1974
The Whitehorse Star Reports in 1974
| January | |
| January 2, 1974 | Statistics about the Yukon reveal the following facts: 84% of the 3,255 Whitehorse households own cars, 6.2% more than the national average. A total of 83,5% households have television compared to the national average of 95.3%. 2.9% in Whitehorse own a colour TV. 41 % of the Whitehorse households own a freezer, the national average is 33.5%. The average of bedrooms per dwelling is 2.2 in Whitehorse, but 2.7 in the rest of the country. |
| January 9, 1974 | Rolf Hougen announces the appointment of Bert Norrie to the position of General Manager of Hougen's Ltd. |
| January 14, 1974 → April 5, 1974 |
Parliament adjourns January 11, 1974 without passing the bill that would give legal status to Kluane National Park. The reason given for the delay is that amendments will not be accepted by the northern development minister, Jean Chretien. After a third reading in the House of Commons, the bill establishing Kluane and seven other national parks is passed April 4, 1974. |
| January 21, 1974 | The first native coroner appointed in Whitehorse starts his job. His name: Stanley Johnson. |
| January 25, 1974 | Mr. And Mrs. David Johnston Sr. of Teslin are selected as Mr. And Mrs. Yukon of 1974. |
| February | |
| February 8, 1974 | Robert Sese films for the French national television network ORTF "Lost Patrol", the saga of the fatal RCMP patrol of Fitzgerald between Fort MacPherson and Dawson City in January of 1911. |
| February 27, 1974 | The barge "Atlin" arrives in Whitehorse by truck and will take up permanent residence at the new site of the riverboat Klondike. |
| March | |
| March 4, 1974 | Phyllis Brennan is Rendezvous Queen 1974. |
| March 6, 1974 | The number of permanent stoplights in the Yukon increases 50 per cent with a new installation at Fourth and Ogilvie. |
| March 6, 1974 | The Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce learns that N.W.T is not interested in a Canol Road repair |
| March 11, 1974 → June 17, 1974 |
Northern Affairs minister Jean Chretien introduces amendments to the Yukon Act according to which the Yukon territorial council will increase to 12 elected members. The bill will also set out a formula whereby the council can be increased by two members to a maximum of 20 every time the Yukon population increases by 5,000. Three months later, on June 17, 1974, territorial council approves the electoral boundaries commission report that calls for seven rural and five urban ridings for the expanded council of 12. |
| March 13, 1974 → June 12, 1974 |
Amoco, a large Calgary based petroleum concern has been given permission to drill an oil well on Herschel Island during the winter of 1974/75. However, June 12, 1974, Amoco decides not to go ahead with the project. The drilling is curtailed because of federal legislation regarding royties and exploration. |
| March 29, 1974 | Whitehorse North councillor Norman Chamberlist announces March 28, 1974 that he would not be seeking re-election in the next territorial council race. |
| April | |
| April 1, 1974 | Roy Minter, White Pass vice president for corporate communications, leaves the company. |
| April 10, 1974 | Pierre Berton comes to an agreement with CBC to do a 13-week television series, based on his best-seller Klondike. One of the hurdles to be faced is finding a riverboat that can be used for the series. |
| April 10, 1974 | A technical brief for television low-power re-broadcasting stations for six small northern communities (Haines Junction, Destruction Bay, Carmacks, Teslin, Atlin and Carcross) is presented to CBC by Total North Communications Ltd. Of Whitehorse. |
| April 10, 1974 | The first piling goes down for the new state highway bridge over the Skagway River on March 28. Replacing an old single-lane bridge that is 35 or more years old, this new structure is part of the work that will be done in the coming 2 years to complete Alaska's portion of the Klondike International Highway joining Skagway with Carcross. |
| April 10, 1974 | Preliminary steps are made throughout the territory toward introducing the metric system in the Yukon. |
| April 26, 1974 | The Pelly Crossing school boycott is in its fifth day. The boycott, which started April 22, 1974, stems back to a Selkirk Indian band resolution passed March 14, 1974. The band says the teachers are prejudiced agains Indian people and children are mistreated. |
| April 26, 1974 | Discrimination on the basis of sex and marital status is outlawed in the Yukon as amendments to the fair practices ordinance is given third reading in territorial council. |
| April 28, 1974 | Elijah Smith is elected for his fifth time as the Yukon Native Brotherhood president. |
| May | |
| May 3, 1974 | A committee for a human rights and civil liberties association in the Yukon is formed May 2, 1974 |
| May 8, 1974 | The Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce votes in favour of applying for the setting aside of a small island in the vicinity of Robert Service Park as a memorial to Service. |
| May 10, 1974 | Whitehorse voters give city council a "no" on the Mainsteele lots and Robert Campbell Bridge replacement issues. Voters cast their ballots May 9, 1974. |
| May 22, 1974 | The Whitehorse Star issues a special for the 30th anniversary of Hougen's Ltd. |
| May 27, 1974 | Paul White is acclaimed the candidate of the Yukon Liberal Association for the upcoming federal elections. The Yukon New Democratic Partly elects leader Tony Penikett. |
