{"id":7548,"date":"2021-02-13T11:40:27","date_gmt":"2021-02-13T16:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7548"},"modified":"2021-02-13T11:42:49","modified_gmt":"2021-02-13T16:42:49","slug":"episode-249-yukon-diary-livingstone-wernicke-on-keno-hill-1925-to-1935","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7548","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 249 YUKON DIARY LIVINGSTONE WERNICKE . ON KENO HILL 1925 TO 1935"},"content":{"rendered":"
EPISODE 249   YUKON DIARY  LIVINGSTON WERNECKE   ON KENO HILL 1921 TO 1935<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Feb. 2021<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE IN WERNECKE CAMP, KENO HILL  1925<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Mining is dangerous.  So it is not first in line up of desirable careers.  Test yourself.  <\/div>\n
Would you take a job cutting out slabs of rock with explosives five  to 1,000<\/div>\n
feet beneath the ground where the darkness is absolute and arsenic is just<\/div>\n
one of the nasty minerals you will be handling while the air you breathe<\/div>\n
is often  filled with tiny dust particles that are sharp enough to grind  your<\/div>\n
lungs to a cancerous  pulp.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Arsenic and lead pouring out of mine site\u2026not the Wernecke mine site but the problem was present in the Yukon and remains a problem<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Not so nice.   Probably worse than I have noted.  Many miners, even as late<\/div>\n
as the 1920\u2019s could not stand erect in the stopes.   And the water they drank<\/div>\n
had contaminants no one had identified\u2026arsenic for sure.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Livingston Wernecke was well aware of the dangers miners faced.  He tried<\/div>\n
to make the conditions in Keno Hill as pleasant as possible.  His mine was<\/div>\n
not filled with dust.  His drills were water infused to reduce the chances of<\/div>\n
silicosis of the lung;  It was safer to work  in a Wernecke mine than the<\/div>\n
Guggenheim mine at the top of Keno Hill.  Not perfectly safe.  Mining<\/div>\n
can be  dangerous but Wernecke made sure his miners knew the dangers<\/div>\n
and took precautions.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
YES, he seems to have been erasable at times.  Miners that displeased<\/div>\n
him were told to \u2018get your time owed and get out\u2019.  When buying claims from<\/div>\n
stakers he gave fair prices as high as $100,000 if the site was tops.  But<\/div>\n
he only made one offer.  Take it or leave it.  He did not talk much\u2026lacked<\/div>\n
the social graces. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
 He did not like prostitution or hard liquor.  Attempts to control both of these<\/div>\n
vices failed it seems but were minimized.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE A MINER ON KENO HILL BETWEEN 1925 AND 1935.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
   Dr. Aaro Aho in his book, \u2018Hills of Silver\u2019 shows  the good  side of Livingston Wernecke.<\/div>\n
He referred to his miners as his \u2018boys\u2019.  Livingston may not have spent a lot of time<\/div>\n
sharing stories with them over a hot drink but he made the conditions of their<\/div>\n
lives as good as possible.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Wernecke Camp Mine was not the wreck  that we saw in 1962.   In 1927 \u201cthere were two bunkhouses, <\/div>\n
a cookery, two  shafts and head  frames, a machine shop, a framing shed, mill buildings, Wernecke\u2019s<\/div>\n
and Hargreaves\u2019 (mine manager) houses, three other residences, several outlying log cabins<\/div>\n
and shacks, a recreation hall with a poolroom, bowling alley, library and radio, an outdoor skating<\/div>\n
and curling rink, a warehouse,an office, a mess hall for 200 people,  laundry, the mill,<\/div>\n
power house,  and assay office.\u201d (P. 123, Hills of Silver)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Because of his stomach troubles, Livingston kept a cow for fresh milk.  Often the cow<\/div>\n
did not give  all the milk expected because some teamsters would  milk her at night.<\/div>\n
She eventually died… lead contamination from eating ore sacks. <\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Wernicke\u2019s  house was attractive since he expected his wife Mabel and their<\/div>\n
two children to live on the mine site. Livingston liked to sit on his porch and watch moose<\/div>\n
wading in the lakes far down in the McQuesten Valley.  Married miners with children were welcomed<\/div>\n
as  employees .  Mabel and Maud (Hargreaves wife) often had games of bridge with other wives.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The poolroom, barbershop and  store were operated like any  such businesses in towns like<\/div>\n
Dawson City, Whitehorse or even Keno City.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cIn the recreation hall Emil Forrest showed silent movies on a small canvas screen for 75 cents  <\/div>\n
admission and the  show  was always crowded  to see  Rudolph Valentino in the Sheik, Douglas<\/div>\n
Fairbanks in The Three Musketeers, Gloria Swanson,  Tulula Bankhead, Pavlova, Tom Mix, Charlie<\/div>\n
Chaplin and other great entertainers of the golden flapper era.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Dances  were held with music  provided by the miners own \u201cJackhammer\u201d  band  \u2026a sax, 3 violins, a drum,<\/div>\n
