new Vancouver Hotel.
• November 6, 1942: Miss Elsie Nightingale is now a member of the Women's Division_ of the R. C. A. F. She is the first member of the Dawson City Chapter I. 0. D. E. to join the active forces.
• November 6, 1942: Frank Slaven died in Seattle on October 12th. He mined and operated a roadhouse on Coal Creek which empties into the Yukon river sixty miles above Circle City. He left for the Outside in May 1941 after disposing of his mining interests to General A. D. McRae and associates.

• November 13, 1942: Two disastrous fires occurred this week, one causing the demolition of the 2-storey residence of former officers in charge of the R. N. W. M. P. at the old barracks site and the other the cabin of Louis Irvine. The premises at the old police barracks have been for some time past occupied by the U. S. Army and for a time was utilized as its headquarters but more recently as sleeping quarters for some of the soldiers. Two soldiers suffered minor injuries when hit by ammunition, several cases of which exploded during the conflagration.
• November 13, 1942: Construction of the new addition to our hospital has commenced and concrete for the full-sized basement was poured last Sunday. When completed this new addition which will be a two-storey structure measuring 30x50 ft. will provide for eleven extra beds as well as separate quarters for the nursing staff. Mr. Sam Collins is the architect.
• November 13, 1942: We noticed on Monday an army truck outside the C. P. A. office on Front Street on the radiator of which was displayed a large printed placard reading "First Truck - Dawson Creek to Whitehorse - Northwest Service Command - 71 hours."

  

• November 20, 1942: The dedicatory ceremony of the official opening of the Alcan Highway held today at Soldiers' Summit near Kluane Lake was comparatively brief. Colonel K. R. Bush, Chief of Staff, Northwest Service Command, was Master of Ceremonies. Although comparatively brief the ceremony was both colorful and impressive.
• November 20, 1942: With the permission of Inspector W. Grennan, officer in charge of the R. C. M. P. in the Yukon, members of the Force, dressed in their familliar searlet and blue uniforms, under the direction of Corp. Beryl Allan of Whitehorse, acted as the Guard of Honor at the impressive opening ceremony of the Alcan Highway today.
• November 20, 1942: Due to the space required for reporting the opening of the highway today several of our usual features have had to be omitted.

• November 27, 1942: At the annual meeting of the Whitehorse Curling Club held Monday the following were elected: President, G. Armstrong; Vice-President, R. Greenslade; Secretary-Treasurer, J. Gentleman. Due to increased population and also curlers it will be necessary to limit the number of players for the season. It was tentatively suggested to play seven nights a week to permit of each player to enter two games a week. There will be an opening bonspiel for civilians to run one week and another bonspiel the following week for the U. S. army.
• November 27, 1942: To those who suffered disappointment in not being able to procure copies of our last issue we extend our sincerest regret. The demand far exceeded our expectations and what added to our difficulties was the fact that unfortunately we experienced last week certain mechanical difficulties which, through lack of time, prevented our printing several thousand extra copies. The large majority of those who suffered such dsappointment are not regular subscribers which is unfortunate for them as well as for ourselves for with an increased circulation we should be enabled to make many improvements in this publication which we have been contemplating for sometime past but which we have as yet been unable to undertake through no fault of ours.
• November 27, 1942: Cortlandt P. Mack, who arrived in the Yukon in '98, passed away at Carmacks on Tuesday, November 17, after a lengthy illness at the age of 76. He had been placer mining in the Carmacks district more or less continuously for the past forty-four years.

December

• December 4, 1942: Leslie Cook becomes a hero flying two surgeons to the Donjek camp and saving the life a soldier with a burst appendix. Read the entire article here.
• December 4, 1942: Maintenance work on the Alcan International Highway will be continued throughout the Arctic winter, Brigadier General James A. O'Connor, commanding the Northwest Service Command, has announced, and many sections of the road will be improved and widened.
• December 4, 1942: A large warehouse filled with food supplies was completely destroyed by fire at Carcross the early part of this week.

  

• December 11, 1942: A week ago today there occurred the saddest fatal accident so far in the history of Whitehorse when a Norseman plane, piloted by Les Cook and accompanied by his two mechanics, Ken McLean and Don Dickson, crashed on Black Street near the home of Mr. and Mrs. I. Taylor. Read the entire article here.
• December 11, 1942: A grand evening of fun was afforded the soldiers stationed in this vicinity last Sunday night when an all-colored troupe of soldier-thespiens put on a show at the local Whitehorse Theatre for the Army personnel and their wives and sweethearts.
• December 11, 1942: Construction of a 142-mile road connecting Haines with Champagne has begun, with crews and equipment now landed at Haines. This Haines "cut-off" has long been favored by Alaska Governor Ernest Gruening. Read the entire article here.

• December 18, 1942: Another historic landmark in Whitehorse, the North Star Athletic Association Hall, was destroyed by fire on December 16th. The building stood originally on Front Street where the warehouse of Messrs. Taylor & Drury Ltd. is now located. In 1903 it was moved to its present site and extended. Through the years it has played an important part in the social life of the community.
• December 18, 1942: The sale of intoxicating liquors is to be curtailed in the near future. It is proposed to reduce the consumption of beer in Canada by ten per cent and wine by twenty per cent. Although this is a matter for provincial regulation the Dominion government has the right to intervene if it so chooses.
• December 18, 1942: In a recent editorial the Anchorage Times stated that the reason the Japs are still on Kiska is because they can't get off. All Japanese aircraft there and more than twenty vessels have been destroyed and many shore batteries silenced.

• December 25, 1942: The veteran commanding officer of the Whitehorse Army Hospital, Captain Mendel Silverman, has been promoted to the rank of major. Under the direction of Major Silverman, whose home is in Ruthford, N. J.. men constructing the Alcan International Highway have been given medical care and treatment.
• December 25, 1942: We extend hearty congratulations to Atlin's R. C. A. F. young man, Francis Henning, who passed his exams with nine others out of 45 with the highest honours. Now Francis can be a full fledged navigator or a pilot whichever he chooses. We are betting that he will choose the pilot's responsibilities.
• December 25, 1942: Most exciting overseas flying is that done by the Catafighters, who work closely with the R. A. F. Coastal Command. When a Nazi bomber attacks a convoy, the Catafighter is shot by a catapult built on to a merchant ship. After the pilot has done his job of fighting the enemy plane, he bails out with his rubber dinghy and lets his plane crash into the sea. Tough nerves and highly specialized training are recuired for this work.

1943

January

• January 8, 1943: Dr. I. D. Snider, well-known throughout the Yukon, Alaska and British Columbia as a dentist, is now a captain in the Armed Forces. He left Dawson a few years ago and established himself in the Medical-Dental Building in Vancouver.
• January 8, 1943: The C. P. A. plane which disappeared December 20th whilst en route to Vancouver with 8 passengers has not yet been located and the cause of the unfortunate accident still remains a mystery.
• January 8, 1943: The impetus given to scientific research in times of war is truly striking and phenomenal. One of the scientific dreams which modern research is bringing steadily closer to realization is the capturing of energy directly from the sun's rays. The tapping of even a small part of the tremendous, quantities of solar energy which flood the earth every day and its harnessing to man's industrial and domestic needs would effect a complete transformation in the life of every nation.

  The January 8th edition is the only January edition available in the online archives.

February

• February 19, 1943: A dynamite explosion in Dawson Creek on February 13th demolished an entire block, causing the death of 5 people, and injuring more than 150.
• February 19, 1943: The mayor of Atlin, Major C. William A. Neville, died on February 8th at the age of 81.

  The February 19th edition is the only February edition available in the online archives.

March

• March 5, 1943: A fire on March 3 damages the Whitehorse library and destroys numerous books.
• March 5, 1943: Atlin is experiencing one of the greatest logging and sawmill booms in its lifetime.
• March 5, 1943: Several movie stars arrive in the north to entertain the troops involved in the construction of the Alaska Highway.

  The March 5th edition is the only March edition available in the online archives.

April

• April 9, 1943: The Public Library, which is under the management of Whitehorse Chapter, Imperial Order Daughters of Empire, reports a banner year due to increase in population. The book exchange department has been one of the busiest offices in town, and the Reading Room, with its tables well stocked with the latest magazines and papers and letter-writing materials, has been patronized daily. Records show that 4,044 books were in circulation, of which number, 417 were loaned to out-of-town borrowers.
• April 9, 1943: Several Dawsonites are now working at the Snag airport or freighting in and out of Whitehorse. These include Bill Anderson, formerly of Yukon Dredge No. 2 and an outstanding Bear Creek ball player. C. B. Smith is driving a "cat," Erland (Snooze) Benson is trucking as also are Reg. Ryan, Earl Brooks and Vic McLellan.
• April 9, 1943: A party of 15 or more, consisting of Dominion geologists and representatives of six United States oil corporations will be arriving in the north in the near future to prospect for oil in the Mackenzie river area between Providence and Fort Norman according to a report emanating from Ottawa.

  The April 9th edition is the only April edition available in the online archives.

  There are no May or June 1943 editions available in the online archives.

May

• May 22, 1943: The longest open wire toll telephone/teletype circuit line in the world opened yesterday. It runs 1,580 miles from Edmonton to Whitehorse, and crews are already pushing on towards Fairbanks. The line was begun last August 15th by the Northwest Service Command of the US Army. Read the Canadian Press article here.

July

• July 2, 1943: Medical health officers order compulsory inoculation of all Indians at Moosehide because of a possible typhoid epidemic.
• July 2, 1943: A. C. Blanchard, pioneer of Skagway and for many years General Auditor of the White Pass and Yukon Route, died at his home in Skagway recently at the age of about 64. He is survived by his wife and three sons.
• July 2, 1943: Mr. Gordon McCallum of the Edmonton Journal visited the Star office whilst he was in town this week, as did Mr. G. L. Peterson of the Minneapolis Star Journal and Mr. M. McClure of Pathe News.

• July 9, 1943: For quite a time now the local post office has been entirely under-staffed to cope with the large volume of mail arriving for distribution at this point. The inconveniences suffered in the past are now to be remedied. Two assistants from the postal department at Vancouver arrived by C. P. A. plane last night in the persons of Mr. Clive Campbell and Mr. J. H. McGinniss. This brings the number of employees now to nine.
• July 9, 1943: On Sunday, July 18, a dedication ceremony will be held by the American Red Cross to mark the opening of a service club for all enlisted men. The club premises at one time formed part of the old R. N. W. M. P. barracks and are located on the opposite side of the road and a little beyond the residence of Mr. C. T. Atherton.
• July 9, 1943: It was too bad that after all arrangements had been completed for a gala day on July 4 a thunderstorm caused abandonment of the programme and dispersal of the crowd. One of the outstanding features was a boxing match which took place Wednesday before a crowd of spectators estimated at five thoursand. Boxing fans jammed the recreation field to cheer their favourites to victory in one of the most thrilling events to be staged in Whitehorse in years. The U. S. army personnel were there in large numbers as also of the various construction camps now located in this vicinity. The Canadian army and air force personnel and townspeople were also well represented and were keenly interested in the contests.

• July 16, 1943: A new liquor store is about to be erected adjoining the present Territorial offices and the basement has already been excavated. In the meantime the liquor store has been temporiarily removed to Front Street in the premises next to the drugstore.
• July 16, 1943: Retired R.C.M.P. Sergeant Leonard Kingston died in his sleep on May 18th at his residence, "Carcross," at Chewton Way, Highcliffe, Hants, England, after a lingering iliness. For a number of years he was stationed in Whitehorse and had charge of the local barracks until his retirement from the service in 1938. He and Mrs. Kingston left here for England in September 1938.
• July 16, 1943: With all the debris from the recent disastrous fire cleared away the Northern Commercial Co. Ltd., lost no time in starting on the erection of their fine new premises which will be two storeys high with a greatly increased floor space and furnishings and fixtures of the latest design. Messrs. Bennett & White Ltd., the contractors, are making good progress with the construction work.

• July 23, 1943: At the W. H. Theatre Sunday night Mr. Arthur J. Turner, M.L.A., organizer of the C.C.F. party in B.C., addressed a well-attended public meeting. By the end of the meeting, a Yukon club had been formed, with the following officers elected: President, Robert Hastie; Vice-President, Odin Hougren; Secretary-Treas., Floyd Johnson.
• July 23, 1943: The former manager's residence (Brinker House) at Engineer Mine is for sale. It has a large living room, five bedrooms, two bath rooms (one being complete with all fixtures), kitchen, etc. House is built of fir lumber with Beaver Board walls. Electric wired with splendid fixtures. It is about a hundred yards from mine wharf and would make splendid proposition for party who would dismantle and rebuild at Whitehorse. Price as is at mine $1600.00.
• July 23, 1943: Included in a vast $210,000,000 post-war reconstruction program prepared by the B.C. government is $23,709,300 for the B.C. - Yukon - Alaska Highway.

• July 30, 1943: Hon. John Hart, premier of British Columbia, has arrived at Dawson Creek to confer with authorities regarding the proposed $6,000,000 link to connect the B. C. highway system with the Alaska Military Highway.
• July 30, 1943: Tuesday night British Empire air forces dropped more than 2,300 tons of bombs on Hamburg the first port and the second largest city in Germany. It was the heaviest raid of the war to date and the sixth made within seventy-two hours. This new all-time high in tonnage dropped by a single raiding force was achieved in a Thunderbolt assault packed into 45 minutes of furious bombardment by a massive force of British and Canadian bombers. The cost to the Allies for this major assault was only 18 bombers.
• July 30, 1943: The large plate glass windows of the former Schink's store in Dawson at the corner of Third and Queen are being taken out and will be shipped to the N. C. Co. at Whitehorse.

August

• August 27, 1943: Mr. W. S. Holland, representing the well-known publications "Time" and "Life" arrived in town again this week. He was here a year ago and informs us that he is very favourably impressed with the progress which has been made since he was last here.
• August 27, 1943: Dr. W. Graham Gillam, M.R.C.V.S., has been to Dawson and inspected all the herds of cattle in the district for T. B. and was very favourably impressed with the tests, all animals being in Al condition. He will be leaving here this week-end on his return trip to Vancouver.
• August 27, 1943: A huge British and Canadian armada dropped upwards of 2000 tons of bombs on Berlin Monday night, turning it into a blazing inferno visible for 250 miles. It was the heaviest raid in the war in which great four-ton super block-busters and hundreds of thousands of incendiaries player the major role. Fifty-eight Allied bombers were lost in the raid, seven of which were stated to be Canadian.

  The August 27th edition is the only August edition available in the online archives.

September

• September 3, 1943: On August 29, U.S. and Canadian officials participate in the formal opening of the Peace River Bridge on the Alaska Highway.
• September 3, 1943: Allan J. McIntosh died suddenly in Dawson last week at the age of 77. He came north in the Klondike gold rush and was one of the earliest prospectors in the McQuesten and Mayo districts. He was in the the employ of the old Canadian Klondike Mining Company when the late Joe Boyle was in charge, and was for a number of years dredge superintendent for the Boyle Company in the Klondike Valley.
• September 3, 1943: Detachments of the R.C.M.P. from Teslin and Carcross arrested two men for operating a still 33 miles from Teslin on the Norman Road. A truck load of crude alcohol was taken as evidence. They were found guilty in police court and fined $500 each and costs. The "home-brew" was sold for as high as $17 a bottle.

• September 10, 1943: In a report made by General George Marshall, figures about the Alaska Highway are revealed: The cost is estimated at $115,000,000, and 10,000 American troops were used in the construction between March and October 1942. The road-bed is 26 feet wide with a surface from 20 to 22 feet wide.
• September 10, 1943: His Excellency the Earl of Athlone, Governor-General of Canada, made his first visit to Alaska Tuesday when he personally piloted, part of the way, an R.C.A.F. amphibian bomber from Prince Rupert to an air base outpost in southeastern Alaska which is manned by Canadians.
• September 10, 1943: Bergen, Chaplain of the Northwest Service Command, who on various occasions in the past has occupied the pulpit at Christ Church here, left for the Outside last Saturday and will not be returning. He has been in ill health for the past few months.

• September 17, 1943: Governor General of Canada, The Earl of Athlone, and his wife, H.R.H. the Princess Alice, visit the Territory on September 12.
• September 17, 1943: Yesterday a convoy of three high-speed trucks, loaded with standard-sized motion picture projection machines and sound equipment made available by Famous Players Canadian Corp., left Edmonton for Whitehorse. The outfit carried a traffic expediter and two shifts of drivers to insure delivery of the material in time for installation in the new theatre being rushed to completion by the Metcalfe - Hamilton - Kansas City Bridge companies for the Canadian premiere of Warner Bros. screen production of Irving Berlin's "This is the Army" on Sept. 21.
• September 17, 1943: Because of their disposition some people, unfortunately, are unable to fall in line with the tempo of the times. Instead of endeavouring to get into step with the changing conditions and cultivating a zest for the increased work which confronts them they seem to prefer to live in the past and to bemoan the extra exertion which is imposed upon them. Such a negative attitude is neither beneficial for the body or the mind. It's worse than useless to try and live in the past when one has to live in the present. As far as Whitehorse is concerned "The good old days" have vanished.

