Michael Gates

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Working for the San Francisco Examiner, a Hearst newspaper, Joaquin Miller, depicted here, and two other journalists rented a small cabin in Dawson City, where they spent the winter of 1897/1898. (Courtesy/The San Francisco Examiner)

History Hunter: Joaquin Miller, a poet in the Klondike

During the frenzy to reach the Klondike during the summer of 1897,…

Working for the San Francisco Examiner, a Hearst newspaper, Joaquin Miller, depicted here, and two other journalists rented a small cabin in Dawson City, where they spent the winter of 1897/1898. (Courtesy/The San Francisco Examiner)
Art Barz and Chappie Chapman unloading supplies at Chappie Lake, September 7, 1940. (Courtesy/Don Barz)

History Hunter: Where were you in ’42? New book tells the remarkable story of the Barz brothers

There are two events that more than any other defined the growth…

Art Barz and Chappie Chapman unloading supplies at Chappie Lake, September 7, 1940. (Courtesy/Don Barz)
Anton Vogee’s sign painting shop Dyea, Alaska, February 1899. In addition to examples of his sign painting affixed to the building, the photo shows other buildings along the street. (Courtesy/Yukon Archives)

History Hunter: Anton Vogee is a treasure from the vaults of the Yukon Archives

It is said that big things come in small packages. Seemingly small…

Anton Vogee’s sign painting shop Dyea, Alaska, February 1899. In addition to examples of his sign painting affixed to the building, the photo shows other buildings along the street. (Courtesy/Yukon Archives)
Christmas, Whitehorse, 1953: After getting off the train, Santa went to Hougen’s department store, where all the kiddies could share their wish lists with him. (Courtesy/Valerie Graham)

Christmas greeting from the History Hunter

As Christmas approaches and the anticipation mounts, I recall many events associated…

Christmas, Whitehorse, 1953: After getting off the train, Santa went to Hougen’s department store, where all the kiddies could share their wish lists with him. (Courtesy/Valerie Graham)
After they left the north, Lena and Billy Huson settled into a pastoral life in rural Washington state. (Courtesy/Gates collection)

History Hunter: Celebrating a hardship Christmas in the Klondike

The year was 1897. Gold had been discovered on Bonanza Creek a…

After they left the north, Lena and Billy Huson settled into a pastoral life in rural Washington state. (Courtesy/Gates collection)
In the early days, Gold Run Creek was an active mining district with hundreds of people working the placers and supplying services. This collection of buildings at Number 28, Gold Run included a hotel, a Mounted Police detachment, a school and a church, a blacksmith, mining recorder, and other services. (Candy Waugaman collection)

History Hunter: There are many abandoned communities in the Yukon

There are many abandoned settlements scattered throughout the Yukon. All of them…

In the early days, Gold Run Creek was an active mining district with hundreds of people working the placers and supplying services. This collection of buildings at Number 28, Gold Run included a hotel, a Mounted Police detachment, a school and a church, a blacksmith, mining recorder, and other services. (Candy Waugaman collection)
The plaque commemorating the Whitehorse fallen from World War I was originally mounted on a monument in front of the first public library, at the corner of Elliott Street and second Avenue. It was then moved to the federal building on Main Street. It is now located in front of Whitehorse City Hall, along with a second plaque memorializing the fallen from World War II. (Michael Gates/Yukon News)

History Hunter: Yukon war memorials remind us of the fallen

The cancellation of the Remembrance Day service at the Canada Games Centre…

The plaque commemorating the Whitehorse fallen from World War I was originally mounted on a monument in front of the first public library, at the corner of Elliott Street and second Avenue. It was then moved to the federal building on Main Street. It is now located in front of Whitehorse City Hall, along with a second plaque memorializing the fallen from World War II. (Michael Gates/Yukon News)
The theatres and dance halls of Dawson, unlike the Hollywood portrayal, were quite strait-laced. The dance hall girls wore long dresses and high-necked blouses with sleeves down to the wrist. Everything shut down on Sunday, and the Mounties quickly put risque performances out of action. Can-can dancing came to Dawson decades later. (Illustration/Tappan Adney)

History Hunter: The Yukon had its own Broadway – for a while

When gold was discovered in the Klondike, the quantities that were taken…

The theatres and dance halls of Dawson, unlike the Hollywood portrayal, were quite strait-laced. The dance hall girls wore long dresses and high-necked blouses with sleeves down to the wrist. Everything shut down on Sunday, and the Mounties quickly put risque performances out of action. Can-can dancing came to Dawson decades later. (Illustration/Tappan Adney)
Postcards come in many forms, shapes and sizes. Collector Dave Bouquot is shown here with one of the giant postcards from his collection. (Michael Gates/Yukon News)

History Hunter: The Yukon exposition that never was

My wife Kathy and I have assembled a small assortment of Yukon-related…

Postcards come in many forms, shapes and sizes. Collector Dave Bouquot is shown here with one of the giant postcards from his collection. (Michael Gates/Yukon News)
Australian boxer Frank Slavin, known as “The Sydney Cornstalk,” had been the top boxer in the Yukon for several years, until he was challenged, and defeated by American Nick Burley in April of 1902. Burley knocked out Slavin in a 1907 re-match in Victoria, B.C. (Klondike Nugget April 24, 1902)

