1954
The Whitehorse Star Reports in 1954
| January | |
| January 8, 1954 | Gordon Lyons is installed as Kiwanis president for 1954. |
| January 8, 1954 | Patsy Henderson, last survivor of the Carmacks party who discovered gold on Bonanza Creek, August 17, 1898, is awarded the Coronation Medal in commemoration of the Queen Elizabeth on January 2, 1954. |
| January 15, 1954 → August 13, 1954 |
The Duke of Edinburgh accepts the invitation of the Whitehorse I.O.D.E. and announces to visit Whitehorse during the summer 1954. The Duke visits Whitehorse on August 6, 1954 (see also August 8, 1954). |
| January 15, 1954 | Whitehorse City Council announces January 12, 1954 that the Old Army Theatre in Downtown Whitehorse is sold to the Baptist Indian Mission School. |
| January 22, 1954 | Pan American World Airways inaugurates their super clipper DC6B service to Juneau, Whitehorse and Fairbanks. Don Davis, the local Pan Am manager hosts the travelers. |
| January 29, 1954 | Mayor H. Gordon Armstrong is re-elected for his third term as mayor of Whitehorse, with Gordon Cameron, Bill Hamilton, Bill Drury, and Owen Williams as Aldermen. |
| February | |
| February 12, 1954 | Frank Sidney, Chief of the Teslin Indian Band, is presented with the Queen's Coronation Medal on January 28, 1954. |
| February 19, 1954 | Military, Air, and Naval attaches from over twenty-five different countries visit Whitehorse on an inspection tour of industrial developments. |
| March | |
| March 5, 1954 | The first bonspiel was held at the Whitehorse Curling Club on February 26, 1954 with more than forty teams entered. Hougen’s donates the men’s trophies. |
| March 5, 1954 | The Dawson City Council of Mayor J. Collbourne and Alderman Fred Cook and Pat Callison are sworn to office during the recent visit to Dawson of the Honourable Justice Mr. J. E. Gibben. |
| March 26, 1954 | The Whitehorse Meat Market on the corner of Main Street and Fourth Avenue was said to be going out of business. Mr. Koffman, the owner, said he was expecting to close the store within a month. |
| March 26, 1954 → April 23, 1954 |
Mr. H. Samuelson, publisher of the Dawson Weekly News, announces that with the issue of March 25, the Dawson News will cease publication. The reason given was the increased costs and lack of advertising. The Dawson News was first published in 1899 during the Gold Rush Days. With the discontinuance of the Dawson News, the Whitehorse Star starts April 23, 1954, printing items of interests and happenings in Dawson. |
| March 26, 1954 | Crystal Jorde is elected Ice Carnival Queen 1954. |
| April | |
| April 2, 1954 | It was announced that the cost of the proposed sewer and water installations in Whitehorse to the individual homeowner was to be about $10.00 a month. They expect that the work would be started in the summer with completion by 1955. |
| April 9, 1954 → April 30, 1954 |
After Martha Black suggested that the Yukon should have a territorial flower, the Yukon Territorial Council adopts the Pasque Flower, commonly known as the Crocus, as the territorial flower of the Yukon. However, shortly later, it is announced that the crocus will not be the territorial flower of the Yukon as it already is the emblem of Manitoba. |
| April 9, 1954 | A second shipment of Elk reaches the Yukon with the combined efforts of the Territorial Government and the Yukon Fish and Game Association. They release the animals as before, at Braeburn Lake. The program was started three years ago and was hoped to continue until at least one hundred head had been brought into the Yukon. |
| April 30, 1954 | W.D. MacBride is re-elected president of the Yukon Historical Society. |
| May | |
| May 7, 1954 | Ernest Theed was elected President of the Whitehorse Board of Trade at the annual meeting. Rolf Hougen was returned as Vice-President, Art Jones as Treasurer, and Bob Rowan as Secretary. |
| May 7, 1954 | T.C. Richards retires as manager of the Whitehorse branch of Burns and Co. Ltd. |
| May 13, 1954 | The first official announcement that they would release the Army Engineers of maintenance of the Alaska Highway when public works Minister Winters announces that it would take several months to complete the transfer. |
| May 14, 1954 | The new building for the Bank of Montreal is under construction. |
| May 28, 1954 | The Whitehorse Junior Chamber of Commerce elects the following at their annual meeting: President, Robert Toth; First Vice-President, Al Prince; Second Vice-President, Archie Sinclair; Secretary, Ernie Delaney; Treasurer, John Stanley. |
| June | |
| June 4, 1954 | City officials are very surprised when they learn that the taxpayers had voted 94 percent in favour of water and sewer. |
| June 4, 1954 | The Federal Government will build a new 120-bed hospital in Whitehorse this year providing satisfactory arrangements can be made regarding the financing between the Territorial Government and Ottawa. Plans were also drawn for a new hospital at Mayo. |
| June 11, 1954 | The Whitehorse Parent Teachers Association elect the following at their annual meeting: President, Mrs. C.D. Taylor; Vice-President, Mrs. Tom Greenswood; Secretary, Mrs. M. Chadock; Treasurer, Mr. V. Suddaby. |
| June 11, 1954 | The whole of the Alaskan-Yukon boundary line, extending for a length of 808.2 miles, is completed. |
| June 11, 1954 | The steamer Klondike opens the 1954 navigation season on June 12, 1954. |