  

• September 24, 1943: The imposing new Tita Theatre at McCrae opened on September 21st as scheduled. It has a seating capacity of 500 but this number was greatly exceeded on its initial opening.
• September 24, 1943: Daily mail service between Whitehorse and Dawson Creek was inaugurated yesterday.
• September 24, 1943: Peter Larssen died at his home in Vancouver on Monday, September 13, at the age of 88. He arrived in Vancouver from Denmark forty-five years ago to join the Klondike gold rush, later joining the British Yukon Navigation Co. as an engineer on their fleet of river boats. In 1936 he retired from the service to spend his remaining years with his family in Vancouver.

October

• October 8, 1943: A small fire broke out in the old library premises Monday night and was quickly extinguished. Onlookers expressed the opinion that it would have been better to have let the charred building "go up in smoke" as it is an eyesore in its present dilapidated condition.
• October 8, 1943: The smouldering fires of Kiska's volcano assisted in driving the Japs off the island according to one of the youthful R.C.A.F. pilots who participated in the raids. "We sometimes used the glow of a volcano on Kiska as a beacon to guide us to our targets in the fog."
• October 8, 1943: Mrs. Margaret L. Murray, editor of the Bridge River-Lillooet News, arrived in town last week-end from the coast by C. P. A. plane. We have an article giving her impressions on her first visit into the Yukon which will be published in our next issue.

• October 15, 1943: The U.S. Army's Legion of Merit was pinned on Master Sergeant Richard F. Doolan in Whitehorse last Saturday. Doolan resigned his civilian position in the War Department and came to the Yukon as a private. During the winter of 1942-43 this was the coldest post on earth under the American Flag. At temperatures reaching 65 degrees below zero, in temporary CCC buildings, Doolan had charge of organizing the complete files and records section of the entire Command.
• October 15, 1943: Special services will be held at Christ Church - the Old Log Church - on Sunday, October 17, when the entire offering for the day, and all donations received, will be presented to the Archbishop of Canterbury's fund for the restoration of British churches destroyed by German bombing.

• October 22, 1943: The American soldiers constructing and operating the 1,630-mile Alaska International Highway now have their own insignia for the first time. The red, white and blue shoulderpatch features a broad white swath which symbolizes the highway, and at the top is the blue North Star from the Alaskan Territorial Flag. The soldier whose design came closest to the final choice was Sergeant Robert MacNeill of Denver, Colo.
• October 22, 1943: Capt. George Black, M. P. for the Yukon, has been in the southern end of the Territory for the past fortnight familiarizing himself with conditions in readiness for parliament when it re-assembles next January. He visited the airports under construction at Teslin, Aishihik and Snag and stated he found the work progressing satisfactorily.
• October 22, 1943: At Dawson recently Donald Wm. Duncan, who had this season been employed on dredge Yukon No. 10 on Dominion Creek, appeared before Stipendiary Magistrate J. E. Gibben, charged with retaining stolen property. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years' imprisonment. He was arrested as he tried leave Dawson by C. P. A. plane, and 380 ounces of gold was recovered from his baggage. Another 300 ounces was discovered in personal effects sent to Vancouver. Others implicated in the matter have been apprehended and are being brought back from the coast to stand trial.

November

• November 19, 1943: Mr. W. H. McFarland, general manager of Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation Ltd., states that his company's program of operations for 1944 will be equivalent to that of this year. Due to shortage of labor only five of the ten dredges have been in operation this season. The irony of it is that this has been the best water season for the past seven years. Employing normally approximately 700 men, only an average of 175 were on the payroll during the season just closed.
• November 19, 1943: Laurent A. Cyr and Corinne O'Neill were married at the Sacred Heart Church on November 11th. The bride has been a member of the nursing staff at Whitehorse General Hospital for the past two years, and the groom, born and raised in Whitehorse, is a member of the staff in the Customs department.
• November 19, 1943: Munitions Minister Howe announced that West Coast Shipbuilders Ltd. of Vancouver has made delivery of the 200th Canadian built merchant vessel of the 10,000 ton class. She has been christened the Windermere Park and will he operated by the government-owned Park Steamship Ltd.

• November 26, 1943: An agreement is reached between the U.S. and the Canadian governments regarding the Canol project. The United States will carry out the construction program in the N.W.T., Yukon and Alaska and own and operate the project for the duration of the war. Thereafter the properties are to be valued and the Canadian government is to have the first option of purchasing the pipeline and refinery at the commercial valuation. The pipeline from Norman Wells to Whitehorse will be completed in January 1944, and the refinery at Whitehorse, now under construction, is expected to be completed in May 1944.
• November 26, 1943: The United States War Production Board plans to ship many of the huge drag-line power shovels used to build the Alaska Highway to Britain for use in the coal-fields of Wales. The transfer would be under the lend-lease agreement. The invasion of Italy is one reason for the transfer - more than three million tons of coal have been shipped to Italy from the United States at great cost and risk.
• November 26, 1943: Mr. T. Campbell of the Treasury Dept., who left here some weeks ago for his home in Vancouver, has been seriously ill since his arrival at the coast. He is suffering from a nervous breakdown which will take several weeks yet for him to recover from.

December

• December 3, 1943: The offices of the United States Public Roads Administration were closed here today, marking completion of construction on the 1630-mile Alaska International Highway. For the past month there has been a steady exodus of the civilian contractors and construction agencies involved in the project. The actual operation of the road is in charge of the Army's Northwest Service Command.
• December 3, 1943: Capt. Donald McKay died in Vancouver on November 30th at the age of 65. He had been in the service of the B.Y.N. Co. since 1909, most recently as master of the Casca.
• December 3, 1943: The overland mail route along the Alaska Highway from Dawson Creek to Fairbanks was inaugurated on November 27th. The scheduled time for covering the distance of over 1600 miles is given as three days and nineteen hours. Truck drivers and mail clerks will be relieved at various relay stations en route.

• December 17, 1943: After many months spent in erecting the two-story premises on Front Street the spacious ground floor portion of the new store of the Northern Commercial Co. Ltd. was opened to the public Wednesday. It covers an area of 130x100 ft and is equipped with the latest fixtures and furnishings.
• December 17, 1943: A disastrous fire occurred last week at Camp Canol on the south bank of the Mackenzie river fifty miles from Ft. Norman. No details were available at the time of going to press but it is understood that a portion of the village was destroyed by the conflagration.
• December 17, 1943: The Canadian army losses throughout the invasion of Italy amounted to only 238 dead and 44 missing according to official announcement made last week. The number wounded was 811. The British losses were given as 3,212 dead, 9,709. wounded and 3,153 missing.

• December 31, 1943: Last Saturday whilst most people were enjoying the Christmas festivities a fire of unknown origin destroyed the round-house of the W. P. & Y. R. and damaged two locomotives. No other premises were burned. The round-house is being re-built immediately.
• December 31, 1943: Timber wolves are on the warpath in the Atlin area and so far have devoured nine horses leaving only large bones and hooves as evidence of their depredations. Poisoned bait has been placed by provincial police Constable Tom Kelly and trapper V. C. Carlson to catch the marauders whose hangout appears to be in the vicinity of Noel Laviere's ranch some twenty miles north of Atlin Lake.
• December 31, 1943: For the first time in years ptarmigan have arrived in the city limits. A sizeable flock of them have leased their roosting apartments for the winter over the McCormick Transportation Co's garage.

1944

January

• January 7, 1944: Washington releases that the Canol oil pipeline will be completed by the U.S. government despite recommendations that the project be abandoned.
• January 7, 1944: With the last issue in December, the Whitehorse Star completes forty-three years of service in the Yukon.
• January 7, 1944: Carpentry work is completed on the new White Pass and Yukon Railway engine house. The building had been destroyed by fire on Christmas night.

• January 14, 1944: A well-equipped completely modern laundry and dry cleaning plant has been built on the banks of the Lewes River near McCrae. This project is operated by the Quartermaster Corps. The plant has iwo seventy-five horsepower boilers. At present only one is in operation, burning coal. The other is being equipped to burn oil. Read the entire article here.
• January 14, 1944: The entire Yukon Territory, N.W.T. and parts of Alberta are declared "prohibited areas" under the Defence Air Regulations. It is stated that this action has been taken "in order that military control can be exercised over air transport in the whole area".

• January 21, 1944: H. G. MacPherson, owner of a drug store on Front Street since 1908, died in this sleep at the Whitehorse General Hospital on November 19th.
• January 21, 1944: Compared with its predecessor the winter this year has, so far, been phenomenal as far as weather conditions are concerned. For the first time in the history of the Yukon it would appear as if Springtime will arrive ahead of Eaton's Spring Catalogue and those beautifully illustrated seed catalogues so dear to the heart of amateur horticulturalists.
• January 21, 1944: A new "city" is rapidly nearing completion on the outskirts of Whitehorse. Attractively spaced through the wooded areas atop a ring of hills northwest of the town proper is a colony of new Cemesto huts. These houses, involving the use of a new type of processed wall board construction, are semi-prefabricated dwellings. Read the entire article and much more about the Cemesto homes here.

• January 28, 1944: A start has been made to develop a new air route to Alaska. It will follow the old Canadian air trail down the MacKenzie river valley and branch north-westwards from McPherson via Bell-Porcupine and Blue Fish-Porcupine in northern Yukon into Alaska. Survey parties are now in the field to locate suitable sites for landing fields.
• January 28, 1944: Yukon mining pioneer Mr. T. Kerruish died suddenly at Whitehorse General Hospital. He came to the Yukon some 35 years ago to work at the Conrad mines, later worked at several of the Copper Belt mines, and had several of his own claims at Kluane and Livingstone. Read the entire article here.
• January 28, 1944: Pete Gilmore, pioneer Alaskan, says there is enough oil in northern Canada to last the United States for generations to come. He has traveled over 1,000 miles of natural gas and oil prospects, not so much in the Fort Norman district, where the present supply has been tapped for a pipe line to Whitehorse, but farther south and westward, bordering the Rockies.

February

• February 4, 1944: At about 4:10 yesterday morning many town residents were awakened from their slumbers by earthquake tremors which were quite pronounced. No damage appears to have been done.
• February 4, 1944: Sixty-five entrants participated in the first ski-run sponsored by the Labor Relations Board of the USED. More than two hundred spectators were on hand to watch the gala event last Sunday. Prizes were fairly evenly distributed among the entries from the various construction companies and the USED.
• February 4, 1944: Among the recommendations tabled in the House of Commons for post-war employment and developments are construction of an all-season trans-Canada highway, highways leading from northern Alberta and northern British Columbia to the Fort Norman oil fields and the mineral areas of the far north, and a railway line from the Peace river country to the Pacific coast.

• February 11, 1944: Lt. Stuart Mace, geneticist of the War Dog Reception and Training Center in Montana was a visitor in Whitehorse last week. He found fifteen pack dogs for rescue teams to be used by the North Atlantic Wing, ATC. The dogs - the lergest being 135 pounds - are cross bred: half Mackenzie River husky, quarter malamute and quarter police (which gives them intelligence).
• February 11, 1944: The Honourable Ernest Gruening, Governor of Alaska, was a visitor to Whitehorse on his way to Juneau from Fairbanks.
• February 11, 1944: Robert W. Service made an appearance in the Hollywood movie "The Spoilers".

• February 18, 1944: The Department of Agriculture is prepared to supply a limited quantity of selected vegetable and grain seeds to growers in the Yukon Territory who are willing to utilize these seeds during the coming season and furnish reports to the Department respecting results, etc.
• February 18, 1944: A fine exhibition of various metals and ore are on display in the window of the Canadian Pacific Air Line Ltd. There are 385 samples which were shipped fom Vancouve by Mr. Frank Woodside, manager of the British Columbia and Yukon Chamber of Mines, to assit the local branch of that organization in fostering mining interest throughout the Yukon.
• February 18, 1944: Fred M. Racy, veteran Yukon River steamboat mate, passed away recently at his winter home in Florida. Racy spent more than 40 years of his life as mate on steamers plying the Yukon between Whitehorse and St. Michael.

• February 25, 1944: A farewell banquet for American Brigadier-General James A. O'Connor, Officer Commanding the Northwest Service Command was given on February 12th by residents of Whitehorse at the Inn Cafe. A gold key to town was presented to O'Connor who spearheaded the race to build the Alaska Highway.
• February 25, 1944: Sales of War Savings Certificates in British Columbia and the Yukon registered a substantial gain in January amounting to $425,000 compared with $380,892 in December.
• February 25, 1944: On Saturday, February 19th, the Recreation Hall of the R.C.A.F. at Whitehorse was the setting for the first R.C.A.F. wedding of the Yukon, on which occasion Leading Aircraftsman Jason Alexander MacNair was wedded to Rita Catherine Aikens, both formerly of Montreal, Quebec.

March

• March 3, 1944: CFWH, the first Army Expeditionary Forces radio station in the Northwest Service Command, went on the air Thursday, February 24, at seven o'clock. The station is operated by and for the soldiers of this district, under the direction of the Special Service Branch.
• March 3, 1944: Sergt. Archibald Head passed away recently at his home in Terrace, B. C., He was an old-timer in the Yukon, being a member of the Royal North West Mounted Police and later of the R. C. M. P. For many years he was stationed at the barracks in Whitehorse.
• March 3, 1944: At midnight Tuesday meat rationing and meatless Tuesdays were officially declared suspended temporarily. The reaon given is because of the surplus now in Canada which cannot be transported to Britain on account of a bottleneck in shipping.

• March 10, 1944: The Canadian government has decided to reimburse the United States government the sum of $48,000,000 spent by the latter on the construction of the air bases throughout northern Canada, i.e, Edmonton to Whitehorse and down the Mackenzie. In some quarters this is considered somewhat in the nature of a Canadian "Declaration of Independence" in order that Canada may be in a position to enter into post-war negotiations over international air routes without any "strings" or obligations to others.
• March 10, 1944: Mr. Jack McGuffin of J. L. McGuffin & Co., Eastern Clothing Stylists, along with his associates Bud Dinwoodie and Ken Goodfellow arrived in Whitehorse by C. P. A. plane last Thursday on the last lap of their clothing survey of the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Although British imported materials are more difficut to obtain Mr. McGuffin states he still has one of the largest showing in the industry. The trio are the pioneer clothing salesmen on the Alaska Hi-way.
• March 10, 1944: The new health insurance plan, designed to afford medical and hospital services to everyone in Canada and full dental care to all children under 16, will cost $250,000,000, besides administration costs, or an average of $22 for every man, woman and child in the Dominion. Of this, the Dominion would pay an estimated $100,000,000, while $150,000,000 would be contributed by the public under a graded system of payments.

• March 17, 1944: Mr. Louis Schuiz, the well known pioneer businessman of Atlin, passed away in a Vancouver hospital recently. He was the proprietor of the Royal Hotel and a large general store He also operated a sawmill there and was interested in various mining operations in the Atlin area.
• March 17, 1944: The bullet-riddled bodies of Eugene Messmer 33, and Hans Pfeuffer, 43, who were murdered near Finlay Forks, were taken by the police into Prince George which is approximately 200 air miles from the scene of the tragedy. The two trappers were partners and motive for the killing was revealed when police reported valuable furs, guns, equipment and supplies were missing from the trappers' cabin.
• March 17, 1944: Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced in the Commons Monday that the Federal government has decided to lift the restrictions upon the supply of beer which may be released for sale to the provinces.

• March 24, 1944: Local Canadian Red Cross donations collected to date total only $1,208.45 as compared with $3,350.00 collected last year. It is to be sincerely hoped that when the final check-up is made this year's amount will approximate that of 1943.
• March 24, 1944: Coming north on an inspection trip of the R. C. A. F. Northwest Staging Route and U.S.A.A.F. installations is Lt.-Col. David A. Burchinal, military air attache to the United States Embassy in Canada. He will be accompaned by Col. Francis J. Grayling, U. S. military attache at Ottawa.
• March 24, 1944: If you are worried about the right kind of flag to fly when a distinctive Canadian flag is required, take Prime Minister King's word for it. The Red Ensign is correct dress for the occasion, he told the Commons.

• March 31, 1944: Good Times Coming to Yukon, says Bill Driscoll in a half-page article. The snow is rapidly disappearing from the mountains after the mildest winter ever experienced in the memory of the old-est sourdough. The old prospectors are getting itchy feet and are oiling their boots and checking over their equipment preparatory to getting out into the hills.
• March 31, 1944: Whitehorse Pharmacy is advertising a new shipment of Lentheric Toilet Preparations; a beautiful assortment of Indian Handicraft, including Necklaces and Quill Covered Boxes; and Stationery and Remembrance Cards for every occasion.
• March 31, 1944: We welcome to this community Mrs. Pinchin and her two young sons who arrived from the coast by C.P.A. plane Monday to make their home here. We understand Mr. Pinchin will be opening up his new bakery and confectionery store, located immediately south of the Whitehorse Theatre in the near future.

