{"id":7554,"date":"2021-02-14T20:53:47","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T01:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7554"},"modified":"2021-02-14T21:34:18","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T02:34:18","slug":"episode-251-yukon-diary-my-last-entry-but-not-my-last-story-a-big-event-was-happening-beneath-my-feet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7554","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 251 YUKON DIARY MY LAST ENTRY…BUT NOT MY LAST STORY: A BIG EVENT WAS HAPPENING BENEATH MY FEET"},"content":{"rendered":"
EPISODE 251   YUKON DIARY    MY LAST ENTRY\u2026BUT NOT MY LAST STORY: A BIG EVENT WAS HAPPENING BENEATH MY FEET<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Feb. 2051<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 1962<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
THIS IS MY LAST DIARY ENTRY\u2026<\/div>\n
IT IS  NOT MY LAST YUKON STORY, HOWEVER, MY BIGGEST, MOST<\/div>\n
FASCINATING YUKON  STORY WAS  HAPPENING AROUND ME BUT<\/div>\n
I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS HAPPENING UNTIL ALICIA PRIEST, A LITTLE<\/div>\n
TEN YEAR OLD GIRL IN 1962 LIVING IN A PAN ABODE COMPANY HOUSE IN<\/div>\n
ELSA PUBLISHED  HER BOOK TITLED \u2018A ROCK FELL ON THE MOON\u2019<\/div>\n
IN 2013.   HER STORY COULD BECOME ONE OF THE GREAT MOTION PICTURES<\/div>\n
OF OUR CENTURY.   HER STORY\u2026AND MY STORY\u2026INTERSECT.  AS  YOU WILL<\/div>\n
SEE IN EPISODE 252.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
BIT FIRST I HAVE TO GET OUT OF JUNEAU ON FRIDAY  SEPT. 14, 1962<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
YUKON JOURNAL<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
UP early and  out walking the streets of Juneau.  Wondering why in hell i came here<\/div>\n
\u2026sensing there was  some reason\u2026some hidden reason. (Which turned  out to be the Treadwell <\/div>\n
Mining disaster on  Douglas Island in 1917\u2026I would not know that reason for many years.)<\/div>\n
Lots of art shops here.  And many  more novelty shops for tourists fascinated by Pacific<\/div>\n
Coast First Nations legends printed  on tea towels and plywood slabs and cheap pottery.<\/div>\n
Bought two prints for $6.00.  Tourist stuff but nice.  Saleslady was very nice and recommended<\/div>\n
I read \u2018Cry The Beloved Country\u2019\u2026not pushing me to buy just saying it was a good book.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Confirmed  my exit flight with Pan American Airways.   Strange how links to the Yukon keep<\/div>\n
surfacing.  In a clothing store I got in a discussion with the manager.  He knew Jack Acheson\u2026<\/div>\n
the placer gold miner who gave me the mammoth tooth.  Strange that the Yukon keeps  coming<\/div>\n
up.  How does that happen?   Do I look like a prospector?   Or is it just that I am alone and ready<\/div>\n
to meet people?  We talked  mining for a bit.<\/div>\n

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

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then caught the limousine service to the Juneau airport.  Turned out to be a decrepit old bus.<\/div>\n
But the takeoff was terrific.  Juneau is in a deep valley on edde  of  a fiord.  The airport runway<\/div>\n
is short so  the big 707 had to accelerate fast and  then tip up equally fast or else we would<\/div>\n
scrap metal and flash glued to a rock face.  As  we rumbled and  got speed I could hear <\/div>\n
Gordon Lightfoot singing, \u201cIn the early morning rain\u2026big 707 set to go\u201d and I thought,<\/div>\n
\u2018Jesus, Garden Lightfoot has been here when he wrote the song.  Not true of course but<\/div>\n
I felt the same as he must have felt only I was in the 707 while he was only watching the takeoff.<\/div>\n
(Jet service had  just come to Juneau with a 2,000 foot runway extension.  In 1963, however, Pan<\/div>\n
Am terminated  service to Juneau\u2026so my flight was unusual\u2026seemed the 707 needed  extra<\/div>\n
power to clear the mountains but that could  have been my imagination))<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
“Early Morning Rain”<\/span>

<\/p>\n
In the early morning rain with a dollar in my hand
With an aching in my heart and my pockets full of sand
I’m a long way from home and I miss my loved one so
In the early morning rain with no place to go

Out on runway number nine big 707 set to go
But I’m stuck here in the grass where the cold wind blows
Now, the liquor tasted good and the women all were fast
Well, there she goes, my friend, well she’s rolling down at last

Hear the mighty engines roar – see the silver bird on high
She’s away and westward bound – far above the clouds she’ll fly
Where the morning rain don’t fall and the sun always shines
She’ll be flying o’er my home in about three hours time

