April 3rd, 1946. It was plus 32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0° Celsius on today’s thermometers. The afternoon sun shone brightly, and nearly 300 Whitehorse residents were there to witness history in the making. On the gravel road between the Two…
Read more
When the Canadian military took over the operation of the Northwest Highway System in 1946, a new era began in Whitehorse. The town became the headquarters for a substantial military presence in the Yukon. As many as two thousand Army…
Read more
When the last of the war-year hangars burned down in Whitehorse in 1999, the tragic event ended an era that fills the memory banks of those of us fortunate enough to watch - or play - hockey in the hangar.
…Read more
For many, it's the most spectacular feature of the Yukon river. It is a canyon carved by thousands of centuries of swift-moving water. At one time, it was considered the most dangerous obstacle on the way to the Klondike…
Read more
Our walk in the historic streets of downtown Whitehorse concludes as we tour the seven streets north of Strickland - a part of the city which came into being with expansion in the late '40s and early '50s.
The Governor…
Read more
When Andy Gilpin and Ross King were transferred to the RCAF station in Whitehorse in 1947, the last thing on their minds was the roller-coaster ride upon which they were about to embark. Both were young hockey players with promise.…
Read more
As the quest for Olympic gold and glory get underway in Turin, Italy, Les McLaughlin takes us on a look back when two hockey players from Whitehorse were part of the most improbable hockey gold medal Canada ever won.
When…
Read more
At the beginning of World War Two, the importance of Whitehorse as a transportation hub grew when a fully operational airport was built as part of the Northwest Staging Route. The Canadian and American military made their headquarters in Whitehorse,…
Read more
The first city council to serve Whitehorse had its work cut out. There was no city hall, hardly any money in the budget….
On August 4th, 1950, Whitehorse elected its first mayor and four aldermen. Mayor Gordon Armstrong presided over…
Read more
I didn't really know the elderly gentleman who spent his days in the back room of the little Yukon Electrical clapboard office on Main Street, except that my school chum, Willard, enjoyed stopping there to say hello. To me, he…
Read more
It was a day for celebration in Whitehorse back in March of 1951. But for the people of Dawson City, it was a black day not soon to be forgotten.
The news came by way of a telegram from Yukon…
Read more
He was as colourful as the characters he wrote about.
Harry J. Boyle was the editor and owner of the Whitehorse Star from 1954 to 1963. The office was in a shack on Main Street, but the editorial office…
Read more
"Containerization." Today it is as commonplace as crocuses on the clay cliffs in the spring. Ports around the world are bustling with huge machinery loading and unloading goods. It wasn't always so.
Everything you buy today probably arrived from some…
Read more
Ian Tyson is one of my favourite singing story tellers. Always has been. He wrote a wonderful song called "50 Years Ago".
If I could roll back the years,
Back when I was young and limber,
Loose as…
Read more