April

• April 7, 1944: Prime Minister Churchill announced in the British House of Commons Tuesday that Canadian casualties in the first four years of the war totalled 19,697, composed of 9,200 killed, 2,745 missing, 3,383 wounded and 4,360 prisoners of war. He said the British Empire casualties for the same period totalled 667,159 made up of 158,741 killed, 78,204 missing, 159,219 wounded and 270,995 prisoners of war.
• April 7, 1944: B. C. Minister of Public Works Herbert Anscomb states that arrangements have been completed for three parties to begin the survey of the proposed Pine Pass road to the Peace River country as soon as the snow disappears.
• April 7, 1944: A large display ad announces Public Health Regulations, including rules for outdoor privies. They must have a metal receptacle, be fly-proof, and be emptied once weekly from April 15th to October Ist, 1944. Pit privies are not to be used. Privies and surroundings must be kept clean; suitable disinfectant to be used in receptacle.

• April 14, 1944: Canadian Pacific Air Lines flies to Edmonton daily except Sunday, via Watson lake, Fort Nelson, Fort St. John, and Grande Prairie; to Vancouver daily except Sunday, via Fort St. John and Prince George; and to Dawson every Tuesday and Friday.
• April 14, 1944: The Whitehorse branch of the British Columbia and Yukon Chamber of Mines have arranged for a series of lectures on mining to be given here the latter part of next month. Due to the wide interest now being taken in various phases of the mining industry and to its future development in the Yukon Territory these lectures are bound to prove most popular.
• April 14, 1944: The Price Control Board announced an order establishing ceiling prices for wholesale and retail sales of roasted and salted peanuts. They have been so conspicuous by their absence here in the north that some of the boys are beginning to wonder what they look like.

• April 21, 1944: Bert Sansom is now a pilot officer in the R. C. A .F., commissioned as a wireless air gunner. He enlisted in January 1943 and attended No. 3 wireless school in Winnipeg, being registered as from the Yukon. He graduated on March 10 last at Paulsen, Manitoba, where he received his wings and sergeant's stripes.
• April 21, 1944: About 175 men from Minnesota are expected to arrive at Fort St. John, B. C., to carry out the concrete runway work at its airport. It is understood they will construct two runways, each six thousand feet long and two hundred feet wide, which will be surfaced with concrete to carry safely the heaviest planes operated.
• April 21, 1944: The United States government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in Canada on such major projects as the Alaska Highway, Canol, and improvements to airfields on the Northwest Staging Route. In addition huge sums of American funds were spent in the purchase of Canadian wheat, base metals, timber and newsprint. The speed in which U. S. funds have flowed into Canada during the past few years is stated to be threatening the exchange rate and causing alarm in other directions among United States exporters. As a result the agreement signed at Hyde Park in 1940 has been suspended.

• April 28, 1944: The first and only oil refinery in the Yukon Territory will be dedicated in Whitehorse at the Canol Refinery site Sunday, April 30, at 12 o'clock noon. The public is cordially invited by the Northwest Service Command to the ceremony marking this history making step in the opening of the great Northwest.
• April 28, 1944: The engineers and crews of the B. Y. N. Co. arrived here this week from the coast in readiness for the season's operations.
• April 28, 1944: Henry C. Macaulay, first mayor of Dawson, died in Vancouver on Sunday April 23rd at the age of 74.

May

• May 5, 1944: The Canol Refinery, built by Standard Oil for the U.S. Army, officially opened in Whitehorse on April 30th, with at least three thousand people in attendance.
• May 5, 1944: Contract for the general construction work at the Grande Prairie airport has been awarded to the Western Construction and Lumber Co. Ltd., of Edmonton. The estimated cost of the work is approximately $1,000,000. It is part of a genera] "rounding out" policy being carried out by the Northwest Staging Route at four airports at a total cost of $5,000,000.
• May 5, 1944: American Expeditionary Station CFWH is anxious to contact talent in the Whitehorse area. Particularly wanted are hillbilly singers, both men and women, for a Barn Dance program soon to be started. Contact the Special Service Office.

• May 12, 1944: The eight flight strips which were completed early this winter along the route of the Alaska Highway already have more than paid for themselves in the number of planes which have utilized the strips under emergency conditons, it was announced by Brigadier General Ludson D. Worsham, Commanding General of the Northwest Service Command last Friday.
• May 12, 1944: With the war situation in the Pacific eased, Hon. T. A. Crerar, minister of mines and resources, has announced that the United States government is giving up its emergency oil exploration program in northwestern Canada, but the operation of the Canol pipeline and refinery will continue.
• May 12, 1944: We are informed that Lloyd Ryder and Ian Murray, who left here a week ago to enlist in the Armed Forces, have joined the R. C A. F. to be trained as gunners.

• May 19, 1944: This past winter has probably been one of the mildest on record in this zone. This spring has been proportionately mild and the Alaska Highway, prepared during the construction season of 1943 for proper drainage, lived up to and beyond expectations and has drained and dried out into a firm roadway. There are three permanent bridges being built at this time.
• May 19, 1944: R. C. Miller, veteran printer, newspaperman and adventurer, happily celebrated his 95th birthday at his home at Fort William, P. Q. In '98 Mr. Miller came to the Yukon and was appointed assistant gold commissioner and mining recorder, which position he held until 1918.
• May 19, 1944: Mr. Gordon Cameron of the local C.P.A. staff left by C.P.A. plane Saturday for Edmonton where his marriage to Miss Willa Yvonne (Bonnie) Hunter of that city will take place on May 22 in Central Church of Christ. After a short trip to the coast the bridal couple will return to reside in Whitehorse.

• May 26, 1944: The first riverboat of the season, the Whitehorse, departed yesterday for Dawson with Captain Bromley in command.
• May 26, 1944: Dawson recently suffered its worst flood in history, causing thousands of dollars in damage. Four-engined American bombers from Fairbanks were called in to break the 15-mile-long ice jam below town.
• May 26, 1944: Improvements to be made in the town of Carcross as a result of recent allocations from Yukon Council include work on the airfield, sidewalk construction, improvements to the bridge and work on the school-grounds.

June

• June 2, 1944: Formation of a new R. C. A. F. district - the Northwest Air Command - with headquarters in Edmonton is anounced from Ottawa and became effective yesterday. The new command will control the Northwest Staging Route. Its first officer is Air Vice Marshal T. A. Lawrence, formerly in charge of No. 2 Training Command at Winnipeg.
• June 2, 1944: On Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock the first American Memorial Day service held in Whitehorse took place at the local cemetery under the auspices of the American Legion Yukon Post No. 2.
• June 2, 1944: A full-page ad by the Government of Canada explains the necessity of price controls: "I dreamed that I paid $5.00 for a haircut and $50.00 for a pair of cardboard shoes. I dreamed that we had no wartime controls on prices, profits or wages, and that we hadn’t had the sense to organize the distribution of supplies all the way down the line..."

• June 9, 1944: Whitehorse's vision of a Canadian-American brotherhood became a reality on Tuesday evening with the first united gathering of local residents and American citizens at the bi-monthly meeting of the Polaris Club, a new organization founded last month. Edwin O. Zecher of Bechtel-Price-Callahan is the President.
• June 9, 1944: Christ Church is holding a series of "Lantern Lectures" slide shows about the Yukon every Wednesday night in the parish hall.
• June 9, 1944: Mr. Bert Bridgman, noted photographer of Vancouver, who has been a guest at the Whitehorse Inn for the past several months, left last night on the str. Casca for Dawson.

• June 16, 1944: Backed by 500 signatures, Whitehorse residents have petitioned Ottawa for public utilities in 3 categories: sewerage and water, hard-surfacing of streets, and dust control.
• June 16, 1944: Gordon R. Cameron and Willa Yvonne "Bonnie" Hunter were married in Edmonton on May 22nd, and have returned to Whitehorse to live.
• June 16, 1944: On June 11th, Berent Hougen arrived in Whitehorse from Francois Lake, B.C. as the local representative for Rawleigh Products. He has been farming at Francois Lake since 1919.

• June 23, 1944: On June 9, George Black, M.P. for the Yukon Territory, introduced in the Commons an amendment to the elections Act relative to the Yukon being grouped with Alberta instead of with British Columbia, as Mr. Black thought proper. The amendment was rejected.
• June 23, 1944: Heralding the year's longest day and an eternity of Canadian-American brotherhood, the rays of the midnight sun mingled with the rising starlight of the Polaris Club, newly-formed community recreational association of greater Whitehorse. About forty members of the organization enjoyed their first get-together outing on the bluffs overlooking the northern fringe of town, including a midnight picnic supper.
• June 23, 1944: We much regret having to announce that Mr. Tom Haney was found dead in bed Wednesday apparently having died in his sleep. He had been a faithful member of the staff of the Dominion Customs Dept. since 1931 having been located at Dawson, Taku River, B C. and White Pass. He was 62 years of age.

  

• June 30, 1944: The Polaris Club is happy and proud to be accepted so wholeheartedly as a community service and recreational organization by the townfolk of Whitehorse. The spontaneous reception to this organization shows that both the Canadians and Americans are eager to know each other, understand each others ways and to improve already amiable relationship between themselves.
• June 30, 1944: We regret to announce that whilst endeavouring to cross the swift-flowing Wheaton river on horseback with a prospecting party last Saturday Mr. Andrew McKinnon lost his life. The late Mr. McKinnon was a well-known Old Timer having arrived in the Territory in 1903. He was born at Cape Breton, N. S., 63 years ago. The horse has since been found but not so the body.
• June 30, 1944: In the new budget introduced into the House Monday compulsory saving has been eliminated as from July 1st. Persons over 65 years of age, whose income is not more than $5000, may make immediate claim for the refundable portion of their paid taxes held by the government.

July

• July 7, 1944: A letter from MP Capt. George Black to Mrs. Thelma Stevens is published, regarding a petition sent to Prime MInister Mackenzie King regarding the need for a water and sewer system, hard-surfaced streets, and dust control. Black stated that those are all the responsibility of, not the federal government, but the Controller of Yukon, the Yukon Council and the residents of Whitehorse.
• July 7, 1944: A familiar figure along the waterfront and a faithful employee of the B. Y. N. Co., for many years as night watciman at the Dawson dock, James Berry is reported to have lost his life by drowning last week. There were no eye witnesses to the tragedy and no steamer was alongside the dock at the time. Deceased was over 80 years of age.
• July 7, 1944: Dr. W. A. Clemens, head of the dept. of Zoology in the University of British Columbia, and Dr. R. V. Boughton of the Vancouver School Board, arrived in Whitehorse Sunday from the coast to conduct a survey of northern B. C. lakes with a view to commercial fishing. This matter has been brought to the fore by the opening of the Alaska Highway.

• July 14, 1944: The opening of a new Dominion experimental sub-station, under the Departmental of Agriculture, has been decided upon. The farm will occupy 800 acres of land at Pine Creek, Mile 106, in the Champagne area 106 miles west of Whitehorse. Pine Creek, which is fed by a lake, will be used for domestic purposes, irrigation and possibly power.
• July 14, 1944: Four United States citizens, employees of Bechtel-Price- Callahan, went to Fish Lake yesterday afternoon on a fishing trip. They were Messrs. Pearce, Crabtree, Petitt and Newport. Whilst out on the lake the boat was overturned and all four lost their lives.
• July 14, 1944: A branch of the British Columbia and Yukon Chamber of Mines that was organized a few months ago, with T. C. Richards as president, has been vert successul. Membership is over 150, and a series of ten lectures dealing with the fundamentals of prospecting was held, with well over 100, both men and women, attending each.

• July 21, 1944: In conformity with the policy of former years, a large quantity of stones have again been dumped upon the streets in town making it really painful for one to have to cross same. Complaints are rife from all quarters and justifiably so. To have such work done in such a crude manner is rightly regarded a sheer waste of public funds.
• July 21, 1944: Edgar R. Mohn of Canby, Minnesota, one of the bowlers for the Squaw Chasers, is the first to reach the 600 mark here. Mohn has been in Canada for the past 22 months and at the present time is driver of the warehouse truck for the U.S.E.D. There are six teams in the league, and six nice alleys. The other teams are: Sourdough Bombardiers, Gold Diggers, Mosquito Swatters and Moose Hunters.
• July 21, 1944: It takes two thousand gallons of fuel to move an armored division one mile; a fleet of 5,000 bombers and escort fighters raiding Germany uses up some 5,250,000 gallons of aviation gasoline. In one 30-day stretch the R.C.A.F. in Canada and Newfoundland used up an average of 548,000 gallons a day. Motor gasoline consumption in Canada from 1941 to 1944, including armed services, Alaska highway, agricultural uses and other war essentials totalled the staggering gallonage of 3,429,354,000.

• July 28, 1944: Word has been received of the death of two former Whitehorse residents at Normandy. Killed were Sgt. Linton C. Armatage of the Royal Winnipeg Regiment, and Capt. George Leonard Armatage of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. Charles Johnson Carcross also died while serving with the Canadian Army overseas, in an accident.
• July 28, 1944: Everybody is happy in seeing concrete sidewalks installed in the down-town section. New wooden sidewalks in other sections are likewise filling a long-felt want. Many business premises have also been repainted.
• July 28, 1944: Since the reserve on oil was lifted in the southern portion of the Peace River Block several applications have been made to the B. C. government for prospecting leases. Permission has been granted to prospects for natural gas near Dawson Creek. If the venture proves successful the gas will be used for heating purposes.

August

• August 4, 1944: As of August 1, Alaska Travel permits are no longer required for traveling the highway to Alaska.
• August 4, 1944: From U. S. military sources it is reported that approximately 10,000 ;end-lease U. S.-built war planes have been sent to Russia since October 1941 when the Soviet aid policy was started. Half this number were flown via Edmonton the northwest staging route of the R.C.A.F., Alaska and Siberia.
• August 4, 1944: From Allied Supreme Headquarters it was reported Tuesday the Germans have brought out another new weapon - a rocket-propelled fighter plane capable of terrific speed. Little information has, as yet, been disclosed as to their design or speed, nor as to their effectiveness. This new demon of the air has been designated ME-163.

• The August 11 and August 18 editions (Vol. 44, Nos. 32 and 33) are not online.

• August 11, 1944: Whitehorse welcomes the return of the Northwest Service Command after a period spent in Edmonton.

• August 25, 1944: Miss Hogben, a member of the teaching staff at Dawson public school, arrived in town on the str. Whitehorse last night. She is going to Carcross where she will have charge of the school there.
• August 25, 1944: Mrs. Matson, internationally known as "Klondyke Kate" of the days of '98 arrived in town this week and left this morning for Dawson. She is on her way in to join her husband who is mining on Matson Creek.
• August 25, 1944: Masters of river steamers when leaving the local port are handed their "sealed orders" which they open on entering Lake LeBarge. The latest of such "orders", designated the destination of the steamer and also imparted the interesting news that Jack Needham has been promoted to the onerous position of purser on the good ship "Whitehorse" succeeding purser G. D. Edwards who has been transferred to the "Keno. Latest reports are to the effect that the submarine menace on the river has now abated!!

September

• September 1, 1944: "The Days of '98" carnival held recently at the Standard Oil Co's recreational centre was a signal success. During the three days the celebration was in progress thousands of people from far and near answered "the Call of the Wild" and enjoyed a rip-snorting time taking in the shows, playing the tables, joining in the dancing and generally making good fellows of themselves. The centre of attraction was naturally the bething beauty contest in which there were only four entrants. There should have been twenty at least, judging by the bevy of beauty floating around town these days.
• September 1, 1944: There have been several books, in prose and verse, written in commemoration of the construction of the Alaska Highway and the Canol project, one of the best which has come to our notice being the book of poems by Uncle Albert now on sale locally at the Star Office at 1.50 a copy.
• September 1, 1944: The crew of the steamer Casca last Friday rescued Norman Mervyn, son of the hotel-keeper at Mayo, and Gordon Grady, who were spotted floating down the Thirty-Mile River with the wreckage of their boat.

• September 8, 1944: Before Stipendiary Magistrate J. Aubrey Simmons on Friday last, Floyd Messer and Maurice Grenier were charged with being in possession and operating illicit stills. They were fined $2000 for possessing the stills and $300 fo being in possession of illicit spirits or in default twelve months imprisonment. Both men elected to serve the terms of imprisonment.
• September 8, 1944: As he was walking toward town in the early hours of Sunday morning, September 3, after attending the dance at the Standard Oil Co.'s recreational hall, Robert Kennedy, U. S. Army, was injured in an automobile accident. The cars involved were driven by John Robert Roxborough and a U. S. Army ambulance driven by a civilian named Henry Wanlin. Kennedy died two hours after reaching the station hospital.
• September 8, 1944: It was a complete surprise to Mr. and Mrs. Vincent White of Dawson when their son, Corporal "Bob" White, well-known Yukon lad walked into home. He has been with the U. S. Army for nearly three years now and at present is stationed in the Aleutians. He enlisted in Nome where he was then employed by a flying outfit.

