Michael Gates

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A saloon in Forty Mile, taken before the gold rush. Though much quieter than the frenetic centres of gold rush entertainment, establishments like these were the social gathering places in the early days. (Courtesy/RCMP Museum)

History Hunter: Entertainment was at the heart of gold rush excitement

When the first gold seekers arrived in the Yukon River basin, the…

A saloon in Forty Mile, taken before the gold rush. Though much quieter than the frenetic centres of gold rush entertainment, establishments like these were the social gathering places in the early days. (Courtesy/RCMP Museum)
Donna Clayson points to where a time capsule is locked in cement in front of the former vocational school. In 1973, she worked there and was on hand to see art instructor Ted Harrison put it in place on July 15, 1973. (Courtesy/Michael Gates)

History Hunter: Time Capsule will reveal messages from 50 years ago

When human memory is gone, much of our history goes with it.…

Donna Clayson points to where a time capsule is locked in cement in front of the former vocational school. In 1973, she worked there and was on hand to see art instructor Ted Harrison put it in place on July 15, 1973. (Courtesy/Michael Gates)
The Dawson hockey team that flew to Fairbanks in March 1936 to compete with Alaskan teams included Helmer Samuelson (far left), Joe Redmond (front centre in white hockey shorts), and Roy Butterworth (behind Redmond, wearing goalie pads). The man at the far right in the fur coat is coach James K. “Jimmy” Johnston. John Dines (back row, far right) also accompanied the team to Fairbanks. Other members of the team were Captain “Sox” Troberg, Reg Wynes (defence), Ralph Zaccarelli, Jack Cunningham, Norman Reid and Ken Owen. (Submitted)

History Hunter: Old hockey photo recalls memories from the 1930s

My wife Kathy recently acquired an interesting photograph from the Alaskan collection…

The Dawson hockey team that flew to Fairbanks in March 1936 to compete with Alaskan teams included Helmer Samuelson (far left), Joe Redmond (front centre in white hockey shorts), and Roy Butterworth (behind Redmond, wearing goalie pads). The man at the far right in the fur coat is coach James K. “Jimmy” Johnston. John Dines (back row, far right) also accompanied the team to Fairbanks. Other members of the team were Captain “Sox” Troberg, Reg Wynes (defence), Ralph Zaccarelli, Jack Cunningham, Norman Reid and Ken Owen. (Submitted)
Martha Black was the Yukon’s first female Member of Parliament, and only the second to sit in the House of Commons. She had campaigned with her husband for three decades before being called upon to run in his place in the 1935 federal election. The Blacks represented the Yukon in Ottawa for three decades, and it was often said there were two political parties in the Yukon - “The Liberals and the Blacks.” (Courtesy/Library and Archives Canada)

History Hunter: Martha Black – Yukon lady parliamentarian

George Black had been the Yukon’s Member of Parliament for nearly 15…

Martha Black was the Yukon’s first female Member of Parliament, and only the second to sit in the House of Commons. She had campaigned with her husband for three decades before being called upon to run in his place in the 1935 federal election. The Blacks represented the Yukon in Ottawa for three decades, and it was often said there were two political parties in the Yukon - “The Liberals and the Blacks.” (Courtesy/Library and Archives Canada)
The outhouse at the summit of the Chilkoot pass is well maintained by Parks Canada and has a spectacular view. What facilities did they have here during the gold rush? (Courtesy/Michael Gates)

History Hunter: Where did they poop in the gold rush?

When hiking the Chilkoot Trail, I had occasion to use the privy…

The outhouse at the summit of the Chilkoot pass is well maintained by Parks Canada and has a spectacular view. What facilities did they have here during the gold rush? (Courtesy/Michael Gates)
Bluefish Caves, located in the northern Yukon, is a controversial archaeological site that has evidence that people occupied the site 24,000 years ago. (Courtesy/Government of Yukon, Ruth Gotthardt)

History Hunter: Canada’s first settlers were in the Yukon

This year, we are celebrating the 125th anniversary of the passage of…

Bluefish Caves, located in the northern Yukon, is a controversial archaeological site that has evidence that people occupied the site 24,000 years ago. (Courtesy/Government of Yukon, Ruth Gotthardt)
Inspector Constantine and his men posed for a photo the winter of 1895/96 at their new outpost in the Yukon. The strict discipline and ordered layout of the Mounted Police Post constructed at Forty Mile in 1895 was in stark contrast to the disorder of the small mining camp a short distance away. (Courtesy/Yukon Archives)

