1961
The Whitehorse Star Reports in 1961
| January | |
| January 12, 1961 | Commissioner F.H. Collins announces new Territorial Land Regulations came into effect December 16, 1960. One of the main changes in the regulations is that there will be no more staking of land. |
| January 12, 1961 | Don Edgecombe is installed as President of the Kiwanis Club of Whitehorse on January 6, 1961. |
| January 19, 1961 | Erik Nielsen voices his opposition to a move towards an 11th Canadian province of the Yukon and part of the Northwest Territories (Mackenzie - Yukon Territory). |
| January 26, 1961 | Pierre Berton is elected a member of the board of directors of the Dawson City Festival Foundation. |
| February | |
| February 2, 1961 | Plans are announced by Commissioner F.H. Collins for a meeting centre in Whitehorse for Indian people (today: Jim Skookum Centre). It will be financed by interest accrued from Skookum Jim's estate. Trustees of the fund are the commissioner and the Yukon Anglican bishop. |
| February 2, 1961 | As announced by Northern Affairs Minister Alvin Hamilton, the Palace Grand Theatre in Dawson City is to be completely restored to its original splendor, as a focal point for the Dawson City Festival which is to start in the summer of 1962. |
| March | |
| March 23, 1961 | "On March 17, 1961, Mr. And Mrs. Hougen officiate a ribbon-cut ceremony to mark the official opening of Hougen's Ltd. in its new 2 story 10,000 sq. ft., concrete store. 11,200 people attend during the two days. Gold Nugget Days is part of the opening celebration." |
| April | |
| April 6, 1961 | The Territorial Council gives green light to Whitehorse's paving program for 1961. The paving plan calls for hardsurfacing First Avenue from Hawkins to Strickland, Hawkins from Third to Fourth, Main Street from Fourth to Sixth, the full length of Sixth Avenue from Main to Ogilvie, Black Street from Fourth to Fifth, and Wheeler, Cook and Ogilvie from Fourth to Sixth. |
| April 6, 1961 | April 1, 1961 is the 15th anniversary of the Canadian Army taking over from the United States Army the Canadian portion of the Alaska Highway. The Whitehorse Star dedicates 14 pages to this special event. |
| April 20, 1961 | Yellow Cab owner Ted B. Myles applies at the city council for a franchise to supply bus service locally and replace the Army's service. City council denies the licence, citing business fairness reasons. |
| April 27, 1961 | Public opinion is being sought with regard to establishment of a Vocational School in the territory. |
| April 27, 1961 | Yukon MP Erik Nielsen states that a federal road building program totalling more than 5 million dollars is planned for 1961 for the Yukon. The program includes improvements to the Whitehorse-Keno road, the Stewart Crossing-Dawson road, the Canol road, the Flat Creek to Eagle Plains route and the Sixty-mile Road. |
| May | |
| May 4, 1961 | Bruce Winsby is elected president of Whitehorse Board of Trade March 2, 1961. |
| May 4, 1961 | W.D. MacBride is named again president of the Yukon Historical Society. |
| May 11, 1961 | City Council gives green light on construction of a low rental housing project May 9, 1961. The 10-apartment block is located at Sixth and Hanson. |
| June | |
| June 1, 1961 | Officials of the postal department state Whitehorse is not big enough for house-to-house mail delivery. |
| June 1, 1961 | The first day of one-hour parking on Main Street goes into effect May 26, 1961. About half a dozen parking tickets are handed out. |
| July | |
| July 6, 1961 | After long debate, the territorial Council approves loans for "Lot 19", making it available to Yukoners. |
| July 20, 1961 | A timetable of measures which would bring a separate Mackenzie Territory into existence about April 1, 1964 is tabled at the second 1961 session of the Northwest Territories council. |
| July 20, 1961 | During his visit in the Yukon, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker officially opens Canada's largest single microwave project on July 22, 1961. |
| July 27, 1961 → November 6, 1961 |
After an ultimatum from the government, green light has been given by the Pacific Northern Railway (PNR) company for a go-ahead on construction of the long-stalled Pacific Northern Railway that would run from north of Prince George to the Yukon border. Works had been stalled since Premier Bennett in June 1960 cut down a symbolic fir at the southern terminus. However, by November 1, 1961 it is clear that PNR does not respect the government's deadline. |
| August | |