• September 15, 1944: The business men of Whitehorse at their own expense installed both a water and sewerage system, as well as laying the concrete sidewalk on Main Street to 3rd Avenue and to T.C. Richards' home at 3rd Avenue and Steele Street.
• September 15, 1944: The situation occupied by Standard Oil Company (Alaska) in operations of the Whitehorse refinery and the Canol pipe line system was clarified this week in a statement released by the Northwest Service Command of the United States Army, which explained the company was operating only as a contractor. Standard (Alaska) does not at any time own the products handled by the pipeline and the refinery, and they have no jurisdiction over retail prices or availability of fuels.
• September 15, 1944: Local 884 Hotel & Restaurant Employees Union and the Whitehorse and District General Workers' Union - the latter chartered by the International Union of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers - have opened an office in Room 35 of the White Pass Hotel. Owing to extreme housing shortage in Whitehorse this arrangement will serve until the unions have completed their joint plans for the construction of a Whitehorse labor hall and office facilities.

• September 22, 1944: A powerful radio telegraph system nears completion on the Northwest Staging route between Edmonton and Whitehorse. It is called the most effective system of radio telegraph and telephone communications ever established by the Royal Canadian Air Force. Read the entire article here.
• September 22, 1944: In a recent casualty list we observe among the wounded the names of Pte. Percy DeWolfe of Dawson (B.C. Regiment) and Pte. William Artemenko (Alberta Regiment) whose wife is at present resident in Whitehorse.
• September 22, 1944: After years of absence Outside Mr. W. A. Russell arrived in town by C.P.A. plane Saturday night. It is 41 years since he was in the north so one can easily imagine how surprised he is at the transformation which has taken place here - especially during the past few years. He was a member of the R.N.W.M.P. at the time.

• September 29, 1944: Commissioner S. T. Wood, officer commanding the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, arrived in town this week on an official trip. He left for Dawson today and on his return will visit the old police post at Tagish before returning East.
• September 29, 1944: A tragedy occurred Wednesday night as a result of which Lester Walter Cieluch, a cook at the Bates & Rogers camp lost his life. When Eugene Louis Patterson, an electrician in the service of the Post Engineers, called upon his wite, who is employed as a waitress in the Bates & Rogers camp, in her barracks he found Cieluch there. A fight ensued and Patterson stabbed him with a pocket knife.
• September 29, 1944: A photo on page 7 shows South African Engineers of the Eight Army cutting a road through the devastated town of Cassino.

October

• October 6, 1944: The latest outrage coming to our knowlege in the press is taken from the columns of the Chicago Tribune, the editorial columns of which are frequently characterized with a lack of veracity on a parity with the editor's renowned anti-British sentiment. In his latest effusion this misguid- ed writer asserts that Canada, lying as it does at the cross-roads of the aerial world, is likely to become a menace in the global post-war picture.
• October 6, 1944: In view of the timing provided for in the election act, the deadline for a Federal election this year has now passed. Prime Minister Mackenzie King's dictum that no election would be held until the war in Europe is ended may have been based originally on the expectation that the war would be concluded this year.
• October 6, 1944: Corpl. R. Rewbury, RCAF, "Wings" correspondent at Ottawa, was a visitor to the Star office this week. He made the trip over the highway from Dawson Creek and, we understand, will be writing an article for "Wings", the official organ of the R.C.A.F. in the near future giving an account of his trip.

• October 13, 1944: No developments since the days of the Klondike gold rush have focussed so much attention on Canada's Western Northland as the building of the Alaska Highway and the completion of the Canol project. But during the past ten years this territory has seen a continuous and progressive mining development which, although less spectacular and less publicized, has nevertheless been a major factor in bringing this great hinterland into its rightful place in the Canadian economy.
• October 13, 1944: Sealed Tenders will be accepted up to 12 o'clock, Noon, Monday, October 23rd, 1944, for the purchase of one Yukon Government Ferry Barge, located on north end of Egg Island, two miles below mouth of the Takhini River. Barge is constructed of two inch Fir planking with four by four stanchions. Length forty feet, width fourteen feet.
• October 13, 1944: Display ad for Vancouver Photo Supply: "Films Developed, 35c per roll. Send a roll and get a roll. Postage extra."

• October 20, 1944: On October 16th a General Court Martial composed of officers of the Army of the United States of America sat at Whitehorse on the trial of Eugene L. Patterson, on a charge of killing Lester Walter Cieluch at Whitehorse on September 27th, by stabbing him with a knife. The accused was found not guilty of murder but of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
• October 20, 1944: A shooting tragedy occurred on about October 13 at Kalzas Creek, near Macmillan River, about seventy miles from Selkirk, which resulted in the death of Mary Isaac, a half-breed, and the serious wounding of her step-father Tom Isaac who now lies in the Whitehorse General Hospital in a serious condition.
• October 20, 1944: The boat crews left for the coast Sunday and Monday having completed their season's work. Due to the disruption on the railroad they were flown by C.P.A. planes to Skagway to catch the Princess boat.

• October 27, 1944: American war department officials state they intend to continue operating the Alaska Highway until six months after the end of the war as per their original agreement with Canada.
• October 27, 1944: The decomposed body of a white man with top of the head blown off, and a rifle about twenty feet away, has been found. Among the papers found was a diary and a note to the police sealed in a tin can. It records passing the mouth of the MacMillan river July 31st and that the writer and some Indians had been killed by "a man who was set on him." Police investigations are continuing.
• October 27, 1944: Ten stained glass windows which have long been stored in Whitehorse have now been installed in the U. S. Airbase chapel here. They were originally ordered for the log chapel at Bennett in '98 by the prospectors of those days but did not arrive until long after Bennett had become "The Deserted Village."

November

• November 3, 1944: The first U.S. Women's Army Corps arrive in Whitehorse. They are the first WACs to be assigned to service outside the United States.
• November 3, 1944: The Whitehorse marcn towards the quota of $230,000 in Victory Bonds continued its steady progress through the latter part of last week but showed a tendency to drop off the early part of this week. At press time the total is now $160,150 with a total of 485 applications.
• November 3, 1944: Mr. A. E. James, acting port steward this season, is leaving next Wednesday for his home at the coast. Bad weather conditions has put "travel by air" on the "blink" this week.

  

• November 10, 1944: Franklin D. Roosevelt has been elected President of the United States for a fourth term. He is the first to receive this honour.
• November 10, 1944: The bright lights of the city are again flooding Vancouver, the dim-out regulations having been rescinded.
• November 10, 1944: LAC "Bill" Drury, who left with some other local boys to join the R.C.A.F. some time ago, arrived home last Thursday on sick leave. Some months ago he met with a serious accident which put him in hospital for a few months. He is now able to get around on crutches.

• November 17, 1944: Mrs. Jewel Binet of Los Angeles, Calif., widow of the late Joseph Eugene Binet, a well-known former resident of Mayo, has instituted court proceedings to secure a larger share of the estate than that bequeathed her by will. The net value of estate is given as $43,359. Deceased by his will bequeathed to his widow $150 a month for life and left the remainder of his estate to his brother in Quebec.
• November 17, 1944: We noticed in the daily press recently that Capt. Rev. William Valetine, former rector of the Anglican Pro-Cathedral at Dawson, was wounded by a shell fragment overseas on September 15 whilst serving with the Algonquin Regiment of North Bay, Ont.
• November 17, 1944: At the recent session at Whitehorse of the Western Labour Board Capt. George Black repeated his protest against the unfairness to Canadian labour of the Government's policy in putting a ceiling on the wages of Canadian wage earners in Yukon, prohibiting their employment by American employers at the high wages paid American workmen for the same class of work.

• November 24, 1944: Although the regular scheduled trip to Aklavik was not due until December 16 next Capt. Will Cormack, Canadian Pacific Air Lines pilot landed at noon on November 19. The plane left Edmonton with 1200 pounds of northern mail. It left Edmonton on wheels and on arrival at Fort Smith the wheels were changed to skis. This is believed to be the record for airmail service into the Mackenzie river district since its inauguration in December 1929.
• November 24, 1944: Alaska Airlines made its first trip to Whitehorse on November 16 after many months of suspended service, in a charter flight carrying eight passengers. Other charter flights will follow.
• November 24, 1944: Hon. Thomas A. Crerar, Federal Minister of Mines, has expressed optimism at the part the Alaska Highway and its adjoining airfields will play in opening new mining areas.

December

• December 8, 1944: The Whitehorse Men's Hockey League is organized. President, Inspector H.H Cronkhite, R.C.M.P: Vice-president, Mr.York Wilson, W.P. & Y.R.: Secretary Mike Nolan, R.C.M.P.

• December 15, 1944: Under the direction of the British Columbia government schools have been established along the Alaska Highway to serve the families of the maintenance crews.
• December 15, 1944: Major C.A.K. Innes-Taylor has become director of the U.S. Army Arctic Training Centre at Namao airport.

• December 22, 1944: Improvements to the Alaska Highway are requested by the American Auto Association. They are anxious to promote post-war tourist traffic.

• December 29, 1944: Mr. H. Milton Martin is appointed Public Administrator for the Yukon Territory.

1945

January

• January 5, 1945: It is announced that the All Union Committee of Whitehorse backed by the International Trade Union of North and South America will sponsor a Yukon Carnival Week to be held at Whitehorse in March.
• January 5, 1945: There were only 3 civilian fires in December (and non serious), compared to 16 in November. The U.S. Army lost Barracks 23 in the Standard Oil area, and the Motor Pool buildings and 8 trucks in the Dowell area.
• January 5, 1945: Inspector Robert Michael Wood, R.C.M.P. head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau at Edmonton, was found dead on Monday in the garage at the rear of his home. He was 43 years old on December 7 last. Death was attributed to heart failure or carbon mdnoxide poisoning. He had served in the Force for 24 years.

• January 19, 1945: George Black, M.P. of the Yukon Territory, and Councillor Smith address the subject of the incorporation of Whitehorse.
• January 19, 1945: On January 18, C.K. LeCapelain, inspector of national parks at Ottawa, expresses his doubts that the Alaska Highway would be utilized as a tourist route in the postwar years.
• January 19, 1945: Section 424 of the Criminal Code of Canada has been made effective in the Yukon, prohibiting the purchase and sale of gold.

February

• February 9, 1945: Wing Commander R.F. Douglas arrives to assume command of the R.C.A.F. station in Whitehorse.

• February 16, 1945: Sgt. Jay Bresler, associate editor of North Star, accompanied by the publication’' official photographer, were visitors at the Star office last week. Since then there has come to our desk a copy of the Watson Lake edition of this publication which is one of the finest productions in its class which has come to our notice. It is profusely illustrated, excellently produced, and published bi-weekly by and for the personnel of the Alaskan Division of the U. S. Air Transport Command of which Brigadier General Dale V. Gaffney is the commanding officer.

• February 23, 1945: Prime Minister King announced Monday that Canada has been granted six new air routes into the United States, including Whitehorse-Fairbanks.
• February 23, 1945: Martin P. Berrigan was mentioned in the Lewiston Journal (Maine) recently with a photo of him atop "Berrigan's Castle", his two-story log cabin.
• February 23, 1945: Two R.C.M.P. officers rested here Friday after completing an epic 600-mile patrol from Aklavik to Dawson. The two men - Inspector Forrest and Cpl. Watson - are members of the Aklavik detachment. With three Indian guides and four dog teams, they were a month on the trail, starting February 15. It was the first attempt to make the patrol since 1911 when Inspector Fitzgerald and an Indian guide lost their lives.

March

• March 2, 1945: The Yukon Fish and Game Association is organized in Whitehorse on February 17. President, G.R. Bidlake; Vice-president, F.H.R. Jackson; Secretary-treasurer, W.D. MacBride. The yearly membership fee is one dollar. Goals are to propagate and protect fish and wildlife in the Yukon.
• March 2, 1945: Mr. and Mrs. Murdock McCuish of Dawson City have been advised that US forces have freed their son John and his wife Virginia from a Japanese Internment camp on Luzon Island in the Philippines. The pair had evaded capture for two years before they were forced to surrender on Mindanao Island.

• March 9, 1945: It is announced that arrangements have been made for the closing down of the Canol oil undertaking including the operation of the Whitehorse oil refinery on June 30. The government of Canada will be afforded the first opportunity of purchasing, followed by the U.S. government.
• March 9, 1945: Harry Chapman died recently at his home in Vancouver, at the age of 78. Harry arrived in the Yukon in 1897, and for a number of years was with the R.N.W.M.P. stationed in Whitehorse. He was also reportedly the first man to construct a steamboat at the headwaters of the Yukon river.

• March 16, 1945: Mushing in the Lower Yukon has been tough going these days on account of heavy falls of snow. Percy Dewolfe, mail carrier, and Fred Cook of the Numa Lake Mines outfit can tell you all about it.
• March 16, 1945: There was a large crowd congregated outside the local post office Sunday afternoon to witness the crowning of the successfiil contestant, Miss Doris Lesanko, as Queen of the Carnival. It was a colourful affair and nicely arranged. Miss Tesanko, the popular waitress at the Whitehorse Grill, escorted by her attendants Miss Alaska (Miss Ruth Berglin) and Miss Dawson (Miss Margaret Neff) was driven to the site of the throne on a gaily decorated fire wagon driven by Fire Chief Stan Dunbrack.

April

• April 6, 1945: W. S. Watson died at his home in Vernon on March 29th, at the age of 78. He came to the Yukon in 1899 and was employed as storekeeper by the W. P. & Y. R. during the construction of the railroad; he continued in this position until his retirement through ill health in 1941.
• April 6, 1945: The Yukon Fish and Game Association is bringing in a shipment of Ring-necked pheasants from Alberta.

• April 13, 1945: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt died suddenly on April 12th from a cerebral hemorrhage. Vice-president Harry S. Truman assumes the presidency.
• April 13, 1945: A bus route connecting Anchorage and Fairbanks with Whitehorse over the Alaska Highway is proposed by O'Harra Bus Lines, who have added 5 new busses to their fleet of 21.

• April 20, 1945: Impressive memorial services for the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt were held Sunday at both the headquarters of the Northwest Service Command in Whitehorse and at the Whitehorse airport.
• April 20, 1945: Two important surveys will be undertaken by the Geographic Branch of the B. C. Department of Lands. One party, headed by Mr. Hugh Pattinson of the topographical staff, will go into the Dease Lake-Endako area to complete triangulation undertaken last year, to give a general idea of the capabilities of that area as a highway route to Alaska. The other major survey is the running of the Yukon-British Columbia boundary from west of Teslin Lake to Watson Lake.

May

• May 4, 1945: As Canada's Eighth Victory Loan draws towards the end of the second week the showing for the Whitehorse area is extremely poor. At the time of writing there has been only about $60,000 subscribed, leaving about $170,000 still to be raised to reach our quota.
• May 4, 1945: The committee in charge of V-E Day Observance here has now completed all arrangements and are awaiting confirmation that Victory in Europe has been achieved.

• May 11, 1945: Two thousand people take part in V-E day celebration in Whitehorse on Tuesday, May 8th, the day hostilities officially ended.
• May 11, 1945: In anticipation of accelerated traffic between Alaska and Seattle this summer, Pan American World Airways Clippers will operate 14 round trips weekly beginning yesterday. Space for at least 700 additional passengers each month will be made available by this increased service. The twice daily flights will bring Fairbanks 10½ flying hours, Whitehorse 7½ hours and Juneau 6 hours from Seattle. Three flights weekly will connect Nome with Seattle in 14 hours flying time.
• May 11, 1945: During recent sessions of the Territorial Council held in Dawson, an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Ordinance was made, requiring all operators of motor vehicles in the Territory to hold a driver's license as of September 1st. Also, the bounty on wolves and coyotes was raised to $20 and $10 respectively.

• May 18, 1945: When nominations closed Monday, three candidates had entered the contest to represent the Yukon Territory in the next Dominion parliament. These are Hon. George Black who is seeking re-election as the Progressive-Conservative candidate; Mr. Clive H. Cunningham representing the C. C. F. party and Mr. Tom McEwen the Labor-Progressive party. It was confidently expected that a Liberal candidate would also be in the running but this did not materialize. Across the country, the list of candidates is the largest in Canadian history.
• May 18, 1945: A petition by the Yukon Fish and Game Association to import deer, elk and buffalo into the Territory at Federal expense, for propagation purposes, received the approval of the Territorial Council who will request that a suitable number of such game animals be shipped into the Yukon as soon as conveniently possible.

• May 25, 1945: Mr. V. I. Hahn, at the end of this month, leaves the employ of the White Pass & Yukon Route after more than forty-seven years' service. Coming to Skagway to work in the draughting office of the company in May of 1898, he became Chief Engineer shortly after the construction was over. In 1906, he was promoted to Superintendent, which position he still holds.
• May 25, 1945: The surveying of a permanent all-weather highway between Whitehorse and Dawson will soon commence. Know McKusker is getting a gang ready to go north to Whitehorse and Carmacks as soon as trails clear.

