1969
The Whitehorse Star Reports in 1969
| January | |
| January 16, 1969 | A Yukon landmark, the Dawson Wholesale, burns down. |
| February | |
| February 6, 1969 | Al Raine, former manager of the Royal Bank in Elsa, announces engagement to famed Canadian down hill skier, Nancy Greene. Al started skiing at the Calument Club under the tutelage of August Pociwauschek. He then went to Austria for two years and became chief coach of the Canada’s national ski team. Haakon Arntzen won the Gordon Taylor ski trophy with Inuvik skiers, Paul Andrew and Ernie Lennie, among the top contenders. Three Old Crow competitors, Shirley Frost, Neta Benjamin and Glenna Frost swept the women's event. |
| February 17, 1969 | Johnnie Smith is elected Chief on the Whitehorse Indian Band. He is the son of former Chief, Billy Smith. |
| February 17, 1969 | Helen Horback is elected head of this Yukon Historical Society. |
| March | |
| March 3, 1969 | Jean Chretien, the federal Minister of Indian Affairs, attends the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous. Pat Daws is elected Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Queen. |
| March 6, 1969 | The end of an era. The RCMP in Old Crow set out with two tog teams on patrol for the last time. Snow machines will replace the dogs. |
| March 10, 1969 | Harry C.B. Maddison is appointed Judge of the Yukon succeeding John Parker. Maddison is sworn in March 12, 1969. |
| March 13, 1969 | The second annual Polar Games are opened in Whitehorse March 14, 1969. |
| March 20, 1969 | Whitehorse City Council agrees on a plebiscite about drinking age to be lowered from 21 to 19. |
| March 31, 1969 | Fire destroys Old Crow’s four room school. Kindergarten to grade nine is taught in the school. |
| April | |
| April 3, 1969 | Part of what is believed to be the most complete collection of photographs taken in and around the actual Klondike gold discovery area is now catalogued in Seattle. |
| April 10, 1969 | A Northern Conference is held in Whitehorse. Among the guests are former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, Jean Chretien and Gordon Cameron. The Right Honourable John Diefenbaker is guest speaker at the Third Northern Resources Conference in Whitehorse. Jean Chretien, Minister of Northern Development, addresses the 500 delegates at the closing banquet. |
| April 10, 1969 | White Pass announces its upgrading and expansion program totals $22 Million. |
| April 10, 1969 | The Savoy Hotel and Masonic Lodge at the corner of First Avenue and Lambert Street is torn down. The building was built in 1900. |
| April 21, 1969 | P.J. Nielsen, wife of Yukon MP Erik Nielsen, "dies suddenly" in Ottawa. Carbon monoxide poisoning is given as the cause of death and later sources talk of suicide. |
| April 24, 1969 → June 19, 1969 |
Rolf Hougen, president of the Klondike Broadcasting Company Ltd., announces CKRW - a new Whitehorse radio station for fall 1969. It is the most northerly radio station in Canada. Plans are also made for a new building on Main Street to house the operation. Al Jensen is the first manager of the new radio station. (June 19) |
| April 24, 1969 | A new bus service is introduced in Whitehorse. Husky Transit is operated by Gagnon and Heine of Porter Creek. |
| April 24, 1969 | Hougen's celebrate their 25th anniversary. |
| May | |
| May 1, 1969 → May 8, 1969 → June 19, 1969 |
On May 1, 1969, Rolf Hougen and Associates purchase the Whitehorse Motors division of Northern Commercial Company to become the Ford dealer in Whitehorse. Moe Grant, General Manager, and Bob Parent, Parts Manager, will continue with the new company. The dealership is located at Third and Main Street. Albert Friesen is named President of the White Pass and Yukon Corporation. Frank Brown remains as Chairman. A week later, on May 8, 1969, after 42 years in Whitehorse and more than 100 in the north, the Northern Commercial Ltd. announces the closure of its Whitehorse department store as of May 10, 1969. On June 19, 1969, Taylor and Drury Ltd. Announces that the company has an option to purchase the Northern Commercial Company Ltd. |
| May 5, 1969 | Albert P. Friesen is elected President of the White Pass & Yukon Corporation Ltd. |
| May 12, 1969 | Federal officials study the economics of a 1,000 mile resource railway to tap the mineral and forest wealth of northern B.C. and the Yukon. |
| May 26, 1969 | Yukon's first musical festival concludes with a big success. |
| May 29, 1969 | 330 Whitehorse citizens file a petition asking to develop Fourth Avenue into the city's second major thoroughfare. |