| August 10, 1961 | Jefferay V. Boys is appointed Indian Commissioner for British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. |
| August 24, 1961 | August 22, 1961, a ceremonial parade is held at the RCAF Station in Whitehorse for the handing over of command of the Station from R.C. Staple to B.R. Thompson. |
| August 31, 1961 | A new silver-lead deposit is discovered in the Watson Lake area. |
| August 31, 1961 → December 7, 1961 |
Whitehorse West candidate Jan Montgomery is the first woman to run for the Yukon territorial council. Montgomery is named city councillor by acclamation on December 5, 1961. She is the first woman to hold this office. |
| September | |
| September 10, 1961 | Carmacks gets its first automatic dial telephone system installed on August 27, 1961. The switchboard is located in the basement of the Carmacks Hotel. |
| September 14, 1961 | Dominion Explorers Ltd. Buys the Johobo Copper Mine. The mine is located off the Haines road in the Kathleen Lake area. |
| September 21, 1961 | Commissioner F.H. Collins officially opens September 15, 1961 the new Camp Takhini Elementary School |
| October | |
| October 12, 1961 | Unlimited staking and institution of prospectors' license are the major changes in the Yukon Quartz Minig Act, replacing the system of limited staking. |
| October 12, 1961 | John Phelps proposes at city council natural gas in city mains. Phelps is a consulting engineer for a company that plans to truck liquified gas from the Fort Nelson area, storing it in a main tank in Whitehorse and distributing it throughout the community in underground lines. (see also June 3, 1963) |
| October 12, 1961 | Rolf Hougen raises the question at territorial council of why the territory was spreading subdivisions "in all directions" instead of making them available in the Whitehorse area. |
| October 16, 1961 | On October 6, 1961, Atlin's oldest resident, Mrs. Paddy Ward dies at the age of 95. |
| October 16, 1961 | An October front page of the Whitehorse Star will be preserved in the cornerstone of a big new bank building in Montreal. The president of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Neil J. McKinnon made this request. |
| October 16, 1961 | Construction of the big vocational school in Whitehorse are planned to start in spring 1962. |
| October 26, 1961 | Beth Drayton, Secretary of the Whitehorse Board of Trade, is in 1962 the only woman graduate from the Canadian Institute for Chamber of Commerce Management. |
| October 26, 1961 | W.D. MacBride retires September 30, 1961 from his job after 47 years of service with the White Pass and Yukon Route and makes his home in North Vancouver. |
| November | |
| November 2, 1961 | New schools are officially opened by Commissioner F.H. Collins at Kluane Lake and at Destruction Bay. |
| November 13, 1961 | T.C. Richards passes away November 9, 1961 at the age of 68. He emigrated to Canada from England & came north in 1915. |
| November 13, 1961 | The government agrees to pay half the cost of a 110-mile tote-road to a new silver-lead-zinc discovery in the Yukon Territory. |
| November 20, 1961 | On November 17, 1961, the territorial council agrees to the repeal of a section of the present jury ordinance which prevents women from being called for criminal juries. |
| November 27, 1961 | In a dramatic moment on November 25, 1961, Whitehorse East MLA Normal S. Chamberlist is denied seat at the Yukon Territorial Council. Chamberlist was also denied entry to the spectators' seats. A couple of days later, believed to be suffering from nervous exhaustion, Chamberlist is taken by ambulance to the Whitehorse hospital. |
| December | |
| December 4, 1961 | Ed Jacobs is named Mayor of Whitehorse by acclamation. No other candidates for the city position had come forward. Councillors are Howard Firth, Clarence Allen, and Jan Montgomery. |
| December 4, 1961 | The territorial Council decides to name the new high school being built this year in Whitehorse after Commissioner F.H. Collins |
| December 14, 1961 | The Whitehorse city council suggests water metres for business premises in Whitehorse. To that date all waters users have been paying a flat rate of $10. |
| December 18, 1961 | A city emergency committee is formed in the Yukon. It is composed of military and government officials. It's purpose is to set up procedures for dealing with disasters that might hit the territory from wartime or peacetime emergencies. |
| December 28, 1961 | An entire city block burns down on Christmas morning. Flattened by the flames were the Edgewater Hotel (White Pass Hotel) ,the Hollywood and Edgewater cafes, several stores and appartments. |