History Hunter: The Mounties set the standard during the gold rush

During the era of 19th century European colonialism in the new world,…

Inspector Constantine and his men posed for a photo the winter of 1895/96 at their new outpost in the Yukon. The strict discipline and ordered layout of the Mounted Police Post constructed at Forty Mile in 1895 was in stark contrast to the disorder of the small mining camp a short distance away. (Courtesy/Yukon Archives)
The Northwest Mounted Police established a small post at the summit of the Chilkoot pass on Feb. 11, 1898, where they collected customs and ensured that gold seekers headed for the Klondike had enough supplies to last them for a year. Is it possible that George A. Pringle was captured in this photo? (Courtesy/Henry Joseph Woodside collection, Library and Archives Canada)

History Hunter: The Pringle Family Revisited

My column published in the print edition of the News on Jan.…

The Northwest Mounted Police established a small post at the summit of the Chilkoot pass on Feb. 11, 1898, where they collected customs and ensured that gold seekers headed for the Klondike had enough supplies to last them for a year. Is it possible that George A. Pringle was captured in this photo? (Courtesy/Henry Joseph Woodside collection, Library and Archives Canada)
This new book by Jon S. Dellandrea reveals the story of the greatest art fraud case in Canadian history. (Submitted)

History Hunter: Fakes, forgeries and frauds — collectors beware

Over this Christmas past, I had the pleasure of reading a book,…

This new book by Jon S. Dellandrea reveals the story of the greatest art fraud case in Canadian history. (Submitted)
Unlike his two brothers, Jack Pringle did not become a minister. After several years with the Mounted Police, he settled at Dalton Post, in the southwest Yukon, where he spent the remainder of his years, in a log cabin built by the Mounties during the gold rush. This photo was taken in July of 1944, almost exactly a year before his death. (C.H.D. Clarke/Gates collection)

History Hunter: The Pringle Family in the Yukon, a story revealed

I was recently directed to a YouTube link that connected me to…

Unlike his two brothers, Jack Pringle did not become a minister. After several years with the Mounted Police, he settled at Dalton Post, in the southwest Yukon, where he spent the remainder of his years, in a log cabin built by the Mounties during the gold rush. This photo was taken in July of 1944, almost exactly a year before his death. (C.H.D. Clarke/Gates collection)
Chief Isaac was the leader of the people who had lived at the mouth of the Klondike River for generations before the Klondike discovery. After the establishment of the gold rush boom town, he regularly reminded the newcomers to their traditional homeland of the impact they were having upon his people. What other individuals do you think were important to the development of the Yukon? (Credit/Library of Congress)

History Hunter: Looking back 125 years, who or what made Yukon history?

2023 marks a milestone in the history of the Yukon. On June…

Chief Isaac was the leader of the people who had lived at the mouth of the Klondike River for generations before the Klondike discovery. After the establishment of the gold rush boom town, he regularly reminded the newcomers to their traditional homeland of the impact they were having upon his people. What other individuals do you think were important to the development of the Yukon? (Credit/Library of Congress)
Garth Graham, who was instrumental in establishing the Yukon Archives, spoke at the 50th birthday celebration at the archives on Dec. 10. (Courtesy/Michael Gates)

History Hunter: Garth Graham, the anarchist who established the Yukon Archives

The Yukon Archives celebrated its 50th birthday on Dec. 10 in its…

Garth Graham, who was instrumental in establishing the Yukon Archives, spoke at the 50th birthday celebration at the archives on Dec. 10. (Courtesy/Michael Gates)
Archivist Lesley Buchan looks through decades-old ledgers in the Yukon Archives vault in 2016. The archive is celebrating it’s 50th year. (Joel Krahn/Yukon News file)

History Hunter: The Yukon’s Memory Bank turns 50 this month

The Yukon was a different place when I first came here 51…

Archivist Lesley Buchan looks through decades-old ledgers in the Yukon Archives vault in 2016. The archive is celebrating it’s 50th year. (Joel Krahn/Yukon News file)
George Black was an important presence in the legal profession in the Yukon for more than 50 years. He developed a reputation of getting acquittals for his clients when conviction seemed a sure thing. (Courtesy/Library and Archives Canada C-039892)