| June | |
| June 2, 1969 | Northern Affairs Minister Jean Chretien announces the construction of an airport in Old Crow in 1974/75. |
| June 5, 1969 | Commissioner James Smith announces that low cost housing will terminate in 1969. |
| June 12, 1969 | 13 roads through the Yukon forests are closed due to record high temperatures and fires.The fire ravages particularly badly through Faro. |
| June 23, 1969 | B.C. premier Bennett announces that B.C. won't build a Yukon railway until the Yukon becomes part of B.C. |
| June 23, 1969 | Rolf Hougen is appointed to the Board of Directors of The Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. and Yukon Hydro Company Ltd. |
| July | |
| July 7, 1969 | Mount Logan is climbed for the first time from the northeast ridge on June 19, 1969. |
| July 17, 1969 | End of an era: Bud Fisher resigns. |
| July 28, 1969 | Taylor and Drury’s garage on First Avenue burns to the ground. The company announces plans to rebuild. |
| July 28, 1969 | Hougen's announces to open its first store in Faro in fall 1969. |
| August | |
| August 21, 1969 | For the first time in Yukon history, French is taught at the elementary school level. |
| August 28, 1969 | Venus Mines has arranged financing to do further work on the mine near Carcross and plans to build a 300 ton per day mill. |
| August 28, 1969 | Fabian Salois wins the Dawson city mayorality elections. |
| August 28, 1969 | Whitehorse City Council approves the proposal to develop north Whiskey Flats into a public park - Rotary Park. |
| September | |
| September 2, 1969 | Airport Chalet officially opens as Whitehorse's newest hotel accomodation. |
| September 11, 1969 | The first load of Anvil concentrates is hauled to Whitehorse, beginning a giant new contract for White Pass and Yukon Route. |
| September 29, 1969 | It is announced that Father Mouchet's TEST ski program will be extended. |
| October | |
| October 6, 1969 | Earth tremors shake Carcross on October 3 and October 5, 1969. Locals are convinced that the tremors are caused by the one megaton explosion under Amchitka Island in the Alaskan Aleutians. |
| October 6, 1969 | Jean Chretien announces plans to repeal the Indian Act, which would enable Indians to acquire title and control of lands with full and equal participation for the Indian people in cultural, social, economic and political life of Canada. |
| October 16, 1969 | Fire destroys the White Pass & Yukon Route shops in Skagway on October 15, 1969. |
| October 16, 1969 | A new bridge for Carcross between Lake Bennett and Nares Lake is announced for 1970. |
| October 16, 1969 | The new Tourists Services Motor Hotel in Whitehorse is officially opened by Commissioner James Smith on October 15, 1969. |
| October 27, 1969 | Canadian National Telecommunications moves its Alaska Highway-Yukon District headquarter from Dawson Creek, B.C. to Whitehorse. |
| November | |
| November 13, 1969 | During his visit in the Yukon, Northern Affairs Minister Jean Chretien presents plaque to Victoria Faulkner and Mrs. Tom Retallack for their generous contribution to the preservation and enrichment of Canada's historical heritage. |
| November 13, 1969 | Breathalyzers are for the first time used in the Yukon. |
| November 20, 1969 | The House of Commons dedicates an entire day - November 21, 1969 - to debate constitutional reform for the Yukon Territory. |
| November 20, 1969 | The new Whitehorse Motors facilities on Fourth Avenue, between Black and Wheeler Streets officially open on November 21, 1969. The Whitehorse Star issues a special edition. |
| December | |
| December 1, 1969 | Mayor A.J. Wybrew is declared elected by acclamation since no other candidates were nominated. |
| December 1, 1969 | Northern Affairs Minister Jean Chretien again rejects on November 28, 1969 provincial status for the territories. |
| December 4, 1969 | The Delicatessen Center (aka as The Deli) at 203 Hanson opens December 10, 1969. |
| December 11, 1969 | Jim Murdoch is appointed the manager for the 1970 Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Festival. |
| December 11, 1969 | Watson Lake residents vote on December 8, 1969 against the incorporation of Watson Lake as a village. |
| December 15, 1969 | Four Yukoners who have lived the required 20 years in the territory become members of the Yukon Order of Pioneers: Barry O'Neill, Massa Sakata, Al Prince, and John Backe. |
| December 22, 1969 | Taylor and Drury Motors become Taylor Chevrolet Oldsmobile Ltd. |
| December 29, 1969 | Deaconess Hilda Hellaby celebrates 50 years of service. |