| June 25, 1954 | W.A. Green is elected president of the Yukon Mining and Exploration Co. Ltd. |
| July | |
| July 9, 1954 | The Yukon government is considering the adoption of a Coat of Arms, from three prize winning designs submitted by three Yukon School children: Alan McDiarmid, Tommy Nakashima, and Ione Cameron. |
| July 16, 1954 | Mr. Odin Hougen, manager of Marsh Lake Lodge, told the Star that his new cocktail lounge would open this week. The lounge was built on the east side of the lodge and extended back into the premises formerly occupied by the beer parlour. |
| August | |
| August 8, 1954 | His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh, arrives in Whitehorse. The Duke made stops around Whitehorse visiting with its citizens. They held a reception that same evening in the RCAF Officers Mess where Commissioner and Mrs. W.G. Brown received more than 200 guests. The Duke and his party left the following day for Coppermine in the NWT. |
| August 13, 1954 | A new dairy is to open and will be known as the Whitehorse Dairy. The plant is located in the rear of the Pinchin Building. The milk will be bottled for home delivery and in cartons for store sale. |
| September | |
| September 17, 1954 | Plans are revealed to construct for Whitehorse a Sewage Disposal Pumping Station at the North end of the City on Moccasin Flats. |
| September 24, 1954 | The sale of the Whitehorse Star is announced by Publisher and Owner Thomas G. Bain to Mr. Harry D. Boyle of Vancouver and Penticton, B.C. |
| September 25, 1954 | The annual fishing contest put on by the Yukon Fish and Game Association was officially finished the week before. The winner for the month of June was Johnnie Johns in the Lake Trout Class, with a trout caught at Tagish that weighed more than 40 pounds. Dr. A.C. Tanner won the Rainbow Trout Class, with his fish weighing in at almost three pounds. They received trophies donated by Hougen’s Ltd. |
| October | |
| October 1, 1954 | The Whitehorse Lions Club installs the following at their first meeting of the season: President, Lawrence Seeley; First Vice-President, Dick Carswell; Second Vice-President, Dave Porter; Third Vice-President, Percy Bethune; Secretary, Harry Fatt; Treasurer, Bob Hughes. |
| October 8, 1954 | A disastrous fire on October 2, 1954 destroys the garage of the British Yukon Navigation Company. |
| October 8, 1954 | For the first time in history the export tonnage through Whitehorse exceeds the import tonnage. |
| October 29, 1954 | In a simple ceremony, George Gleave, First Vice-President of the Canadian Legion, unveils on October 23, 1954 the new Whitehorse War Memorial in the front of the new Federal Government building. |
| October 29, 1954 | The Federal Government’s proposal for bridging the Yukon River and establishing a town site across the river met with mixed feelings initially in Whitehorse. After consideration most people felt, “Let’s Go.” The only reservation, and this was almost unanimous, was that no commercial development be allowed across the river for many years to come. |
| November | |
| November 5, 1954 | The Federal Government building in Whitehorse opens its doors to the public. Commissioner W.G. Brown is the master of ceremonies for the opening. , Aubrey Simmons Member of Parliament and Mayor Gordon Armstrong are speakers. The reinforced concrete building contains approximately 56,000 sq. ft. of office space and houses all departments of government in Whitehorse. |
| November 12, 1954 | The Whitehorse Post Office moved into new streamlined quarters in the Federal government building. In its new home, the Post Office had 4,000 sq. ft. of floor space, 300 more boxes than in the old office, new equipment and room to expand facilities and service. |
| November 19, 1954 | The Elks (B.P.O.E.) at their general meeting elect the following: Exalted Ruler, R.A. (Dick) Carswell; Leading Knight, Don McPhail; Loyal Knight, George Webber; Lecturing Knight, Ray Brown. |
| November 26, 1954 | The Yukon Ski Runners elect the following officers: President, C. Skelton; Vice-President, B. Trembath; Secretary, D. Stephenson; Treasurer, M. Robertson. |
| November 26, 1954 | Clyde Wann builds the first section of the Beaver Creek Lodge (now Westmark). (see also November 28, 1952). |
| December | |
| December 3, 1954 | The Yukon Theatre opened its doors at Wood St. and 3rd Ave. The new theatre combines all the modern devices and good design incorporated in many larger theatres in outside centres. Sam McClimon is the owner. |
| December 3, 1954 | The construction of Bear Creek Community Curling Club is completed and Bear Creek residents are very proud of this addition to the community. Grant Barrett was the moving force behind this venture. |
| December 10, 1954 | The Whitehorse Branch of the Canadian Legion elected the following officers at their general meeting; President; J.E. Grasser; Vice-President; K.A. Rawden; Second Vice-President, R.J. Friend; Treasurer, J.A.C. McKenzie; Secretary, J.E. Turnquist. |
| December 10, 1954 | Y.O.O. Pioneers celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of their order. December 1, 1894 was the date of the first meeting held by the Pioneers in Forty Mile. |
| December 17, 1954 | The new school at Mayo is officially opened on December 10, 1954 by Commissioner W.G. Brown, at a ceremony sponsored by the PTA. |