History Hunter: George Black had a storied affair with the law

Michael Gates & Kathy Jones-Gates George Black was a lawyer, a soldier,…

George Black was an important presence in the legal profession in the Yukon for more than 50 years. He developed a reputation of getting acquittals for his clients when conviction seemed a sure thing. (Courtesy/Library and Archives Canada C-039892)
Seventeen Whitehorse men, who enlisted together in the fall of 1915 served in the 67th Pioneer Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I. Shown here are: Top Row, left to right: Joseph Bingham, William “Red” Brown, Norman Ryder, James Salvatore. Middle Row, l to r: Laurence R. Wilson, George Ryder, Jimmy Porter, William Hughes, Vido Zic, and John Luich. Front row, l to r: John Hyde, Alfred Cronin, Fred Young, James M. Smith, William W. Burden, Alex Pover, and Robert Holburn. Cronin was killed in action at Bourlon Wood, September 27, 1918.

History Hunter: Whitehorse men served their country in WWI

The Whitehorse Star of Oct. 22, 1915, reported that the first all-Whitehorse…

Seventeen Whitehorse men, who enlisted together in the fall of 1915 served in the 67th Pioneer Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I. Shown here are: Top Row, left to right: Joseph Bingham, William “Red” Brown, Norman Ryder, James Salvatore. Middle Row, l to r: Laurence R. Wilson, George Ryder, Jimmy Porter, William Hughes, Vido Zic, and John Luich. Front row, l to r: John Hyde, Alfred Cronin, Fred Young, James M. Smith, William W. Burden, Alex Pover, and Robert Holburn. Cronin was killed in action at Bourlon Wood, September 27, 1918.
James McNeil wearing his Yukon Order of Pioneers sash. Because he had been in the Yukon before the gold rush, McNeil qualified as a member of the fraternity. (Courtesy/The Musum of History and Industry)

History Hunter: James McNeil and uncovering family connections

I have been exchanging e-mails and telephone calls with Kathy Larson in…

James McNeil wearing his Yukon Order of Pioneers sash. Because he had been in the Yukon before the gold rush, McNeil qualified as a member of the fraternity. (Courtesy/The Musum of History and Industry)
By 1929, aged 62, Fred Atwood looked like an elder statesman. (Atwood collection/Dawson City Museum)

History Hunter: The Remarkable Legacy of Fred Atwood

Yukon history has been filled with heroes and adventurers like Joe Boyle,…

By 1929, aged 62, Fred Atwood looked like an elder statesman. (Atwood collection/Dawson City Museum)
The gymnasium in the Dawson Amateur Athletic Association building was transformed into the Family Theatre by the proprietor, Walter Creamer, in 1911. Some time after this photo was taken, Creamer added one more feature: an American Photoplayer piano, specially designed for movie houses, that came with all sorts of bells and whistles to provide sound effects for the films being screened.” (Courtesy/Gates collection)

History Hunter: The first and last picture shows in the Klondike

Moving pictures were invented by the Lumière Brothers in France in 1896,…

The gymnasium in the Dawson Amateur Athletic Association building was transformed into the Family Theatre by the proprietor, Walter Creamer, in 1911. Some time after this photo was taken, Creamer added one more feature: an American Photoplayer piano, specially designed for movie houses, that came with all sorts of bells and whistles to provide sound effects for the films being screened.” (Courtesy/Gates collection)
The film found buried in Dawson in 1978 was encrusted with mud and rust. Many of them became moldy as they thawed out. The films were transported to Ottawa by the military, where they were stabilized by specialists assembled by the National Film Archives. (Courtesy/Kathy Jones-Gates)

History Hunter: Premiere of historical films had a romantic ending

In July 1978, a hoard of silent movie films was uncovered from…

The film found buried in Dawson in 1978 was encrusted with mud and rust. Many of them became moldy as they thawed out. The films were transported to Ottawa by the military, where they were stabilized by specialists assembled by the National Film Archives. (Courtesy/Kathy Jones-Gates)
Modern day events at the Commissioner’s Residence in Dawson City are open to everybody in the community. (Courtesy/Michael Gates)

History Hunter: Death in the dining room

The Commissioner’s Residence, located prominently on Front Street in Dawson City, was…

Modern day events at the Commissioner’s Residence in Dawson City are open to everybody in the community. (Courtesy/Michael Gates)