This old airport’s got me down – it’s no earthly good to me
‘Cause I’m stuck here on the ground as cold and drunk as I can be
You can’t jump a jet plane like you can a freight train
So, I’d best be on my way in the early morning rain

You can’t jump a jet plane like you can a freight train
So, I’d best be on my way in the early morning rain<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Met forest ranger Dan Henny, nice chap.   We flew to Ketichikan from  Juneau together on<\/div>\n
a big Boeling 707.  Music in my mind.  Lightfoot was depressed.  I was  not depressed.  Quite a <\/div>\n
difference.   Service was superb.    I was heading home to meet Marjorie\u2026.full beard  and  all.<\/div>\n
Nicegin and tonic\u2026fine meal\u2026and  free cigarettes which I did  not want.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Eventually  we set down in Seattle and  I scoured  around for a flight to Vancouver.  Waitred<\/div>\n
a bit then boarded for  short flight to Vancouver.  Booked into theGeirgian Towers hotel as usual<\/div>\n
Had supper alone aboard the Royal Alaska (ship).  \u2026Not great supper\u2026would rather have  enjoyed my<\/div>\n
cold can of pork and beans, wasted  $3.50.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
honed to confirm my flight reservation  with CPA and was alarmed when told \u201cno chance,  flight is full\u201d<\/div>\n
I raised hell because I had  booked this flight long ago.  My costs would increase\u2026my plan was unravelling.<\/div>\n
They  booked me aboard a DC8 Vanguard with about same time arrival in Toronto.  Relieved.  had a<\/div>\n
nice hot shower, listened to radio and  went to bed.  My plan seems to be working out.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Expenses   food  $3.50<\/div>\n
                  Taxi  $2.00<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Saturday Sept. 15, 1962<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Up early and double checked flight with CPA just in case of trouble.   Walked uptown and paid CPA  $99.00<\/div>\n
Nothing much to do so took walks through Hudson\u2019s Bay store then over to  Stanley Park.  Rented a bicycle<\/div>\n
for .50 cents an hour \u2026cycled to the Stanley Park Zoo,<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Lo and  behold I met Bill McAdam from Mayo Landing while at the Zoo.  What a small world.  What a great<\/div>\n
collection of friends I had made in the Yukon. Walked back to hotel, had s bath, packed my little handbag<\/div>\n
 and caught limousine to the airport.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Jet fight 1,  DC8 direct from Vancouver to Toronto.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Greeted by Marjorie, mom and dad.  No one is impressed  by my red beard.  Took all summer to <\/div>\n
grow it.  \u201ckeeps mosquitoes away\u201d\u2026\u201dno mosquitoes here\u2026makes you look old\u201d  AND I was a bit<\/div>\n
nonplussed on my first day at the Faculty of Education.  Nobody knew who the hell I was.<\/div>\n
Friends who I had shared a glass or two of  beer at the King Cole Room of the Park Plaza<\/div>\n
walked  by me without comment.  My beard!  Beard lasted a while then mom and Marjorie pinned me to<\/div>\n
the ground beside the pump at the farm and proceeded to butcher my beard.  Lots of laughs.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
So ended the YUKON DIARY,   I put the diary away for the last six  decades  and  it likely would<\/div>\n
have remained in the dark had not Covid 19 struck the world  with such force.  I would like to<\/div>\n
thank the Virus for the chance to rescue my Yukon Diary and bring back so many fond<\/div>\n
memories.  On Sept. 15, 1962, I believed my days prospecting were over and a new career<\/div>\n
was opening up.  That made me feel bad.  Working for HunTech for so  many years  was hard<\/div>\n
to let go.  As things turned out the adventures were not over. We spent two more years<\/div>\n
working the bush trails.  We?  Yes, we, Marjorie joined  me in the summers of 1963 and<\/div>\n
1964.   The last job  was a seismic job for an open pit mine in Merrit, BC.  Very amusing.<\/div>\n
We flew to Vancouver.  I had second thoughts.  What would the geologists and  mine<\/div>\n
manager think when I arrived with my wife?  \u201cBest you stay in a hotel, Marjorie,<\/div>\n
and come to the BC interior tomorrow\u2026I can explain that to the miners.\u201d<\/div>\n
Well, that did not work out as planned.   The hotel was  bad  news\u2026in a slum<\/div>\n
in East Vancouver.  Marjorie got scared and hopped the night bus to Merrit\u2026overnight.<\/div>\n
When I got back to my motel with the geologists and mine manager for a discussion<\/div>\n
about the seismic results  first day.  There was Marjorie asleep in my room.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
What a joke!  They thought Marjorie was a hooker I had hired in Vancouver<\/div>\n
for the job  evenings.  No  matter what I said, their minds were fixed. Sly grins.<\/div>\n
\u201cMarjorie, they think you are a hooker.  No matter what I say.  So you\u2019ll just<\/div>\n
have to accept that I guess.\u201d  She did.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Since my former boss,  Dr. Norm Peterson, is reading this Episode, I must explain<\/div>\n
that Huntech did  not pay for Marjorie.  I paid that part of the bill.  Rather than  fly<\/div>\n
back  to Toronto,  we took the transcontinental  train.  One birth.  Both of us in<\/div>\n
a lower birth.  Tight but fun.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\"An<\/div>\n
Craigmont open pit, BC.  Site was  not as elaborate in 1964<\/div>\n
This may not be the same mine but the only one I can<\/div>\n
find in Merritt, BC, where we did the job.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
And Norm, your advice about the FS2 seismograph  was excellent.  Remember I asked<\/div>\n
what should I do  if the damn thing did not work.  \u201cAlan, take these electronic boards.<\/div>\n
If there is s problem, just slip the old boards out and the new boards in.\u201d  Well<\/div>\n
the damn thing did  not work on the first demonstration.  All the big shots watching because<\/div>\n
they feared  their open pit mind was about to collapse unless the FS2 could find<\/div>\n
a rock ledge deep below the loose ground.  A hook.  All  watching.  First explosive.  BOOM!<\/div>\n
Nothing registered.   The moment of truth had arrived.  I kept my calm. \u201cJust let<\/div>\n
me replace a few things\u201d  and I slipped a new board in the right slots. Signalled<\/div>\n
for the forcite to be buried at the right interval.  Cleared the site. Pushed the firing<\/div>\n
button.  And BOOM.  The damn thing worked perfectly.  In the eyes of the mine<\/div>\n
manager I was competent\u2026more than that\u2026professional.   And he would  not<\/div>\n
have to entertain me in the evenings because I had arranged my own entertainment<\/div>\n
with a brothel madam in Vancouver.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Funny thing.  About 10 years ago, Norm asked me to give a speech to a<\/div>\n
bunch of his church friends in Clarksberg.  He introduced  me.<\/div>\n
I was flattered.   He used a big work that I still do not understand.<\/div>\n
\u201cAlan was a bit precocious.\u201d  Now what the hell does that mean?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Since  then Norm has become quite a writer.  Two books done and a<\/div>\n
third underway.  His  first book deals with the science of geophysics and<\/div>\n
the role of Canadian engineers in those post World  War II decades.<\/div>\n
Very scientific. An important piece of journalism.   Norm left out one<\/div>\n
piece of information that fascinated me since we both did jobs in<\/div>\n
the Northern Quebec town of Chibougamau.  There were no washrooms<\/div>\n
in the bar.  Outdoor facilities.   Norm’s description of the difference between<\/div>\n
the male and  female washroom was a hoot.  I might have enough nerve<\/div>\n
to tell you the difference.   Hey, maybe that is part of being precocious.<\/div>\n

