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Yukon Nuggets

1944

The Whitehorse Star Reports in 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, 1943.
January 14, 1944 A well-equipped completely modern laundry and dry cleaning plant is built on the banks of the Lewes River near McCrae.
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 19, 1944 Pioneering Yukoner, H. G. MacPherson, owner of a drug store on Front Street since 1907, passes away.
February
February 4, 1944 Earthquake tremors shook many premises in town yesterday.
February 11, 1944 Alexander A. Smith is elected to the Yukon Territorial Council.
February 11, 1944 The Honourable Ernest Gruening, Governor of Alaska, is a visitor to Whitehorse on his way to Juneau from Fairbanks.
February 11, 1944 Robert W. Service makes an appearance in the Hollywood movie "The Spoilers".
February 12, 1944 A farewell banquet for American Brigadier-General James A. O'Connor, Officer Commanding the Northwest Service Command is given by residents of Whitehorse at the Inn Café. Horace Moore, editor of the Whitehorse Star, is the Master of Ceremonies. A gold key to town is presented to O’Connor who spearheaded the race to build the Alaska Highway.
February 16, 1944 The final weld on the Canol pipeline is made by Bob Shivel, twenty months after the project began.
February 19, 1944 The citizens of Whitehorse, through the Whitehorse Star, receives a letter of appreciation from Brigadier-General O’Connor for the send-off. He says the key will always be a treasured memento, but that he needed no souvenir to remind him of the town of Whitehorse and its wonderful people.
February 19, 1944 The recreation hall of the RCAF is the banquet location for the first RCAF wedding in the Yukon. Leading aircraftsman Jason McNair marries Rita Aikens. Both are originally from Montreal. The wedding takes place in the Chapel of Christ Church.
February 24, 1944 CFWH, the U.S. Army operated radio station, begins regular  broadcasting.
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 The Whitehorse Chapter of the I.O.D.E. submits it annual financial statement. Mrs. Matthew Watson of the Carcross chapter alone raised $608 for the organization’s contribution to “the war funds”.
April
April 28, 1944 Henry C. Macaulay, first mayor of Dawson, YT, dies in Vancouver at the age of 74.
May
May 5, 1944 The Canol Refinery, built by Standard Oil for the U.S. Army, officially opens in Whitehorse on April 30, 1944. Three thousand people attended.
May 12, 1944 Alaska Highway air fields have already more than paid for themselves with the number of aircraft that has utilized them under emergency conditions.
May 25, 1944 The first river boat of the season, The Whitehorse, departs for Dawson on with Captain Bromley in control.
May 26, 1944 Dawson suffers its worst flood in history, causing thousands of dollars in damage. Four American bombers from Fairbanks, Alaska are called in to break the ice jam.
June
June 6, 1944 The Western Allies landed in northern France, opening the long-awaited 'Second Front' against Germany. Commanded by U.S. Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Normandy assault phase, code-named "Neptune" (the entire operation was "Overlord"), was launched when weather reports predicted satisfactory conditions. D-Day had begun.
June 16, 1944 Whitehorse residents petition Ottawa for public utilities.
June 16, 1944 Gordon R. Cameron and his bride take up their residence in Whitehorse.
June 16, 1944 On June 11, 1944, Berent Hougen arrives in Whitehorse from Francois Lake, B.C. as the local representative for Rawleigh Products.
June 19, 1944 Sam Johnson, a colourful figure in the Klondike Goldrush of ‘98, passes away at the age of 84.
June 23, 1944 On June 9, 1944, George Black, M.P. for the Yukon Territory, introduces in the Commons an amendment to the elections Act relative to the Yukon being grouped with Alberat instead of with British Columbia. The amendment was rejected.
July
July 7, 1944 Whitehorse Men’s Council; Honourary President, Inspector Cronkhite, R.C.M.P: President, E.F. (Ted) Pinchin: Vice President, Jack Barber: Secretary, Rev. L.G Chappel: Treasurer, Geoff Bidlake.
August
August 1, 1944 Alaska travel permits are no longer required for traveling the highway to Alaska.
August 11, 1944 Whitehorse welcomes the return of the Northwest Service Command after a period spent in Edmonton.
September
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 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. The Northwest Staging Route is the name given all operations along the Alaska Highway.
October
October 27, 1944 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.
November
November 3, 1944 The first U.S. Women's Army Corps arrive in Whitehorse. They are the first WAC'S to be assigned to service outside the United States.
November 10, 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected President of the United States for a fourth term. He is the first to receive this honour.
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.