EPISODE 223 YUKON DIARY 8 1953 DODGE POWER WAGON ROLLED LIKE A SOCCER BALL
alan skeoch
Jan. 2021
Our 1953 Power Wagon…bought or rented just forget which…looks rather
nice here as we consider whether to drive over the rubble blocking the road
up to Keno Hill. Sadly we did not treat the Power Wagon well.
“HE rolled the Power Wagon…rolled on that hairpin turn… the son of a bitch went over sideways.”
“What … are you kidding?”
“No…rolled over the edge near the hairpin…went over sideways..
“Who was driving?”
“Moses Lord or Bill Dunn…not sure which but the Power Wagon rolled
over and over like a soccer ball.”
“Wrecked?”
“That’s the funny part….the son of a bitch landed on the bottom part of the fucking hairpin…landed on all four wheels.”
“And Moses* drove it back to camp…take a look over here.”
*Not sure who was driving. As my diary unfolds you will find out.
WHEN we heard that our 1953 Dodge Power Wagon rolled over on a hairpin turn we were sure it
was a write off. More concerned that Moses Lord was hurt…maybe dead. But both Moses and
the Power Wagon were just shaken up. Moses was more embarrassed than physically scarred…just
surface cuts and bruises.
The Power Wagon looks a little worse for wear. Some broken windows…cracked. A lot
of dents…sides, roof , fenders…but we had already done some of those. And it was second
hand when and not very pretty when we got it. It looks prettier than it really was in the picture.
If I find my bashed up version of the truck I will include it later.
Power Wagons were built for that kind of thing. Originally built in World War II as a heavy
duty off road military truck. Most had half ton bodies…open back. A few looked like ours.
They were advertised as indestructible and seemed to live up to their name.
This is the same model Power Wagon owned originally by the United States Navy… restored by a collector.
This is NOT THE PESO SILVER HAIRPIN CURVE but gives some idea of the mountain (hill) roads bashed
through by mining companies. Our power wagon rolled down as far as those two dead trees and landed on
the switchback part of the road. This picture was taken in British Columbia on a different job.
And here are a while collection of hairpins…again picture NOT TAKEN IN THE YUKON but the hairpins
looked much like this only not so many.
Somewhere I have a picture of the Dodge Power Wagon after the roll…if found I will include it
in the diary entry.
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This direction finder is located at the top of Keno Hill today…looking over the silver rich McQuesten valley…picture gives some
idea of the topography…in the distance is the Peso Silver property where the Dodge did its tumble. The grade on the Peso Silver
bush road was not as steep as the previous pictures. But dangerous all the same.
Here some of the Peso Silver boys are looking over the Dodge…with the usual nonplussed expressions.
And here is another Power Wagon making its way through the bush where there is no road.
We had one other adventure with the Power Wagon…again amusing. One of the guys…name forgotten at present…was sent to Mayo
Landing for food or some such thing. He got drunk instead and did not get back to camp so we sent a search party down the hill
looking for him. Found him and the Power Wagon resting in the middle of Haggart Creek. The boulder strewn creek was part of
the road to Peso Silver. He had passed out. I seem to remember that the Power Wagon was still running but I could be wrong.
The driver was an alcoholic. We knew that and should never have sent him to Mayo Landing. Neither he nor the Dodge were hurt.
The incident reminded me of my first job in the wilderness north west of Chibougamau, northern Quebec, when we sent Joe Fortin
to get food supplies on a Beaver float plane. He was not the pilot…that’s for sure. He arrived back dead drunk. So drunk
he nearly fell off the pontoon. No food. Just Joe coming back to camp. That was my first bush job with Geo Tech Exploration
when I was a Grade 11 high school student. I did not drink back then. Well, not quite true, I did drink a couple of those tiny
draught glasses of beer in the Chibougamau Inn. When Joe staggered off the Beaver I was shocked. By the time I worked
for Hunting Technical and Exploration Services that shock had worn off. We tried to separate the alcoholics from
the social drinkers. Sometimes that was not easy to do. When I was given a can of Molson’s Export on one occasion
I wrapped it in brown paper and mailed it to my dad back in Toronto. Mom said dad was touched.
alan skeoch
Jan. 2021