June

• June 1, 1945: The river boat Casca is the first sternwheeler of the season to head down to Dawson.
• June 1, 1945: R.C.A.F. staff member Patrick McCanney was drowned at Whitehorse when he and a companion lost control of their boat. Read the entire article here.
• June 1, 1945: On May 23, the British Lancaster aircraft "Aries" goes on a historic non-stop flight Whitehorse-London. Read the entire article here.
• June 1, 1945: At the last meeting of the Whitehorse Men's Council Mr. A. E. Hardy disclosed that arrangements were about to be completed for Whitehorse to join the circuit of the National Film Board whereby at regular intervals standard films of national character will be displayed for the public pleasure under the direction of the Whitehorse Men's Council. We have reproduced this and several other articles from this issue - see them here.

• June 15, 1945: On June 10, in the 20th general election in Canadian history, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal government is re-elected to its third consecutive majority. George Black, Progressive Conservative, is re-elected to represent the Yukon in the House of Commons.

• June 29, 1945: Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) has applied for a license to operate at Whitehorse-Fairbanks route, though it would be operated by Canadian Pacific Air Lines. TCA is only airline able to make such an application according to Aviation Act regulations. Read the entire article here.
• June 29, 1945: "A public reception was held at the headquarters of the U. S. Airbase here Sunday evening in honour of Lt. General Harold L. George, commander of the USAAF Transport Command and Brig.-General Dale V. Gaffney, head of the Alaskan Transport Command." The previous week in Edmonton, Brig.-General Gaffney had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his services as a pilot since 1917.

July

• July 6, 1945: "On July 1 certain functions of the Northwest Service Command were transferred to the newly-created Northwest District of the Sixth Service Command with headquarters in Chicago. Its district headquarters will be located in Edmonton, with operations being directed from Whitehorse." The new district commander is Col. C. M. Clifford, the former NWSC chief of staff.
• July 6, 1945: Contracts have been awarded to build the Peace River highway (later named the Hart Highway), to join Dawson Creek to the rest of the province.
• July 6, 1945: Imperial Oil has opened service stations at Fort St. John, Trutch, Muncho Lake and Fort Nelson, and others are planned. Read the entire article here.

• July 13, 1945: Under the auspices of the local Civil Rehabilitation Committee, a party is being held in the "98" Ballroom next week for the purpose of giving the boys who have returned from overseas an opportunity of getting re-acquainted with the townspeople.

• July 20, 1945: Despite rumours that the Alaska Highway will be abandoned after the war, a survey of people at tourist camps in the US reported that "the majority of Americans were expecting to take a trip over the Alaska Highway following the war, instead of going to Europe, the Pacific coast, etc."
• July 20, 1945: On July 4th, Hugo Nyman and William John Mervyn were drowned while trying to free their home-made canoe from a snag on the Stewart River. Mervyn's body was recovered on the 11th, but Nyman's has not yet been found.

• July 27, 1945: Mr. Kenneth O'Harra, who operates a fleet of 22 busses in Alaska, arrived in town last Saturday to make arrangements to begin a Fairbanks-Whitehorse service next month.
• July 27, 1945: Mr. Porsild and Pte. Billy Williams, a native of Atlin and Tulsequah at present in the Canadian Army, made a trip through the roaring waters of Miles Canyon in a canoe this week. Mike Nolan was also a passenger part of the way. They successfully negotiated the rapids.
• July 27, 1945: A 1/4-page ad by the Department of Labour calls for workers to help build 50,000 homes: "All men experienced in home building or in producing building materials, who are not now working in either of these industries, are urged to apply to the nearest office of the National Employment Service immediately."

August

• August 3, 1945: To commemorate the 88th anniversary of the USAAF, Lt.-Col. Frank E. Williamson, officers and personnel of the 1462nd A.A.F Base Unit, A.T.C., were hosts to the townspeople of Whitehorse at their headquarters on Wednesday.
• August 3, 1945: Miss Kathleen Roxborough (28) of Atlin, who during the past two years has been resident in Vancouver, died on July 26th when the car she was a passanger in went over an embankment at Savona and rolled several times.

• August 10, 1945: Soviet Russia officially declared war on Japan on Wednesday. What a headache for the Japanese. What with the unprecedented destruction caused by the newly- discovered atomic bomb at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Russians on the east and the other Allied nations on the west they are doomed.
• August 10, 1945: Ed. Benson, well-known Ruby Creek gold miner, was strangled to death at his claim today by a large water wheel. He was found by his partner, Fritz Wickstrom.

  

• August 17, 1945: Tuesday, August 14, 1945, will hereafter be recorded as another outstanding date in human history, for on that date the Japanese were forced to accept the United Nations terms of Unconditional Surrender. Thus was brought to a close the second of two of the greatest and deadliest wars ever perpetrated upon the human race.
• August 17, 1945: Mrs. Martha Grace Watson, 80 years old, arrived in Whitehorse on a P.A.A. plane. She left Seattle in 1899 with her husband, and they spent 18 years in Atlin and Carcross running hardware stores.

• August 24, 1945: Every possible effort must be made to reopen the Atlin Hospital, says Hon. E. T. Kenney, lands and forest minister. "There is an excellent hospital, completely, equipped, even to surgical instruments, at Atlin, but it is closed because there is not a dector or nurse available." Completion of a road to Carcross is another great need.
• August 24, 1945: Donald Gunar Peterson, 15, of Vancouver, wiper on SS. Princess Nora, was killed recently when he plunged over a cliff at Skagway. The youth, accompanied by three other members of the crew, was climbing a hill near the dock when he lost his footing and plunged nearly 100 feet.

• August 31, 1945: Col. C.M. Clifford, Commander of the Northwest division, US Army, announces that the Alaska Highway will not be open for civilian travel until adequate facilities for maintenance, subsistence and fuel supplies are available.
• August 31, 1945: Piloted by Charles E. Porter, superintendent of the O'Harra Bus Line Service, the first commercial bus to be placed in operation for service between Fairbanks and Whitehorse arrived in town yesterday with six passengers on board.

September

• September 21, 1945: Fire completely guts the Whitehorse Bowling Alley on Main Street.

• September 28, 1945: A bi-weekly bus service between Whitehorse and Dawson Creek, B.C., is about to be inaugurated by the British Yukon Navigation Co. The trip will take two days and three nights, with the busses running 12 hours daily.
• September 28, 1945: Beatrice Lorne Smith, the "Klondike Nightingale", died in Vancouver at the age of 80.
• September 28, 1945: Canadian Pacific Airlines Ltd. Announces its plans for operating an all-Canadian air route to the Orient. It will include a direct line from Winnipeg to Hong Kong and Singapore, via Edmonton, Fort St. John, Whitehorse, Paramashuro, Tokyo and Shanghai.
• September 28, 1945: More than 14,000 miles of wire are used in the Edmonton-Fairbanks portion of the military telegraph-telephone line erected by the American army. It makes the Whitehorse telephone system the most up-to-date in the world.

October

• October 19, 1945: Canadian Pacific Airlines began air service between Whitehorse and Fairbanks on October 15th. On its initial flight it carried only mail. It is expected that passenger service will commence in about a fortnight's time.
• October 19, 1945: O'Harra Bus Lines is now operating between Whitehorse and Fairbanks. On October 16th, a new bus for the company arrived in Whitehorse from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

• October 26, 1945: Effective October 15th, 1945, the present three per week mail service operated between Dawson Creek and Whitehorse by the U. S. Army will be superseded by a two per week bus service operated by the British Yukon Navigation Company under agreement with the U. S. Army.
• October 26, 1945: The federal Minister of Justice, Louis St. Laurent, announced on October 24th that the Canadian Army will take over maintenance of the Alaska Highway on April 1, 1946 and that the Royal Canadian Air Force will take over operations of the Northwest Staging Route (the airfields) on June 1, 1946.

November

• November 2, 1945: The erection of a new federal building in Whitehorse as a post-war project is announced. The site reserved for the buildiings is the area whch for many years served the people of Whitehorse as a ball park.
• November 2, 1945: The Fire Department only needed to respond to 3 calls in October - an over-heated wood stove at the Richards Transportation garage, a chimney fire at the hospital, and an over-heated wood stove at the White Spot Cafe.
• November 2, 1945: Sealed tenders will be received by the Public Administrator up to Saturday, December 1st, 1945, for the purchase of the Trading Post located at Snag, Yukon Territory, including good will and all assets, belonging to the Estate of Jacob Dolan.

• November 9, 1945: In a Canada-wide poll by The Financial Post, Canadians favour the maintenance of the Alaska Highway over its abandoning.
• November 9, 1945: The Yukon unit of the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers, organized in 1942, has been disbanded with the "Stand Down" ceremony being conducted "true to form."
• November 9, 1945: At Dawson, ice is running heavy in both the Yukon and Klondike rivers and if the cold weather keeps up they will soon be completely frozen over. Both the curling and skating rinks are being prepared in readiness for the winter's fun.

• November 16, 1945: The Ski Runners of the Yukon will hold a membership meeting on Tuesday, November 20, at 8 p. m., in the Parish Hall. The object of the club is to promote the art of skiing, to teach and train young and old who wish to participate in this exhilarating sport. The executive of this club are recognized veterans known to all and whose skill was noted at the Carnival this spring: Arne Anderson, Alec. Hadden, John Olson, John Backe and Hugo Seahelm.
• November 16, 1945: Visit Jack's Radio Shop, Jack Spall, proprietor, for expert radio service, and tubes and batteries. Located across from the side door of the Capitol Theatre.
• November 16, 1945: From Dawson, it is reported that Percy Dewolfe and other service men are expected to arrive soon. Lawrence Seely, a Pacific volunteer, is reported to be in Victoria. Ronald McCuish is in Ottawa. "Dinty" Dines is at the coast. Ralph Zaccarelli is at the Boeing plant in Vancouver. Pte. Jim Dugan, who has been through many campaigns, is reported to be now in Czechoslovakia.

• November 23, 1945: The Canadian government has officially notified the U. S. government that it is waiving its option to purchase the Canol undertaking. The original cost of the project is stated to be $134,000,000. There is stated to be an oi] reserve in the Norman oilfields of thirty million barrels.
• November 23, 1945: At about 2.30 Saturday morning last the fire department was called to the shack occupied by Mr. Thomas D. A. Matheson. The cause of the fire was the explosion of an oil burner. In little or no time the small shack was a flaming furnace and Matheson was burned to death. He was 28 years of age and came from Vancouver to Whitehorse last February since when he had been employed as a carpenter.
• November 23, 1945: The projection machine recently purchased through the Whitehorse Men's Council exclusively for school and educational purposes is now much in demand and may well prove in the long run to be one of the best investments so far made by the council in the interests of the community.

• November 30, 1945: The Alaska Highway is to be used as a permanent training ground for the Canadian Army. The first contingent is expected to arrive early in the new year to make preparatory arrangements in readiness for April 1 next when the highway will be officially taken over by the Canadian government.
• November 30, 1945: With all the necessary arrangements completed, the party which is undertaking to make the trip by dog team from here to Winnipeg is timed to leave the Whitehorse Inn at noon Sunday. The party, which is in charge of Mr. G. P. Belanger, consists of Fred Webber and Chuck Caddy as mushers, Otto Berg the local well-known photographer and Mike Czech as truck driver.
• November 30, 1945: Mr. Noel Laverdiere who has resided for many years about 22 miles north of Atlin, informs us that wolves are playing havoe in that part of the country and have already destroyed forty of his horses. He also stated that the wolves are so numerous that it is not safe for anyone to go without a rifle.

December

• December 7, 1945: In view of a probable sale being held here in the not far distant future by the War Assets Corporation, The Star published a list of the selling prices of similar buildings and establishments at recent sales held in British Columbia.
• December 7, 1945: A gale that hit Seattle Tuesday night is reported to have raged at 84 miles per hour. Buildings were uprooted, ships driven aground and at least three persons are known to have lost their lives.
• December 7, 1945: The Treadwell Yukon property at Mayo is reported to have been sold, and other companies have acquired options on silver ore deposits in the Mayo area. The recently announced increase in the price of silver from 40¢ to 78¢ may also lead to many other mining camps in Canada being re-opened after lying dormant for so long.

• December 14, 1945: The first annual banquet of the Whitehorse Fish and Game Association, held in the dining hall of the Whitehorse Inn Cafe Tuesday night, was an outstanding event. Over eighty members and their guests were in attendance and a most appetizing menu had been prepared which included blue grouse, moose meat and "moose milk."
• December 14, 1945: Both Vancouver and Victoria are placing advts. in eastern papers warning people not to come to the coast looking for employment. In Vancouver there are currently 4,700 veterans out of work.
• December 14, 1945: O'Harra Bus Lines is operating regular service to Fairbanks, with busses leaving the Whitehorse Inn on Saturdays and Wednesdays.

• December 21, 1945: Mrs. Kathryn M. Kelly, wife of the late P. M. Kelly, died in Vancouver last week. Born in Baltimore, Md., she crossed the Trail of '98 as a bride via the Chilkoot Pass and resided in Dawson for a number of years before leaving for Vancouver eleven years ago.
• December 21, 1945: Fred Goodman is now on the mechanical staff of the daily Bellingham Herald. Fred was with the N. W. S. C. in Whitehorse for quite a while and during that time he did yeoman service at the Star plant operating the presses when 16 hours a day was the "ordinary run of the mill" and a hectic time was in full swing keeping the U. S. Army and contractors furnished with all sorts of intricate printing material.
• December 21, 1945: An article by Douglas Leechman describes the migration of people across Bering Straits from Asia 25,000 years ago, and the artifacts found in the south-west Yukon.

• December 28, 1945: An agreement signed last week provides a weekly seating capacity for the North Atlantic air passenger service of 350 each way for the two operators, Trans-Canada Air Lines and British Overseas Airways. The fares have also been reduced from $525 to $375 each way. The Montreal airport at Dorval is designated the Canadian terminal and airport at Hearthrow near London, now under construction, the British terminal.
• December 28, 1945: We in the north have long since grown accustomed to lots of snow and below zero temperature at this time of the year but on Monday a raw cold wind struck Whitehorse which it is believed was the worst on record. This south-southeast wind reached us Sunday and increased gradually until during that evening it reached a velocity at times of from 25 to 30 miles per hour with a maximum at midnight of 35 and gusts as high as 53 miles per hour.
• December 28, 1945: Robert Wilmur Grant, aged 29 years, passed away suddenly at Carmacks on December 29th [?]. He was recently discharged from the Royal Canadian Navy.

1946

January

• January 4, 1946: Mr. G. P. Belanger, manager of the dog team party which left here recently en route to Winnipeg, writes us that they were given a royal welcome upon their arrival at the Highway Maintenance Camp at Muskwa, B.C. The party arrived there in great form Christmas Eve and were treated to a swell Christmas dinner at the recreation hall by the U. S. Signal Corps personell there.
• January 4, 1946: The plans which have been prepared in Ottawa for the new Federal building to be erected on the ballpark site in Whitehorse were received in town this week for checking purposes and have already been returned to Ottawa. Those who saw them reported that when completed the structure will be one of which Whitehorse may well be proud.
• January 4, 1946: Work of clearing and the building of approaches to Summit Lake, the starting point of the Pine Pass Highway, is now under way. The Wilson Construction Co. of Edmonton is engaged in the first ten miles out of Prince George.

• January 25, 1946: Mr. Kenneth O'Harra informs us that O'Harra Bus Lines will open a new lodge at White River. He expects it to be completed and ready for operating in time for the tourist traffic this summer. The lodge is to be open the year round. He stated Canadian Customs and Immigration officials were interested in the proposition as they will soon be operating an office in that area.
• January 25, 1946: Mr. W. M. Emery and his wife arrived in town Tuesday by C. P. A. plane, the former to assume hs duties as the new recorder for mines and Crown timber and lands. H is well-known throughout the Territory, having been in the service of the W P. & Y. R. as a pilot at the time this company operated an air service in the Yukon. In 1941 he left to enlist in the R. C.A. F. and by the end of the war was Wing Commander serving in the anti-submarine and convoying branch of the Coastal Command.
• January 25, 1946: FI/O John E. Turnquist, R. C. A. F., who has been overseas for the past five years, recently secured his discharge and has been appointed a Customs excise examiner attached to the local office. His parents are old-timers of Atlin, and have been resident in Whitehorse for the past few years.

February

• February 1, 1946: The RCAF will present a dance at the '98 ballroom tonight, with music by the Rhythm Rascals. Admission is one dollar. Unescorted ladies get in free.

• February 8, 1946: The Aurora Borealis, an atmospheric phenomenon radiating from sun spots, which is playing havoc with radio and telegraphic service at the present time, is described by communication authorities as among the worst of such disturbances in modern history.