| June | |
| June 3, 1974 | Erik Nielsen is nominated as the Yukon Progressive Conservative candidate. |
| June 7, 1974 | Yukon Inn becomes the first hotel in the territory to sign an agreement with a union. |
| June 21, 1974 | "Hundreds of people [stand] on the banks of the Yukon River [June 20, 1974] and cry as the riverboats Casca and Whitehorse [are] engulfed by flames." The Whitehorse Star dedicates a 4 page special issue to this tragedy. |
| July | |
| July 8, 1974 | CBC announces "timberline television" will not be installed in the five small Yukon communities. |
| July 10, 1974 | Progressive Conservative Erik Nielsen is once again elected Yukon MP - for the ninth straight time. |
| July 17, 1974 | Dawson City re-activates its curfew for young people. Youngsters under the age of 17 years have to be off the streets by 11 p.m. |
| July 26, 1974 | July 21, 1974, Max Fuerstner pulls one of the largest gold nuggets to be found since the Gold Rush out of his sluice box on Livingstone Creek. The nugget weighs 20.5 ounces. |
| July 31, 1974 | Another era in the history of the Yukon ends when Charlie Taylor closes for good the doors of Taylor's & Drury's store at First and Main. |
| August | |
| August 9, 1974 | Judd Buchanan is appointed as new Indian Affairs and Development minister August 8, 1974. |
| August 21, 1974 | Dismantling crews take down old communications wire up to Mile 80 on the Canol Road. |
| September | |
| September 9, 1974 | The mail service to and from Carcross is upgraded: now mail is received three times a week instead of twice a week. |
| September 13, 1974 | Mayor Paul Lucier announces on September 12, 1974 that the referendum scheduled for October 3, 1974 to gain the opinion of Whitehorse taxpayers on whether the city should continue negotiations with Yukon Electrical to take over the city franchise, is cancelled. The reason for the cancellation is that there is no provision in the territorial municipal ordinance for the city to run its own electrical system. |
| September 13, 1974 | Alderman Chuck Hankins announces on September 12, 1974 that he resigns from city council. |
| September 13, 1974 | Taking suggestions from the Yukon Native Brotherhood and the Geological Survey of Canada into account, the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names names mountains and lakes in the Yukon. Other names honour Yukon pioneers. Britton Ridge is named after J.C. Britton, Mount Erickson after John Erickson. Mount Forrest is named after Emil Forrest and Mount Laderoute is named for a pioneer farmer. Other mountains are named after William Langham, Archie MacIennan, William Hough. Massa Sakata is honoured with Sakata Lake. Other names inclues Castellata Peakes, Gorge Creek, Incised Creek, Lake Terrace Creek, Malemute Mountain, Porphyry Peak, Red Granite Mountain, Sceptre Lake, Szoosinlinum Lake, Tahgah River and Thulsoo Mountain. |
| September 27, 1974 | The Dawson City council passes the first building by-law to restrict the standard of buildings going up in the city. |
| October | |
| October 7, 1974 | The territorial government announces a $40,000 pilot television project which could mean installation of regular television programming to Yukon communities of less than 500 people. |
| October 16, 1974 | The Yukon CAF recruits the first local woman as 19 year old Laurie Briggs of Whitehorse swears an oath of allegiance to Queen and country. |
| October 16, 1974 | According to Yukon Territorial Council's figures the Yukon's population is 20,600. |
| October 18, 1974 | The territorial government announces a 7-year, $33 million program for Yukon communities. |
| October 21, 1974 | In a move to increase security at the Whitehorse Airport, an eight-foot fence goes up around the airport, and plans are made to start using scanners to check passengers boarding planes. |
| November | |
| November 2, 1974 | In the territorial election of November 18, 1974, Yukon voters chose 10 Independents and two NDP members and reject all nine Yukon Provincial Liberal Party candidates. |
| November 22, 1974 | Magnus Hougen passes away November 19, 1974 in Whitehorse following a lengthy illness. He was 54. |
| November 29, 1974 | CNT announces the completion of a new microwave system connecting Dawson with its main system. The system carries all long-distance telephone traffic to and from Dawson as well as Telex and CBC radio transmissions. |
| December | |
| December 2, 1974 | A CP Air plane on its way from Montreal to Vancouver with Commissioner James Smith as passenger is hijacked. Fortunately, the situation was solved and the plane landed in Saskatoon. |
| December 13, 1974 | Ken McKinnon, Gordon McIntyre and Hilda Watson are named the three "ministers" in the new "Yukon Legislative Assembly". (see also January 13, 1975) |
| December 20, 1974 | Hougen's Ltd. opens a third Hougen's Department Store in the Yukon taking over Sands Store in Watson Lake in January 1975. |
| December 30, 1974 | Don Branigan files a petition in Supreme Court defeating the election of Willard Phelps in November 18 territorial council election. Branigan states that Willard Phelps should not have been elected because he is renting liquor store premises to the territorial government. (see also June 13, 1975) |
| January 3, 1974 | The Yukon's mineral production revenues are up by 23 per cent in 1974 compared to 1973. Statistics Canada reports an estimated $185,194,000 of revenues. The total of all Yukon mineral production revenues since 1886 is now $1,167,000,000. |