piano, and two banjos.   One prospector and  miner even gave dancing lessons.  When a dance<\/div>\n
was planned Wernecke sent invitations and  provided  transportation from Keno City or even<\/div>\n
as far away as Mayo Landing.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
At Christmas time Wernecke threw  a big party for all.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Drunkenness was unacceptable to Wernecke and one  story is told that he  threatened  to fire any<\/div>\n
Irishman who got drunk on St. Patrick\u2019s day.  None got drunk.  But his Swedish employees] did<\/div>\n
get drunk so he  fired them all.  This sounds a little far fetched but the story does underline  the<\/div>\n
stiff moral code by which Werncke lived.   And his determination to make sure others shared<\/div>\n
his principles whether they liked it or not.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The brothel down in Keno City bothered Wernecke as mentioned earlier.  He visited the place<\/div>\n
intending to have a talk with the Madam\u2026perhaps named Vimy Ridge.  Before  the discussion<\/div>\n
got underway one of his miners noted Livingston and said, \u201cHello, Mr. Wernecke, I see<\/div>\n
you use this place too.\u201d Seems Livingston said nothing but may have stared  at the miner in disgust.<\/div>\n
 Another tale that may or may not be true but underlines his determination<\/div>\n
to protect the  health of his boys.   He paid a doctor to ensure the girls were in good health and not<\/div>\n
likely to infect his boys.   Infections would reduce production  at the mine.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
A complicated man.   He looked after his boys well.  Grant that.  But he would fire them on the<\/div>\n
spot for minor transgressions.   He gave terse orders which were sometimes misunderstood<\/div>\n
which kept his miners on pins and needles.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HORSES?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
When Bill  Dunn and I visited  the ruins of the Wernecke Camp Mine we found a horse stable with<\/div>\n
two horse collars.  I made a big mistake when I assumed  the Mine was  shipping ore concentrates<\/div>\n
by horse and sleigh or wagon to Mayo Landing where sternwheelers would load the sacks  and <\/div>\n
beat their way to Whitehorse.  Livingston Wernecke got rid of his horses in 1923\u2026the same year<\/div>\n
that Benjamin  Holt invented  and marketed  the Holt bulldozer\u2026then called  the \u2018caterpillar\u2019.<\/div>\n
At least two of these powerful machines were shipped  to Skagway and on up the White Pass<\/div>\n
railway to Whitehorse then driven at crawl speed  all the way to Keno Hill.   Wernecke was criticized<\/div>\n
for this  leap  of technology. \u201cWe do not even know how to get the machines off the boat in Skagway let<\/div>\n
alone onto a White Pass railway flatcar.\u201d   But it was done.   The Holt machines hauled multiple<\/div>\n
sieighs of ore all hitched to the Holt caterpillars with a caboose as living space for the drivers<\/div>\n
when at rest. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
What happened to the horses?  The good horses  were sold. \u201cThe others were shot.\u201d  A  few were<\/div>\n
kept to haul ore from the mine to the  ‘Holt train\u2019 and others  hauled waste rock to be dumped over<\/div>\n
the cliff into the MvQuesten Valley.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Werencke always tried to make his mine as efficient as possible for Treadwell Yukon directors<\/div>\n
in California.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
Wernecke was quick to see that these huge  Holt Caterpillars could haul many many<\/div>\n
sleigh loads of silver ore from Keno Hill to Mayo Landing cheaper than the teams of horses<\/div>\n
\u2026and cheaper.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THE WERNECKE MOUNTAIN RANGE?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Livingstone Wernecke was a shy man  really.  Efficient, frugal, irascible, generous, \u2026a man who loved the wild places as  much as he loved<\/div>\n
developing mining ventures.   Prospectors were often provided with food, gear and even airborne transportation to the unknown<\/div>\n
part of the Yukon in hopes they would make discoveries. If a prospector found  and staked promising mining sites Wernecke was<\/div>\n
quite willing, as mentioned earlier,  to pay as high as $100,000.   He encouraged discoveries by these free ranging unprofessionals.  He admired  their<\/div>\n
tenacity..their risk taking\u2026their independent spirit.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
One  of the rewards, after his death, was the naming of a largely unexplored Yukon mountain range after him.  The Werneke Range.<\/div>\n
Incredibly beautiful.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
So much more could be said about Livingston Wernecke.   Too little time to do it.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Feb.  2021<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 249   YUKON DIARY  LIVINGSTON WERNECKE   ON KENO HILL 1921 TO 1935 alan skeoch Feb. 2021 WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE IN WERNECKE CAMP, KENO HILL  1925 Mining is dangerous.  So it is not first in line up of desirable careers.  Test yourself.   Would you take a job cutting out slabs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7548\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}