History Hunter: Early day boxing was big in the Klondike

My files are swelling with accounts of boxing in the Yukon, going…

Australian boxer Frank Slavin, known as “The Sydney Cornstalk,” had been the top boxer in the Yukon for several years, until he was challenged, and defeated by American Nick Burley in April of 1902. Burley knocked out Slavin in a 1907 re-match in Victoria, B.C. (Klondike Nugget April 24, 1902)
The facade of the restored Globe Theatre features a replica of the original sign that was once mounted over the entrance.(Michael Gates/Yukon News)

HISTORY HUNTER: The Historic Globe Theatre is alive and well in Atlin

I was invited to give a reading at the Globe Theatre in…

The facade of the restored Globe Theatre features a replica of the original sign that was once mounted over the entrance.(Michael Gates/Yukon News)
Claude and Mary Tidd are playing Anagrams in this self-portrait taken in their cabin in Ross River, January, 1930. Claude Tidd was a remarkable photographer, who took pictures in isolated locations often under trying circumstances. There was no electricity in Ross River at the time, with which to provide the lighting for this indoor photo. (Courtesy/Yukon Archives, Claude and Mary Tidd fonds, 77/19, #7961)

History Hunter: Claude Tidd, the Mountie who got his lady

As she examined dozens of photos laid out on a large table,…

Claude and Mary Tidd are playing Anagrams in this self-portrait taken in their cabin in Ross River, January, 1930. Claude Tidd was a remarkable photographer, who took pictures in isolated locations often under trying circumstances. There was no electricity in Ross River at the time, with which to provide the lighting for this indoor photo. (Courtesy/Yukon Archives, Claude and Mary Tidd fonds, 77/19, #7961)
Chief Isaac (Yukon Archives, Cluade and Mary Tidd fonds, #7238/Submitted)

What would Chief Isaac have said had he been invited to speak on Discovery Day?

This is a modified version of the reading given at the Commissioner’s…

Chief Isaac (Yukon Archives, Cluade and Mary Tidd fonds, #7238/Submitted)
Dawson’s Pioneer Women turned out in numbers for the Discovery Day parade in Dawson Aug. 14. (Michael Gates/Submitted)

Dawson celebrates Discovery Day

Arts festival, parade and more hosted in the Klondike

Dawson’s Pioneer Women turned out in numbers for the Discovery Day parade in Dawson Aug. 14. (Michael Gates/Submitted)
Tim Green stands beside the remnants of an old cabin located on a hilltop above Stinky Lake in Porter Creek. Some of the surviving logs are larger than anything growing in the area now. Could this date back to the gold rush era, before any timber was harvested? (Michael Gates)

History Hunter: There is plenty of history hidden around Whitehorse

A few days ago, Tim Green , a history-hunting Porter Creek neighbour,…

Tim Green stands beside the remnants of an old cabin located on a hilltop above Stinky Lake in Porter Creek. Some of the surviving logs are larger than anything growing in the area now. Could this date back to the gold rush era, before any timber was harvested? (Michael Gates)
Even at midnight, there are plenty of men -and dogs - visible in this post card photo from Smith’s Book Store, of Second Avenue in Dawson City in 1904. (Courtesy/Gates Collection)

History Hunter: Old Yukon postcards open a window into the past

A boom of picture postcards hit the Yukon after 1903

Even at midnight, there are plenty of men -and dogs - visible in this post card photo from Smith’s Book Store, of Second Avenue in Dawson City in 1904. (Courtesy/Gates Collection)
At Tagish in 1898, the Mounted Police laid the mail out on the beach for stampeders to search for letters from home. (Courtesy/Gates collection)

History Hunter: From gold rush to COVID-19, mail has been an essential service

During the early days of the pandemic, when we were in total…

At Tagish in 1898, the Mounted Police laid the mail out on the beach for stampeders to search for letters from home. (Courtesy/Gates collection)
When the car bogged down between May and Keno City, the governor-general rolled up his sleeves and lent a hand. Gold commissioner George P. Mackenzie is to the left. (Courtesy/Yukon Archives, Finnie family fonds)

History Hunter: When Governor-General Byng came to town…

There have been many governors-general who have visited the Yukon since its…

When the car bogged down between May and Keno City, the governor-general rolled up his sleeves and lent a hand. Gold commissioner George P. Mackenzie is to the left. (Courtesy/Yukon Archives, Finnie family fonds)
A broad, unpaved post-war Main Street Whitehorse is barely recognizable today, with the exception of the White Pass Station in the distance. The Whitehorse Inn was replaced by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and the Capitol Theatre has long since been demolished. (Photo courtesy Gates collection/photographer unknown)

History Hunter: What was Whitehorse like in 1947?

An “All-Year Round Guide to the Yukon” published in the 1940s lends some clues

A broad, unpaved post-war Main Street Whitehorse is barely recognizable today, with the exception of the White Pass Station in the distance. The Whitehorse Inn was replaced by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and the Capitol Theatre has long since been demolished. (Photo courtesy Gates collection/photographer unknown)
Courtesy/Michael Gates After more than 125 years, baseball is going strong in the Yukon. Here is a game played in Minto Park in Dawson City in 1978. I played baseball in Dawson that year and hit my one and only home run.

Baseball has a long history in the Yukon

Stabbings, errant donkeys and icy playing fields all part of the Yukon’s long baseball history

Courtesy/Michael Gates After more than 125 years, baseball is going strong in the Yukon. Here is a game played in Minto Park in Dawson City in 1978. I played baseball in Dawson that year and hit my one and only home run.