In November of 1970, the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous committee in Whitehorse announced that they were adding Mr. and Mrs. Yukon to the festival, which in 1971, was to run from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28.
“If you and your spouse have been in the territory a fair length of time and have contributed to the betterment of the community, you may be chosen for the 1971 Sourdough Rendezvous,” announced a press release issued in November of 1970. The Yukon Order of Pioneers were first asked to establish a set of rules for the new program, then later assigned the task of coordinating the event. They still do today.
The chosen couple were to be guests of the Rendezvous committee during the three-day celebration. Representing the original sourdoughs, they had official functions at the Queen ceremony, dog races and the ice palace, and were to be featured on their own float in the Rendezvous parade on Feb. 28.
On Jan. 18, the identity of the first Mr. and Mrs. Yukon was unveiled: Jack and Hazel Meloy of Dawson City. The Meloys first came to the Yukon in 1913, when they worked pack horses bringing supplies to the miners stampeding to the Chisana district. They decided to stay, and for many years resided at Coffee Creek on the Yukon River. When the riverboats ceased operating on the Yukon River, the Meloys moved into Dawson City, where they became an integral part of the community.
The duties of Mr. and Mrs. Yukon have expanded over the years to include appearances and many functions throughout the year. It’s almost become a full-time job!
In 2010, when Jack and Myrna Kingscote were selected for the honour, they appeared at a dozen Rendezvous venues, after which they attended the Vancouver Yukoners Association banquet in Vancouver, appeared at the 2010 Yukon Transportation Hall of Fame Awards ceremony, a seniors’ tea, Ride for Dad parade, the Commissioner’s Ball and Tea and Discovery Day (both in Dawson City), Canada Day celebrations at Rotary Park, the Alaska Tourism Association convention (held in Whitehorse that year) and the Santa Claus parade.
Over the years, couples have been selected from communities all over the Yukon including Dawson City, Mayo, Teslin and Watson Lake. This year, Ron and Merilee Chambers of Haines Junction have been selected to represent the Yukon.
Ron Chambers is deeply rooted in the Yukon. His parents, Carl and Grace Chambers, were trappers located at Burwash Landing. His grandmother was the daughter of Chief Klanott of Dyea, Alaska. One grandfather, Thomas Dickson, was a member of the Northwest Mounted Police. The other, Harold “Shorty” Chambers, came to the Yukon with Jack Dalton.
Ron helped found the Chilkat Dancers in Haines, Alaska, and a similar group in the Yukon. He worked for what was then the federal department of Indian Affairs, as well as the Yukon Native Brotherhood. He joined Parks Canada in 1971 and became a member of the Kluane National Park helicopter search and rescue team, and made challenging rescues off Mount Logan, and the Alsek River. He twice climbed Mount Logan, becoming the first First Nation man to reach the summit.
Over the years he has been the president of Yukon Native Products, deputy chief of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nation and has served on both the Tatshenshini-Alsek and the Kluane National Park management boards. He was also a long-time member of the Yukon Heritage Resources Board. Ron was a signatory to the Champagne and Aishihik Final Agreement in 1993.
Merilee’s parents are both of immigrant stock, whose families originally arrived in Canada from England and Ireland. She was born and raised in British Columbia. Although she had dreams of working in the fashion industry in New York, she chose the Yukon instead. Ron first met her in 1968, when she was working at the lodge in Burwash Landing.
Ron followed her to Vancouver that fall, and she returned to Whitehorse a couple of months later. They were married in May of 1970 and together raised a son and two daughters, all of whom live in the Yukon.
While her children were growing up, Merilee was a Sparks and Brownies leader and volunteered on the local daycare board. In 1989, she was hired as an education assistant at the St. Elias School, so it was possible to keep an eye on her children while working at the same time.
Merilee currently sits on the Haines Junction Seniors Society and the DAKWAKADA – Haines Junction food association.
I have known Ron for more than 30 years and can personally attest to his lifelong relationship with his heritage. Ron’s first formal contact with prehistory came when he worked for prominent archaeologist, Richard “Scottie” MacNeish as a youngster. MacNeish defined the archaeological chronology in the southwest Yukon during his ground-breaking work between the years 1957 to 1960. I have been in the field with Ron and can attest to his “artifact radar,” a talent he displayed while working with Parks Canada archaeologists at Kluane National Park.
The Yukon Order of Pioneers came into existence in a smoky, crowded log building in the tiny mining town of Forty Mile during the darkest, coldest time of year, Dec. 1, 1894. It was initially established for the mutual benefit of its members, and to promote the development of the Yukon valley. Only those hopeful prospectors who had entered the Yukon valley in 1888 or earlier, were eligible for membership. Their simple motto: “Do as you would be done by.”
Over the years, the Yukon Order of Pioneers, or “YOOP,” became a central part of the gold rush community of Dawson City. YOOP lodges were established in nearly a dozen locations, of which two, Dawson City and Whitehorse, remain active 130 years later.
The Pioneers established a number of traditions that carried forward over the years. Each August they celebrate Discovery Day, commemorating the original discovery of Klondike gold by Keish (widely known by his anglicized name, Skookum Jim), which sparked the Klondike stampede, and the formation of the Yukon as a distinct entity.
Each Dec. 1, on the anniversary of their formation, they hosted a dinner for members. Another banquet was held annually on Christmas day.
Ron and Merilee will serve as excellent ambassadors for the territory here and abroad during their term as the 53rd Mr. and Mrs. Yukon, a tradition that is now becoming a part of Yukon history, as well as part of the tradition of the Yukon Order of Pioneers.
Michael Gates was the Yukon’s first Story Laureate from 2020 to 2023. His latest book, “Hollywood in the Klondike,” is now available in Whitehorse stores. You can contact him at msgates@northwestel.net