March

• March 1, 1946: The Whitehorse Winter Carnival will be held March 8-10. Queen candidates are Frances VanBerkel, Gudrun Erickson, Vivian Harris, and Edna Ricalton, and Viola Sullivan of Skagway.
• March 1, 1946: The Log Cabin Fur Shop, Mrs. Stingle, proprietress, now has on display a fine selection of ladies' dresses and coats.
• March 1, 1946: L. H. Phinney, special Canadian commissioner for Northwest Defence Projects, said Tuesday it is possible that civilian affairs and traffic on the Alaska Highway may pass to control of provincial authority, which would mean that for much of the highway, the province of British Columbia would assume control. Mr. Phinney said he is expecting an official announcement of policy from Ottawa soon.

• March 15, 1946: The first shipment of beer ever to be exported from Alberta to the Yukon and the first to be brought over the Alaska Highway arrived in Whitehorse last Saturday morning. It consisted of 550 cases of Export and 650 cases of Rex from the Sick's Brewery in Edmonton, Alberta. Only 3 bottles were broken in transit.

• March 22, 1946: Defence Minister Abbott states there is no possibility of the Alaska Highway being opened to civilian traffic in the near future.

• March 29, 1946: B.C. Premier John Hart announces in the Provincial Legislature that civilians will be permitted to use the Alaska Highway subject to certain regulations.
• March 29, 1946: There is much discussion about moving the capital of the Yukon from Dawson City to Whitehorse because of easy access.
• March 29, 1946: The dog team which left here on December 7 last bound for Winnipeg arrived in that city on March 16. The snow there had disappeared and the rain-soaked adventurers travelled over fog-shrouded streets, dotted with puddles, in a wheel-equipped toboggan. See a lengthy report from The Winnipeg Tribune here.

April

• April 5, 1946: In a ceremony at Whitehorse, the US military turned the Alaska Highway over to the Canadian Army. Brigadier-General Geoffrey Walsh became the first Canadian commander. Walsh felt that the road, having received so much publicity during the war, would attract the attention of peacetime travelers. Yet lodges and gas stations were still rare and Walsh declared that the military pass system would stay in place. US Major-General William Hoge attends the transfer celebrations and is warmly welcomed back to Whitehorse.
• April 5, 1946: Another attractive Neon sign was erected this week, this time over the premises of Messrs. Taylor & Drury Ltd. Erected on the corner of the premises, it is visible on both Main Street and First Avenue.

May

• May 3, 1946: Among the activities of the Territorial Council which is now in session, members went on record requesting the Federal government to assist, by providing a substantial fund, the building of an all the year round highway between Whitehorse and Dawson, with a branch road to Mayo. It was pointed out that this would materially assist in the development and progress of the Territory as a whole.
• May 3, 1946: The boat train arrives Sunday. On it will be the deck crews, three new pursers and the crews of the steward's dept. The captains will be arriving later.
• May 3, 1946: According to figures gjven by Councillor John R. Fraser of Dawson, over $10,00 was paid out in bounties on wolves and coyotes during 1945. This amount was on 404 wolves and 272 coyotes. The present bounty is $20 on wolves and $10 on coyotes. Those bounties are double what they were last year.

• May 10, 1946: C.T. Dawson, district resident architect for British Columbia and the Yukon, recommend to erect the new Federal building on the south side of the ball park, facing on Main Street and occupying six lots between Third and Fourth Avenue.
• May 10, 1946: Baby Patrick Wheeler, 9-month-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Wheeler, died inn the hospital a few hours after being rescued from a fire at his home.
• May 10, 1946: The ice moved out of the Yukon river at Dawson yesterday afternoon, Thursday, May 9, at 3.38 o'clock. The three pool winners were Marianne Holbrook: Lillian Steele and Don. Olds, all of Dawson. The amount of the pool was $3,500.

• May 17, 1946: Around noon Wednesday approximately fifty feet of the quarter-mile long bridge over Nisutlin Bay collapsed and, as a result, an army truck was precpitated in the water and its driver suffered a broken leg as he jumped to safety. An emergency flight was made to the site and the driver brought to town where he is now under medical care in the hospital. B.Y.N. bus service is being maintained by shuttling passengers across the lake in boats.
• May 17, 1946: Fly to Vancouver in 9 hours, to Edmonton in 7 hours, 45 minutes, with Canadian Pacific Air Lines.
• May 17, 1946: Mr. W. G. Grainger has returned to Whitehorse from Albuquerque after being away for 48 years. In 1898 Mr. Grainger took $175,000 out of No. 3 on Monte Christo. The 78-year old veteran travelled over the Alaska Highway in a 1928 Ford with his young partner, Lester F. Steinhilber.

• May 24, 1946: The federal government considers a proposal to extend the boundaries of the Yukon Territory to include that portion of the N.W. T. west of the Great Bear and Great Slave lakes.
• May 24, 1946: The Young People's Association sponsors May Day celebrations including sporting events and the Queen contest.
• May 24, 1946: A branch of the Canadian Red Cross Society has now been formed in Whitehorse and an invitation is being extended to all residents, young and old alike, to become members of the same. The membership fee is only one dollar a year. You can pay more if you wish. Years ago a similar branch was organized and operated here with the greatest success. Its rehabilitation is to be welcomed.

• May 31, 1946: The local radio station CFWH is transferred from the U.S. army to the Canadian army.
• May 31, 1946: A draft Bill is to be presented to the House of Commons according to which Whitehorse would become the capital of the Yukon if a part of the N.W.T. becomes a part of the Territory.
• May 31, 1946: Patsy Henderson and Sam Smith started advertising their fishing guide and boat rental business on Little Atlin Lake.

June

• June 7, 1946: Operations of CFWH, the local radio station, was transferred from the U.S. Army to the Canadian Army on Saturday night.
• June 7, 1946: Before proceeding to the Parish Hall, where the annual meeting of the Whitehorse Men's Council was held, the party en bloc went to the dock to see the str. "Casca" leave with eighty odd passengers on board, on the first trip of the season for Dawson. Hundreds of people were lined up on the dock to witness this annual event which has a fascination all its own.
• June 7, 1946: Patsy Henderson and Sam Smith are advertising good fishing and a boat for rent at Little Atlin Lake.

• June 14, 1946: On Monday Rt. Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King began his twentieth year as prime minister of Canada, thereby exceeding the previous record holder, Sir John A. Macdonald.
• June 14, 1946: In the first appeal for clothing to be sent to Europe where they desperately need it, Whitehorse contributed by far the largest shipment per capita in Canada.
• June 14, 1946: Government geologists are now in the field. Dr. Bostock arrived in town last week. He and his party are going into the McQuesten area again to make further surveys. Dr. Watson and his party have been working on the British Columbia side of the Alaska Highway. Dr. Frank Steers and party are makng a geodetic survey along the Alaska Highway and Dr. Cofield is operating in the area west of town.

• June 21, 1946: R. C. Granger, now over 80 years of age, a real old-timer of earlier days is back in the Yukon again. He and Lester Steinhibeler drove 5500 miles in their jalopy from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Vancouver from which point they shipped their car. Mr. Granger took out over $300,000 from the Yukon in the early days which he stated he lost in real estate. He is back to make another stake and says he knows where it is to be found.
• June 21, 1946: Members of the Fish and Game Association will be interested to hear that 12 out of 20 pheasant eggs were hatched out Wednesday. A 100-egg incubator is on its way in and enough eggs for one hatch. No fish eggs available this year.
• June 21, 1946: Tourist travel on river is increasing rapidly. Str. Casca left last night with another full passenger list.

• June 28, 1946: One of the most outstanding public men in the West passed away in Ottawa hospital Wednesday in the person of Senator Alexander Duncan McRae at the age of 71 years. He had been in ill health for some time, internal hemorrhages of the stomach and liver, accompanied by serious blood condition being the cause of his death.
• June 28, 1946: The voting on the Incorporation plebiscite Monday at the '98 Ballroom was not nearly as large as was at first anticipated. Only 161 votes were recorded. Of these 22 voted for incorporation; 123 were opposed to it and 16 spoilt their ballots by not marking them correctly.
• June 28, 1946: The response so far to the appeal for public support in cleaning up the streets in town has been anything but encouraging. A few energetic and public-spirited townspeople have been carrying out the work as planned during the past week and with good and noticeable effect. But many more willing hands are necessary if a real good job is to be made of the clean-up.

July

• July 5, 1946: Under the supervision of Mr. D. M. Macdonald of the Engineering and Construction Service, Department of Mines and Resources, a party of fifteen men are now engaged in surveying the route between Jake's Corner and the British Columbia boundary which will connect Atlin with the Alaska Highway and Whitehorse.
• July 5, 1946: By an Order in Council of June 4, 1943, the requirements of the Yukon Placer Mining Act, the Yukon Quartz Mining Act, the Dredging Regulations and the Hydraulic Mining Regulations requiring that a certain amount of representation work must be done in order to secure renewals of grants and leases were suspended. As of December 31, 1946, those provisions will again come into effect.
• July 5, 1946: "Poems By Uncle Albert," admittedly one of the best Books of Poems published on the famous Alaska Highway, is obtainable at the Star office. Price $1.50.

• July 12, 1946: Whitehorse lost one of its oldest and highly respected residents this week in the death of Mr. Antoine Cyr, which took place at his home here at 10 o'clock Wednesday morning [July 10th] in his 75th year. Read the entire article here.
• July 12, 1946: There is no finer land telephone and telegraph system in the world than that established through Northwestern Canada to Alaska during the war and its maintenance should be economic for at least five years. This is the expressed opinion of Major-General H. C. Ingles, chief signals officer for the U. S. Army, who was a recent visitor to Whitehorse.
• July 12, 1946: A letter has been sent to the Comptroller of the Territory protesting the action of the Superintendent of Public Works in closing the foot and wagon bridge at Carcross to vehicular traffic and ordering portions of the decking torn up to ensure the enforcement of his order. This action means virtual abandonment of the bridge except for pedestrian traffic.

• July 19, 1946: A community-supervised playground for children ages 2-6 will be opened on Monday. Mrs. H. Wheeler, who has been one of the prime workers in the movement, has kindly consented to act as supervisor for this summer.
• July 19, 1946: Martha Black (Mrs. George Black) was included in the Dominion Day honors list and has been awarded the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.).
• July 19, 1946: We welcome Rev. W. W. Wareham and his wife and child who arrived in town Sunday en route to Mayo where Mr. Wareham will have charge of St. Mary's (Anglican) Church and Indian Village Mission. During the war Mr. Wareham was chaplain in the R. C. N. in Newfoundland.

• July 26, 1946: The first clean-up of the Burwash Mining Co., Ltd., is now on display in the windows of the Whitehorse Jewellery Co.'s store. There is displayed 156 ozs. of gold, the result, we are informed, of ten days mining. At present there is a crew of eight in the camp which is located at Burwash Creek, Mile Post 1104 on the Alaska Highway.
• July 26, 1946: What is undoubtedly the longest trip by air taken by any residents of the Yukon was undertaken by Mrs. J. Stingle, her daughter, Mrs. Kai Gertsen, and two grandchildren this week. They left Whitehorse via P. A. A. for Seattle and from there they will fly to New York, England and then to Denmark, a total flying distance of approximately 5000 miles.
• July 26, 1946: Roving around town in all its glory is a 1914 model Ford which made the trip from its home town in Texas to here in 22 days en route to Fairbanks, Alaska. It occupants appear to have weathered the trip very well so far.

August

• August 9, 1946: It is reported that plans are made for the disposal of a portion of the Canol project. The portion comprises the pipeline and the refinery in Whitehorse but not the plant and equipment located at Norman Wells.

• August 23, 1946: It is announced that restrictions for the Alaska Highway have been modified to permit passage of properly-organized hunting parties over the route.
• August 23, 1946: Hougens moves their store from Second Avenue and Wood Street to the White Pass Hotel on Main Street across from Taylor and Drury.

• August 30, 1946: Development of the Alaska Highway for tourists is urged in the House of Commons.

September

• September 6, 1946: The National Film Board in Ottawa produces the first complete motion picture of the Alaska Highway. It will receive wide distribution.

• September 13, 1946: O'Harra Bus Lines inaugurated bus service from Whitehorse to Haines and Juneau on September 12.

• September 20, 1946: The Young People's Association elects Rolf Hougen as President, Bill Jefferies as Vice-President, Peggy Ellick as Official Scribe, and Art Yeulet as Treasurer. Y.P.A. opens its own clubhouse in a former Army barracks that is moved from Sixth Avenue and Strickland Street to Fourth Avenue and Hanson Street.

November

• November 1, 1946: First International Kiwanis Club Yukon is organized in Whitehorse on October 29. President, Fred Dunn: Vice-President, Dave Wilson: Secretary-Treasurer, Ken Wilson.

• November 15, 1946: With the aid of the local Curling Club, the Kiwanis Club of Whitehorse has purchased the fine theatre formerly operated by the U. S. Army at McRae. The building committee is to arrange to have it removed to a suitable site in town as expeditiously es possible. Two metal huts have also been secured, measuring approximately 180 ft.x 36 ft. and will be put to use in the near future.
• November 15, 1946: Mr. W. Battrick visited the town dump Monday morning with gun in hand and found a wolf caught in one of the traps he had set there. The marauder was shot and brought into town where it was on exhibition for a time on Main Street in front of the Yukon Fur Shop.

• November 22, 1946: With over $5,300 raised by donations, the Territorial Council has agreed to allocate another $5,000 to allow installation of an elevator in the Whitehorse hospital.
• November 22, 1946: The first official meeting of the newly-organized Canadian Postal Employees' Union, Whitehorse Branch, was held Tuesday, November 18. Miss Vera White was elected president and Jack Woods secretary-treasurer.

• November 29, 1946: About thirty trucks laden with foodstuffs and supplies are now en route from the United States to Alaska. A dozen or so left Great Falls, Montana, on Monday with the foodstuffs. About twenty other trucks, loaded with railroad supplies for the Alaska Railroad, left Seattle Sunday.
• November 29, 1946: An addition to the Whitehorse Inn will be started soon, to provide a banquet hall with a seating capacity of 300 guests and stage for orchestra etc., and 19 more de luxe rooms.

December

• December 6, 1946: Charged withillegal possession of RCAF truck tires, truck operator Fred Sandy pleaded guilty before Magistrate C. S. Kitchen in Dawson Creek. He was released on $500 bail pending sentence. He claimed that he had found the tires on the side of the Alaska Highway near Kiskatinaw River, but the tires' serial numbers were same as those on a trailer stolen from the RCAF.
• December 6, 1946: The U. S. Navy's huge expedition to study the mysteries of Antarctica left Norfolk, Va., Monday on its ten-thousand-mile trip. A base will be established on the Ross ice shelf, and an airstrip prepared for six twin-engine planes to be launched from the carrier "Philippine Sea" sometime in January. Most of the 9 ships carry supplies for eight months - everything from beef to coffee, candy, movies, airplanes and 32 husky dogs. There are 4000 men engaged in the expedition whiich will last for at least four months.

• December 13, 1946: Alaska-bound ships, four available for almost immediate loading, got the first call Monday as signing of agreements between waterfront emloyers and three A.F.L. unions ended a crippling 69-day tieup at Seattle.
• December 13, 1946: Mr. James McKinnon died on Dec. 10th.He came North in 1906 and worked for the Royal Mail Service of the White Pass & Yukon Route as driver, stableman and in other occupations. Red the entire article here.
• December 13, 1946: A car leaves the Whitehorse Inn each Saturday night at 8 p. m. for the Marsh Lake Lodge. Round trip, including dinner, is $5.00.

• December 20, 1946: Capt. Norman "Kid" Marion died December 10th at the Marine Hospital at Seattle, at the age of 66 years. He came north as a young man and for some years delivered mail by dog sled over the trail between Dawson, Eagle, Fort Yukon and St. Michael. Later he took up steamboating on the river with the Northern Navigation Co., which later merged with the British Yukon Navigation Co.
• December 20, 1946: Senator Warren Magnussen has been notified by the State Department of the United States that Canadian truckers hauling merchandise trom Canadian territory into Alaska will not be subject to duty on their trucks. However, they will not be permitted to pick up merchandise in Alaska for transmission into Canada.

• December 27, 1946: With this issue, The Whitehorse Star completes 46 years of service to the community. A few years ago, possibly three hundred people resided here during the winter months. Last Friday there were over three hundred children alone who received gifts from Santa Claus at the Christmas concert held in the Capitol Theatre. Where the population was formerly given at approximately 600, today it is over 3,000.
• December 27, 1946: If proposals now being considered by the B. C. Minister of Lands are implemented, indiscriminate homesteading in the remote areas of the province will be discouraged. New controls are likely to be enforced restricting settlement on crown granted lands to areas within reach of existing facilities, such as roads, schools and other services.

