Tuesday Treasures

 Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

August 2023 - Whitehorse Yukon

The beauty of travel is what you learn. I had never heard of the Canadian artist before.

This was on a street corner.

I remembered I had seen something about him when we were in the MacBride Museum.

TED HARRISON


Edward Hardy (Ted) Harrison was born in Wingate, County Durham, England to Charles Edward Harrison and Martha Harrison (née Thirlaway). He attended primary and grammar school in Wingate after which he attended West Hartlepool College of Art. In 1945, he interrupted his studies to serve in the Intelligence Unit of the British Army.

After a three-year tour in North Africa, he returned to England and completed his studies, earning a National Diploma in Art from West Hartlepool College of Art in 1948 and the Art Teacher Diploma from King’s College, University of Durham (now Newcastle University) in 1951. He then taught in Middlesbrough, England until 1957 when he taught at General Slim School, Cameron Highlands. While there, he was invited to paint a wall mural in the Perak Tong Temple at Ipoh, Cameron Highlands, the first European to receive that honour. He married Robina McNichol in 1960. In 1963, they left Malaysia for New Zealand, where Harrison taught at Te Kauwhata District High School, North Island.

In 1966 the Harrisons, with son Charles, returned to England where Harrison taught at the Wingate Junior School in the same classroom he and his father had attended as students. A year later, he became Art Master at Dene House. In 1967, the Harrison family moved to Wabasca, a small town in northern Alberta where he taught at St. Theresa School. The following year, he took a teaching position at Carcross, Yukon.

In 1969, Harrrison held his first Canadian exhibition in the Whitehorse Library. In 1977, he received his B. Ed from the University of Alberta. In 1980, Harrison resigned from teaching to paint full-time. The Harrisons moved to British Columbia, in 1993.

Born on August 28, 1926 in England. Died on January 16, 2015. Nationality is Canadian.

Click here to view some of his work.

Whitehorse Day 2

 August 18, 2023

On our own.

Click here for foodie photos.

We spent our first day in the Yukon getting to know Whitehorse, the capital city, known as The Wilderness City. The downtown area is small, with the main tourist attractions within easy walking distance.

The hotel does not have a breakfast option so we headed to The Burnt Toast Café. 

Unfortunately, this place has just closed down.

Walking up Main St.

Old Log Church Museum is one of the oldest buildings in Whitehorse, dating back to 1900. It was designed and built by Reverend Richard Bowen and took only two months to construct. The church held services until 1960 and in 1962 it was converted into a museum.

Click here to read about the infamous Edith Josie!

This bronze sculpture of a prospector and his dog, created by Yukon artist Chuck Buchanan, is dedicated to the adventurers who followed their dreams all the way to the Far North.

 

Sculpture commemorating Whitehorse as the birthplace of McGee and McGrew (characters in poems by Robert W. Service)
The Cremation of Sam McGee (small excerpt printed here)
BY ROBERT W. SERVICE

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

The last block of Main St. is closed to vehicles for the summer.

The Edgewater got its start during the Great Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890’s as the Windsor Hotel, servicing the stampeders heading down the Yukon River to the gold fields of the Klondike in Dawson City.

Located across from both the paddle wheeler docks on the Yukon River and the White Pass and Yukon Route Train Station, the Windsor Hotel enjoyed a bustling business in the heart of the transportation district.

In 1905, a devastating fire leveled much of the Downtown core, including the Windsor Hotel and White Pass Depot. Famed poet and Bard of the Yukon, Robert Service, helped in the firefighting efforts, managing to save the CIBC Bank building where he worked.

After a spirited community rebuilding effort, the Windsor was reborn as the White Pass Hotel and served Whitehorse throughout the war years, the building of the Alaska Highway in 1942 and the end of the steamboat era in the mid-fifties.

After another fire on Christmas Day 1961, the White Pass became the Edgewater Hotel, which it has remained until this day.

The White Pass & Yukon Route (WP&YR) Depot.

The WP&YR Railroad was constructed in 1898-1900 to service the Klondike Gold Rush, carrying freight and passengers from the ocean port of Skagway, Alaska to the Yukon interior. 

The original WP&YR Depot was constructed in 1900 but burned in the 1905 fire that destroyed downtown Whitehorse. The open, wood paneled lobby area and large ticket office window demonstrate an original function of the building.

We impulsively bought tickets for the bus/train trip ($155 US each) to Skagway Alaska for Saturday.

Peace Park is a leisure park destination located in the community of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. The Rotary Peace Park follows the banks of the Yukon River and is situated across the street from the SS Klondike Historic Site and the Robert Campbell Bridge near the beginning of the Robert Service Highway.

We were here on our first night when we went to the Firewood Market.

Yukon River behind.

MacBride Museum of Yukon History. This small but comprehensive museum offered great insight into the territory’s history. We really enjoyed this museum and spent several hours.

Click here for a whole bunch of photos and history.

Time for some sunshine and beverages, on Main St.

 

Glutenberg for John.

I had White Bark from Victoria BC and Mountain Hero from Winterlong here in Whitehorse.

An American Vet tourist. Whitehorse is really laid back, jeans, backpacks, plaid, and ponytails.

From our hotel room.

On our way to dinner.

The Conversation Created by Alyx Jones
On the steps of the Andrew A. Philipsen Law Centre on Second Avenue. This grouping of figures is based on geographical formations found on the Dempster Highway. It also suggests the way that people might gather on the steps of the courthouse for discussion. From a distance these figures appear larger than life, but they are actually much smaller. In fact, their heads are much too small for their bulky bodies. According to Alyx Jones, this size discrepancy illustrates the gap between the ideal and the actual practice of law. 

Dinner at Giorgio's Cuccina.

Prices are Toronto prices but portions are huge!

Local Artic char for me.

John had the 10 oz sirloin.

On the way back.