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

<\/div>\n
NOTE:  THE NEXT STORY YOU WILL FIND SPELL BINDING AS I DID.<\/div>\n
IN 2013 ALICIA PREIST\u2019S BOOK \u201cA  ROCK  FELL ON THE MOON\u201d<\/div>\n
WAS PUBLISHED  BY LOST MOOSE  PRESS.  THE SETTING OF THE<\/div>\n
BOOK IS  1962\u2026.THE PLACE IS  KENO HILL, YUKON TERRITORY\u2026<\/div>\n
THE EVENT ?  GERALD PREIST MAY HAVE STOLEN 700 TONS<\/div>\n
OF SILVER ORE.  I SAY \u201cMAY HAVE STOLEN\u201d  BECAUSE HE INSISTED<\/div>\n
THAT A HUGE ROCK FELL ON THE MOON\u2026THE ROCK WAS SILVER.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
LITTLE ALICIA PREIST WAS ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD WHEN I WORKED<\/div>\n
THERE IN 1962.   I MAY HAVE SEEN HER.  HER DAD, GERALD,<\/div>\n
WOULD NOT HAVE WANTED  US TO SEE HIM..<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
TOO BAD I CANNOT TELL YOU THE FULL STORY.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

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

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

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

EPISODE 251   YUKON DIARY    MY LAST ENTRY\u2026BUT NOT MY LAST STORY: A BIG EVENT WAS HAPPENING BENEATH MY FEET alan skeoch Feb. 2051 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 1962 THIS IS MY LAST DIARY ENTRY\u2026 IT IS  NOT MY LAST YUKON STORY, HOWEVER, MY BIGGEST, MOST FASCINATING YUKON  STORY WAS  HAPPENING AROUND ME BUT I […]<\/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-7554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7554","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=7554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}