1947

January

• January 17, 1947: The Yukon Fish and Game Association re-elects officers by acclamation. President, G.R. Bidlake: Vice-President, Thomas Portlock: Secretary, W.D. MacBride: Treasurer, J.B. Watson.
• January 17, 1947: Three Territorial Councilors win seats by acclamation. They are John R. Fraser for Dawson, Ernest Corp for Mayo, and Gordon Lee for Whitehorse.
• January 17, 1947: The Ottawa Journal reports on January 10th that the defence department plans for maintenance of the Alaska Highway by civilian control rather than military control.

• January 24, 1947: It is announced that the Canadian government has agreed to permit the United States government of dispose of the Canol project to private intererests.

February

• February 7, 1947: On February 2nd, the temperature at Whitehorse dropped to -59F. On February 3rd, the coldest temperature ever recorded in North America, -81.4 F/-63 C, was recorded at Snag.
• February 7, 1947: Canadian Pacific Air Lines is advertising new low fares from Whitehorse - $35 to Fairbanks, $75 to Edmonton, and $89 to Vancouver.
• February 7, 1947: The Whitehorse Theatre / Capital Theatre ad space says "As all know weather conditions are responsible for non-arrival of films.""

• February 14, 1947: To the Ladies. Tickets for the lovely silver fox furs so generously donated by Mrs. Stingle of the Log Cabin Fur Shop for the benefit of the local General Hospital, are being snapped up rapidly. There are still some available if you have not purchased any yet. Do it now!
• February 14, 1947: Snag achieves notoriety as being the coldest spot on the North American continent with temperatures hovering around minus 82 degrees Fahrenheit (-63 degrees Celsius).
• February 14, 1947: A telegram was received in town last week stating that Mr. Frank Sketch, who operated a trading post of Klue Lake [Kloo Lake], had passed away in Vancouver following an operation. He had been in this country for 40 years or more and was well known from one end of the Territory to the other.

• February 21, 1947: Last Saturday night one of the most disastrous fires occurred at Mayo, which completely destroyed the 2-storey weather and commercial radio telegraph station operated by the Royal Canadian Signals.
• February 21, 1947: The construction of the Pine River Bridge and Highway is announced. They will link the coast cities with the Peace River district and afford direct communication through to Fairbanks, via Ashcroft, Williams Lake, Quespel, Prince George, Commotion Creek, Watson Lake and Whitehorse. The Bridge is completed and opened for traffic mid October.
• February 21, 1947: Another Winter Carnival opens today. For the next three days a series of outstanding events have been arranged for your pleasure and edification. Make the most and best of them. Mary Gunn will reign as Queen of the Carnival.

• February 28, 1947: George Henry Milne has applied to the Air Transport Board for a licence to operate a commercial air service based at Whitehorse, offering non-scheduled charter service to transport passengers and goods; flying training; and recreational flying (sightseeing and barnstorming).
• February 28, 1947: The Kiwanis Club of Whitehorse have arranged with the management of the Whitehorse Theatre for another showing of some very fine educational films, some of which are in technicolor. These include "Hymn of the Nations" with Toscnini conducting; "Ordeal on Ice" depicting the training of the Canadian Army in the Columbia ice fields in British Columbia, and "Windbreaks on the Prairies" in Kodachrome.
• February 28, 1947: Andy Smith of Teslin won the International Dog Derby at Whitehorse, with a prize of $400. Babe Dickson was second, winning $200.

March

• March 21, 1947: J. E. Gibben, Q.C. assumes the office of Public Administrator for the Yukon Territory.
• March 21, 1947: George Black proposes in his address to the House of Commons the fusion of the MacKenzie district N.W.T. with the Yukon.
• March 28, 1947: The B.C. government announces it is ready to lease five-acre lots for hotel, gas station, and restaurant purposes on the Alaska Highway.

April

• April 4, 1947: On April 1st, W. D. Gordon, Superintendent of the River Division, retired after forty-three years of faithful service. E. B. Bareau has taken over that position, and Mr. Gordon's son, W. D. Gordon, Jr., is now Assistant Superintendent.
• April 4, 1947: A proving flight from Seattle to Alaska was made Tuesday by Pan American World Airways in a four-engine DC-4 Clipper to establish operational procedures and regulations for this type of aircraft in compliance with Civil Aeronautics Administration requirements. These new DC-4 Clippers have three times more loading capacity and will travel forty miles per hour faster than the DC-3s now in operation.
• April 4, 1947: Adam Jahn, who purchased A. W. McKinlay's greenhouse and produce business last Fall, is busy getting ready for an early start this Spring.

May

• May 9, 1947: The popular bus service of the British Yukon Navigation Co. is gradually being expanded, and the well-known Blue Pony Cruisers will be busy this summer on a tri-weekly schedule between Whitehorse and Dawson Creek. To take care of its passenger business the B. Y. N. Co. have constructed several hotels and intermediate lunch and rest rooms. Read the entire article here.
• May 9, 1947: The United States government has rejected all 25 bids submitted by would-be purchasers for the Canol project No. 1. These ranged trom $26,000 to $1,500,000, The cost of the material alone was around $15,000,000.
• May 9, 1947: Up to the time of going to press this a. m., no trace of the missing T-CA Airliner has been reported. All searches have so far proved abortive. Dragging operations off the south end of Gabriola Island are now being conducted by the Canadian Navy.

• May 30, 1947: The paddlewheeler Casca is the first boat to leave for Dawson.

June

• June 12, 1947: "Challenge of the Yukon," a radio serial featuring Sergeant Preston and his lead dog King, begins broadcasting on the ABC radio network. The program aired on ABC until December 30, 1949 and then on The Mutual Broadcasting System from January 2, 1950 through the final broadcast on June 9, 1955. The title changed from "Challenge of the Yukon" to "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" in November 1951.

• June 13, 1947: Hon. Paul Martin, minister of National Health and Welfare, discloses that arrangements have been completed for the first large-scale tuberculosis X-Ray survey of the Indians of the Yukon.

• June 20, 1947: "Whitehorse paved the way for aviation in the north" - read the article here.
• Summer 1947: C.P.A. expands its service under the leadership of Grant McConachie, President of Canadian Pacific Air Lines, who started Yukon Southern Airways back in 1939. "Just think of it," said McConachie, "if Magellan's world could be compared to a watermelon, it took three hundred years and steam power to shrink it to the size of an apple. But in half a century the airplane has shriveled it to the size of a pea, and in another fifty years will reduce it further to the size of a pinhead."

July

• July 4, 1947: As of July 1st, the boundaries of the Whitehorse mining district are expanded by proclamation. The Whitehorse Mining district embraces now the whole of the Southern Yukon to approximately the 63rd parallel of North Latitude.

• July 11, 1947: Imperial Oil Company has acquired the Whitehorse oil refinery and will move it to Alberta. They dub the final trip "Imperial Oil's $7,000,000 gamble." The company only paid the US Foreign Liquidation Commission $1 million for the refinery itself but it will cost $6 million to tear the refinery apart and move the 7,000 tons more than 1,300 miles to a location near Leduc.
• July 11, 1947: Old-time Yukoners and Alaskans hold the 16th annual International Sourdough re-union in Seattle to celebrate the 50th anniversay of the arrival of the S.S. Portland in Seattle on July 17, 1897 which started the Klondike stampede in '98.

• July 18, 1947: The first Pan-American conducted tour to Alaska over the Alaska Highway left Seattle on June 28.

• July 20, 1947: His Excellency Viscount Alexander, the Governor General of Canada and the Vice Regal party arrives in Whitehorse on July 18 and will be staying at the R.C.A.F. station on the airbase.

• July 25, 1947: The members of the transportation committee of the Vancouver Board of Trade visit the Territory.

August

• August 1, 1947: A fire occurred at the main workshop of the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) in the Dowell area on Monday, July 28, at approximately 5:23 p.m. Preliminary investigation has failed to reveal the actual cause of the fire. Damage is estimated at $200,000.
• August 1, 1947: The Vancouver health department reported yesterday, for the first time in a month, no new cases of infantile paralysis (polio). At Victoria the seventh diphtheria death this year has been announced.
• August 1, 1947: Seal skins valued at $4,200,000 together with 40,000 gallons of seal oil and 30 tons of seal meat have been secured from Pribilofs by the transport Achernar on her annual trip to the Bering Sea. There were approximateiy 7,000 skins valued at $60 each.

• August 8, 1947: Fireman was badly injured when he tried to board a moving fire truck; he slipped and the truck ran over his legs. The call turned out to be a false alarm to the Melrose Cafe.
• August 8, 1947: Mr. and Mrs. Eric Richards recently received from Air Marshal Robert Leckie, Chief of the Air Force, the Operational Wings and Certificate in recognition of the gallant services rendered by their son, Flight Sergeant E. G. C. "Ted" Richards, who was killed on a flight over Germany in 1945.
• August 8, 1947: Yukon Airways Ltd. is now offering a Seabee amphibian aircraft for charter at $50 per hour, with pilot Norm. Hartnell.

• August 22, 1947: On Friday afternoon, August 15th, as a north-bound train was en route to Whitehorse, a gasoline tank car and several other cars were derailed at Mile Post 90½ on the W. P. & Y. R. The tank car turned over and caught fire, burning several other cars. The freight on three of these, however was saved.
• August 22, 1947: A total of 1666 persons travelled over the Alaska Highway during the month of July in 703 vehicles as recorded by the U. S. Customs Office at Tok Junction. There were 617 autos carryinv 1580 passengers and 15 buses with 86 persons checked through the station
• August 22, 1947: Mrs. Harriet S. Pullen, one of Skagway's outstanding pioneers, passed away on August 9th just four days before reaching her 87th birthday. She had been a resident of the coast city since 1897, in recent years becoming widely known as the owner and operator of the Pullen House and museum.

• August 29, 1947: About 9 o'clock last Sunday night, earthquake tremors were distinctly felt in Whitehorse by quite a large number of people. They were of short duration, however, and, as far as can be ascertained, no damage has resulted.
• August 29, 1947: Freight rates to Whitehorse were halved for Vancouver shippers this week with the inauguration of the Vancouver-Haines service of the B. C. Steamships Co. First shipments left Vancouver this week by the Alaska Prince. They will be landed at Haines and carried by truck over a 226-mile cut-off to Whitehorse.
• August 29, 1947: A special Canadian-United States committee appointed to examine and report upon the text-books on history used in both counties recommends a revision of the same, to acknowledge our common history.

September

• September 5, 1947: Several businesses in Whitehorse are currently new or enlarged premises. Read the entire article here.
• September 5, 1947: Forty-five of the leading sports writers, photographers and lecturers of America arrived in town over the week-end via PAA and spent most of this week here as the guest of the Whitehorse business-men and the Yukon Fish and Game Association.
• September 5, 1947: Mr. Charles "Bud" Fisher of the Fisher Service Co. in Mayo is a visitor in town this week and has been kept busy fraternizing with his many friends here. He informs me that conditions in the Silver City are good but there is a shortage of men.

• September 12, 1947: Capt. Williams, head of the Canadian Pacific steamships service, informed us yesterday that the crack steamer "Princess Kathleen," formerly operating on the triangle run between Vancouver, Seattle and Victoria, is to be re-conditioned at a cost of $1,700,000 and then transferred to the Alaska service. She will be by far the finest passenger steamer operating to the north, with accommodation for 300 first-class passengers. In addition there will be sufficient space on her lower deck to accommodate 35 to 40 autos.
• September 12, 1947: Continuing Imperial Oil Ltd.'s unbroken chain of producing wells in the Calmar-Leduc sector of the Edmonton oilfields, their No. 8 well was brought into production Saturday afternoon with an hourly flow of 140 barrels.
• September 12, 1947: Mr. George Deering has disposed of his second-hand store here and leaves today for his old home in Northern Ireland which he has not seen for 25 years. He is making the trip by bus across the continent from Whitehorse to New York from which port he will sail for his homeland.

• September 19, 1947: A commercial training course in book-keeping, typewriting and shorthand will be started in the near future as soon as the necessary equipment has been received and arrangements completed. These classes will be held in the local public school. Hitherto it has been necessary for those desiring to take these courses to go Outside. A manual training course is also to be instituted for the boys.
• September 19, 1947: The PAA brought in this week a shipment of fresh sea food - salmon, halibut and shrimp - from Juneau. This is the first shipment brought into Whitehorse by them by air express.
• September 19, 1947: The assets of Takhini Hot Springs are being sold by sealed tender. Included is the bath house, log construction 12'x24'; swimming pool, log construction 30'x60'; three green-houses each 12'x48' (one of double glass construction), and much more. The 50 acres of land the hot springs sits on can also be applied for, to the Dept. of Mines and Resources.

October

• October 3, 1947: As he boarded the Empress of Canada for an official visit overseas last Sunday, W. M. Neal, C.B.C., president C. P. R. stated a substantial improvement in the movement of displaced persons and emigrants from Europe to Canada is looked for next summer.
• October 3, 1947: B. Y. N. Bus Lines announces regular passenger serice to Haines, leaving Whitehorse on Fridays and returning on Mondays.
• October 3, 1947: The extensive United States program for Alaska projects this year will cost $60,000,000, the bulk of which will be expended in military construction, including airfields.

• October 17, 1947: Mr. J. E. Gibben, K. C. has now been officially appointed Controller of the Territory. In other changes, Mr. L. Higgins, after 28 years as Territorial Agent for the Whitehorse district, has been promoted to the position of Superintendent of the new Liquor Control department.
• October 17, 1947: After a busy season the B. Y. N. Co. river steamers, with the exception of the Whitehorse which is still in operation, have returned to their home port to be put on the ways for the winter. The Officers and crews left Tuesday morning for the coast.
• October 17, 1947: Yukon Airways, Ltd., have been awarded the mail contract to Selkirk via Carmacks. Trips will leave Whitehorse every Tuesday morning during the close of navigation. Passenger fares from Whitehorse to Carmacks are $25.00, Whitehorse to Selkirk $35.00.

• October 24, 1947: The United States Air Force is projecting a bristling network of defences in strategically critical Alaska, an integrated system including such installations as radar warning stations, underground command nests and fighter fields.
• October 24, 1947: The O'Sullivan Canol Company Ltd., who have the contract for the removal of the pipe line between Whitehorse and Norman Wells, have opened their office in the White Pass Hotel premises on Main Street.
• October 24, 1947: British Columbia's Elementary Correspondence School, Grades I-VIII, is available to Yukon children who live further than three miles from a point where a school bus stops.

• October 31, 1947: The state department informed Senator Magnuson on Saturday it hopes to be able to work out a plan for keeping the Haines cut-off open throughout the year. Canadian officials do not feel they could keep the road open during the winter because of heavy snows and light travel over the road, though they maintained the road last summer.
• October 31, 1947: Bad weather is hindering efforts to reach the wrecked plane piloted by Ernest Patty Jr. which was sighted from the air Monday by George Thorson, a Wien Airlines pilot. A U. S. army weasel was unable to reach the scene of the wreckage because of lack of communication between guiding planes and vehicle.
• October 31, 1947: The Pan American World Airways DC-4 Clipper "Talisman," on scheduled flight from Seattle to Juneau has been unreported since approximately 1.30 p. m. Sunday when the plane started to let down for Annette Island then requested re-clearance for Juneau on account of turbulence. There are 13 passengers and a crew of six on board.

November

• November 7, 1947: Coal deposits at Tantalus Butte, near Carmacks on the Lewes River, principal tributary of the Yukon River, are to be developed with the Dominion government having entered into an agreement with the Yukon Coal Company.
• November 7, 1947: Shrouded in four feet of fresh snow, the fire-blackened wreckage of the P. A. A. Clipper "Talisman" was reached last Friday by rescue parties. The scene of the crash was only six miles from the Annette Island airfield. It will take some time before the eighteen bodies of the passenegrs and crew are brought out for burial.
• November 7, 1947: From Washington, D. C., comes a report that plans for the construction of a railroad from Vancouver to Fairbanks are under consideration by a group of private investors. The line would connect the P. G. E. and Alaska Railroads.

• November 14, 1947: Mr. Frank O'Sullivan of Lethbridge, Alta., who has the contract for the removal of the Canol pipeline, states it is expected to take eighteen months to complete the work. So far about eighty miles of the pipeline has been taken up.
• November 14, 1947: The Yukon Jewellery and Novelty Shop moved into its new quarters on Main Street this week and Mr. R. Gordon Lee, the proprietor, is to be congratulated upon his enterprising spirit and his faith in the future of Whitehorse. When the new Neon sign has been installed the store will be a great acquisition to the town.
• November 14, 1947: The Dominion organizer of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks (B. P. O. E.) wiil be arriving in Whitehorse in the near future for the purpose of instituting a lodge here. Already over one hundred names have been secured from those signifying their willingness to join the new lodge.

• November 21, 1947: Pilots George Truman and Cliff Evans, who are making a round-the-world trip in their Piper Cruiser plane, arrived in Whitehorse last Saturday afternoon from Northway, Alaska, where they had been grounded on account of weather conditions. On their arrival in Whitehorse they had covered over 20,000 miles since leaving New York on August 9th.
• November 21, 1947: Among the items discussed at the Board of Trade meeting Wednesday night was the proposed change of the weekly half-day holiday from Wednesday to Thursday afternoons for stores and business houses. This is necessitated because during the tourist season the stores have hitherto been closed Wednesdays when a large number of tourists are in town. This is neither good for the tourists or the business people in general.
• November 21, 1947: More than 200 claims have been staked along thirty miles of the Firth River, 180 miles from Aklavik, by eager gold hunters. Many of these are held by Eskimos, with residents of Aklavik going into the district by small aircraft and by dog-team.

• November 28, 1947: Mr. Sheldon Luck, world-travelled pilot, whose name throughout the Yukon and elsewhere is as familiar in our mouths as household words, was the guest speaker at the regular weekly banquet of the local Kiwanis Club Tuesday night.
• November 28, 1947: Ken Wilson, local district sales manager for the Pan American World Airways, announced new low excursion fares to come into effect December 1. Round trip fares from Whitehorse to Vancouver, $127.50; to Seattle, $115.00: Ketchikan, $55.00; Juneau, $25.04: Fairbanks, $65.00 and Nome $105.00.
• November 28, 1947: Death came suddenly on Wednesday, November 12th, to Charles Coutts, a pioneer employee of the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation Ltd., who passed away three days after entering St. Mary's hospital. He was 62 years of age. He arrived in the Klondike 45 years ago with his parents who formerly owned and operated a roadhouse at Grand Forks.

December

• December 5, 1947: The first movement of Canol refinery structure via W. P. & Y. R. commenced November 22nd when train left Whitehorse with 18 cars of refinery structure weighing 346 tons. An estimated 4000 tons will be shipped over W. P. & Y. R. up to February 1st next, necessitating extra C. P. steamer to Skagway. In addition to refinery structure, pipe is being hauled to Carcross, Y. T., there loaded on cars and then shipped to Skagway en route to destination. This shipment may reach many thousands of tons.
• December 5, 1947: Yukon Airways, Ltd. A Service for Yukoners By Yukoners. See the spacious cabin of our aircraft. We can accommodate over-sized packs, snowshoes, dogs or Yukon stoves - plus giving you transportation in airline comfort, with unlimited visibility. A specal heater and room to stretch your legs. All this at a price a working-man can afford to pay.
• December 5, 1947:The Diana May Candy Shop opens tomorrow on Main Street next to the Cake Box. All candy is made locally by Jack Earle.

• December 12, 1947: Anyone who thinks that Hiroshima or Bikini said the last word on atomic energy might check with the Atomic Energy Commission. To date, a year or two after atomic energy became a familiar phrase, some 5,500 inventions in which such energy plays a part have been presented to and studied by the commission. The ideas come mainly from scientists who worked on some phase of the atomic bomb project.
• December 12, 1947: By an eleventh hour settlement last Friday Canada's threatened maritime strike was averted. The new wage scale will be: galley boy $140; ordinary seaman $150; able seaman, fireman and second cook $170; bo'sun and first cook $180; carpenters $185.
• December 12, 1947: Dawson lost one of its most highly respected citizens last week in the person of Mr. Jonn Grant who passed away in St. Mary's Hospital, where he had been a patient for the past six years, following a series of heart attacks in his 49th year. Born at Aspen, Colorado, he came north as a boy in 1906. He had resided in the Gold City ever since.

• December 19, 1947: The hockey season opened this week in the new RCAF Arena, one of the hangers built during the installation of the Northwest Staging Route airfields to Alaska. The first-class sheet of ice is supplemented by adequate seating, a broadcast booth for announcer Jack Roach, and heated dressing rooms.
• December 19, 1947: The PAA Christmas plane will arrive at the local airport at about 11 o'clock on Wednesday next, December 24. Arrangements are being made for local children to be at the airport to receive their gifts from Santa Claus as he alights from the plane. Buses for the children will leave the W. P. & Y. R. depot at approximately 10 a. m.
• December 19, 1947: A sudden jump in population in the wake of stepped-up gold-mining activity in the northland has brought an increase in crime in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, Commissioner S. T. Wood of the RCMP says in his report to parliament. In the year ended March 31, the RCMP handled 489 cases in the territories, compared to 360 during the previous 12 months. Serious crimes included three slayings, 108 thefts and 24 cases of breaking and entering.

• December 26, 1947: The average Canadian male spends a shade over sixty dollars per year on clothing, shoes, hats and general appurtenances, while women spend about $89 apiece, including a total of $71 millions for hosiery and $42 millions for hats.
• December 26, 1947: Canadian Pacific Steamships has the Princess Norah on the winter Skagway-Vancouver run. She next sails on Jan. 2, 13 and 27, Feb. 10 and 21, and March 2.
• December 26, 1947: Surgeon Lieut. Commander W. I. B. Stringer, son of the late Archbishop Stringer of Yukon and a former resident of Dawson, passed away suddenly at his home in Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, on December 13 at the age of 39 years as the result of a hemorrhage. He received his schooling in Dawson and in 1932 graduated in medicine at Toronto University.

1948

January

• January 9, 1948: The Kiwanis Club installs new officers. They are: President, W. Hamilton: Jim Gentleman, Vice-President: Charlie Taylor, Secretary-Treasurer.

• January 16, 1948: The Whitehorse Branch of the Canadian Legion elects new officers. Honorary President, Lt. Col. J.R.B. Jones: President, W.M. Emery: First Vice-President, R.G. Mellway: Second Vice-President, George Maddocks.

• January 30, 1948: The oil pipeline from Skagway to Whitehorse, constructed by U.S. Army during the war, and unused since the middle of July 1946, is re-opened by the White Pass & Yukon Route on lease from the U.S. Government.

February

• February 4, 1948: A petition seeking incorporation of Whitehorse has been prepared by the Corporation Committee of the Board of Trade.

• February 21-22, 1948: Days of '98 are revived with "wide-open roulette, craps, ace away, crown and anchor, bingo and a complete midway" at the DOT hanger at the airbase. $100 in stage money is sold for $1.00 in "real money." The beard judging contest is held Friday, February 21 and the Queen contest finalists are announced Saturday, February 22. There are prizes for the best Days of ‘98 costume for both men and women.

• February 26- 29, 1948: The annual Winter Carnival begins with a fashion show in the Army Theatre on Main Street. The International Dog Derby featuring ten teams, three of which come from Alaska, begins on the river in front of the White Pass depot. On the weekend, there are children's dog races, a ski meet at the Ski Bowl across the river, and hockey at the RCAF Arena. Days of '98 continue at the DOT hanger. The RCAF provides bus service from downtown Whitehorse to the Arena. A ride costs 15 cents.

March

• March 5, 1948: It is announced that White Pass & Yukon Route have donated a site between Third and Fourth Avenues for use as a civic centre.

• March 26, 1948: The Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks (BPOE) is officially organized in Whitehorse. Officers are: Exalted Ruler, E.F. Pinchin: Leading Knight, W. Stoddard: Loyal Knight, J. Fox: Lecturing Knight, J. Moran: Secretary, W. Williamson: Treasurer, Dick Carswell: Inner Guard, Jack Earle: Tyler. Phil Delaney: Esquire, Ray Read: Chaplain, Stan Dunbrack, Historian, H.E. Moore: Organist, E. Veale.

April

• April 1948: The expansion of the Whitehorse Inn is complete and the ballroom is officially opened. Saturday night supper dances are a popular item.

• April 9, 1948: It is reported that Klondike Kate is to be remarried to W. I. Van Duren, an accountant from Bend, Oregon, whom she has known for the past 18 years.

• April 16, 1948: An Alaska-Yukon travel club is inaugurated in Juneau. Its purpose is to publicise the north and improve travel service within the region.

• April 23, 1948: Fire destroys Jacquot's store and beer parlor at Kluane.

May

• May 1948: Northern Commercial Company opens its new Ford facility at Third and Main.

• May 14, 1948: The timing clock failed in Dawson's ice pool for the second successive year.

• May 21, 1948: Sid Poulton establishes his office on the vacant lot adjoining the Whitehorse Star office. New and larger windows have been installed in the Fashion Shoppe premises on Main Street. On the south side of Main Street, on Third Avenue, Pete Petiot is building new premises that will be occupied by the Vet's Barber Shop and Laura's Beauty Salon. On Front Street, extensive alterations have been made to Besner Shoe and Shoe Repair Shop.

June

• June 4, 1948: Inspector H.H. Cronkhite leaves Whitehorse at the end of June as he is transferred to Ottawa.
• June 4, 1948: On May 26, 1948 K.B. Hannan is appointed General Manager of the White Pass & Yukon Route.

• June 11, 1948: For the first time in Canada, a helicopter is used for topographical and geological survey work, in the Yukon Territory.

• June 25, 1948: A fire destroys Graham's Garage at the old Elliot premises near the railroad track. Damage was estimated at $30,000.

July

• July 2, 1948: The President of Canadian Pacific Airlines Ltd. announces the inauguration of nonstop "Sleeperette" service from Whitehorse to Vancouver with a flying time of six hours. This is the first of its kind in Canada.

• July 13, 1948: Jack E. Gibben is appointed Commissioner of the Yukon.

• July 16, 1948: The American Automobile Association publishes a detailed report on the condition of the Alaska Highway. The width and generally good conditions are emphasized.

• July 23, 1948: The Canol oil refinery has been removed from Whitehorse.

August

• August 13, 1948: World famous magician Mitchell Cain appeared at the Capitol Theatre in Whitehorse.
• August 13, 1948: Sourdoughs who took part in the '98 gold stampede into the Klondike meet in Vancouver to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that historic event. Robert Service is among the participants.

• August 17, 1948: Imperial Oil opened its refinery at Clover Bar, near Edmonton. The refinery had been shipped to Alberta from Whitehorse.

• August 20, 1948: The Dawson News reaches the half century mark. The first issue came off the press on July 31, 1899.

October

• October 15, 1948: Residents in the Yukon were pleased to learn that a regular mail service is now in operation on the Alaska Highway. This means that they will receive mail every five days instead of every fortnight as before.
• October 15, 1948: The Honnourable Captain George Black P.C., M.P. is retiring from political life. Captain Black had represented the Yukon in parliament for twenty-two years.
• October 15, 1948: John R. Fraser, Dawson City Councillor, dies at the age of 80 (estimated) in Dawson.

• October 21, 1948: The last river boats of the season, the Keno and Nisutlin, finish their runs and are placed in winter quarters.

• October 22, 1948: Mr. W.A. Wardrop is appointed Territorial Treasurer at Dawson City.
• October 22, 1948: Chapman's Shoe Store opens on Main Street, west of Fourth Avenue in Whitehorse.
• October 22, 1948: Works start on the hydro-electric plant for Whitehorse.

November

• November 5, 1948: The Marbeck Flower and Gift Shop opens across from the Whitehorse Inn on Main Street in Whitehorse. The shop includes a complete florist service, gift shop and lending library.

• November 12, 1948: After years of operation, Diana May Candy Store moved to larger premises. It was the first candy factory in the Yukon or the N.W.T. and the only one north of Edmonton.

• November 19, 1948: The Pacific Northwest Trade Association urges a railroad linking the United States and Alaska, through British Columbia and the Yukon.

• November 26, 1948: Work was started on fifty new Air Force homes to be completed next summer. The new subdivision is located across the Alaska Highway, adjacent to the airport.

December

• December 10, 1948: New Benevolent Protective Order of Elks officers are installed. Exalted Ruler, D.W.K. Stoddart; Leading Knight, J.H. Fox; Loyal Knight, H. Damon; Lecturing Knight, W. Miller; Secretary, W. Williamson; Treasurer, Dick Carswell; Inner Guard, Frank Mikush; Tyler, C.A. Chapman.

• December 17, 1948: R.E. Garrow was elected president of the Yukon Fish and Game Association at their annual meeting. Vice President is George Aylwin. Charles Rosenberg is Secretary and J.B. Watson is the Treasurer.

1949

January

• January 21, 1949: W.M. Emery is re-elected President of the Whitehorse Branch Canadian Legion. First Vice-President, R.C. Watson: Second Vice-President, F. McLennan: Executive: N.W. King, A.C. Waites, Mrs. Furry: Sergeant-at-Arms, E.L. Gay: Trustees: William Morris, R.G. Lee, Andy Borland.

February

• February 4, 1949: Winter Carnival for this year is cancelled.

• February 25, 1949: A Whitehorse All-Star hockey team, lead by coach Lloyd Camyre, travels to Nanaimo on a CP Airlines charter DC 3 to compete in British Columbia Intermediate Playoffs. They lose both games they play and then tour the Okanagan.
• February 25, 1949: Mrs. I. Taylor, wife of W.D. Taylor, died on February 21, 1949 while on vacation in New Zealand.

April

• April 1, 1949: Newfoundland is welcomed into confederation as the tenth province of Canada.
• April 1, 1949: A million dollar power is plant planned for the Mayo mining area. Construction of a 2500 horsepower hydro-electric project may start this summer.

• April 8, 1949: Allish's Fur and Gift shop, the smallest little store in the Yukon, has moved to larger and brighter premises formerly occupied by the Blue Owl Cafe.

• April 22, 1949: Work on the Whitehorse Civic Centre starts.
• April 22, 1949: It is announced that construction of a road between Atlin and the Alaska Highway (Jake's Corner) will be undertaken by the Canadian Army.

• April 29, 1949: The first white woman settler in the Yukon, Louis Lagrois, died on April 28th in Victoria at the age of 77.

May

• May 6, 1949: At the annual meeting of the Board of Trade, the following were elected: President, Alan MacGregor; Vice-President, Keith Johnson; Secretary, R.J. Rowland; Directors: Rolf Hougen, Gordon Lee, Jim Norrington, D. Cavaye, E. Lortie, W.D MacBride, George Van Roggen and Ed Harper.

• May 13, 1949: Difficult airfield conditions at Dawson making it impossible for planes to land there lead to a short food shortage in the town.

• May 20, 1949: On May 17, 1949, J. Aubrey Simmons is chosen as candidate for the Liberal Party for the Yukon-Mackenzie Riding in the forthcoming general election on June 27, 1949.
• May 20, 1949: An agreement providing for the first time for the payment of old age and blind pensions in the Yukon Territory is signed in Ottawa on May 13, 1949 and is in effect as of June 24, 1949.

• May 27 1949: A.M. (Matt) Berry announces that he is an Independent candidate for the Yukon-Mackenzie River seat at the general election on June 27, 1949.

June

• June 3, 1949: It is announced that a Road Information Service will be established along the Alaska Highway.

• June 17, 1949: A disastrous fire in Mayo destroyed Mill and Assay office.

• June 24, 1949: Clyde G. Wann married Helen Shaug at Coeur D'Alene, Idaho on June 8th.

• June 27, 1949: The Canadian federal election of 1949 is the first in almost thirty years in which William Lyon Mackenzie King did not lead the Liberals. King retires in 1948 and is replaced by Louis St. Laurent. The Liberal party is re-elected with its fourth consecutive majority government. Liberal J. Aubrey Simmons is elected Member of Parliament for Yukon-McKenzie Riding.

July

• July 8, 1949: The Governor General, the Viscount Alexander of Tunis, visits the Yukon on July 4, 1949.

• July 29, 1949: Councilor R. Gordon Lee is re-elected to Territorial Council.

September

• September 2, 1949: The U.S House passes a bill for the eventual purpose of linking Alaska by rail with the United States, through British Columbia and the Yukon.

October

• October 28, 1949: Dee's Fabric Shop moves into larger premises on Main Street.
• October 28, 1949: The Kiwanis Club elects officers for 1950. President, Charlie Taylor; Vice-President, Stuart McPherson; Directors: F. Arnott, William Hamilton, Keith Johnson, D. Cavaye, Gordon Cameron, Jack Hogg and Jimmy Quong.

November

• November 4, 1949: The Whitehorse Juvenile Hockey Association is formed. President, Keith Johnson; Vice-President, Major Cambridge; Secretary-Treasurer, Fred Locke.

December

• December 2, 1949: Mr. And Mrs. T. D. Pattullo celebrate their golden wedding anniversary on November 30, 1949.

• December 9, 1949: The newly elected officers of the B.P.O. Elks are: Exalted Ruler, William Hancock; Past Exalted Ruler, D.W.K. Stoddart; Leading Knight, W. Williamson; Loyal Knight, L. Scown; Lecturing Knight, V. Chapman; Secretary, G. Tweedale; Treasurer, J. Fox; Inner Guard, E. Hammer; Tyler, C. Aird; Trustees: E. Pinchin, M. Brown, Harry Johannes.
• December 9, 1949: It is announced that the Atlin highway is now open for traffic.
• December 9, 1949: On May 5, 1949, the Canadian Board on Geographical Names gives approval to changing the name of "Lewes River" to "Yukon River". This means that the name "Yukon River" may be officially used when referring to the stream from its source to its mouth, including the part running from its source to the junction with the Pelly River.

• December 30, 1949: Inspector H.H. Cronkhite died on December 28th at the age of 51.

Continue to January 1950