Steep ridges came one after another, one so steep they had to put three dog teams on each sled and haul the three sleds up one at a time. Two survey teams had set out together from the Hudson’s Bay post at Sikanni on the winter trail between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson. Looking …
Category Archives: Civilian Contractors
Greyhound on the Alaska Highway
Greyhound buses actually drove the Alaska Highway in its infancy, while it remained a rough draft of a Highway. Who knew? Link to another story “Rough Draft of a Highway” In a comment on one of my stories, Tom Lymbery wrote, “…12 Canadian Greyhound coaches driven and serviced entirely by Canadians… set up regular service …
Woke from a Peaceful Sleep
Woke in the middle of the night from a peaceful sleep, John Frieze found himself staring into a flashlight beam and two frightened faces. One of the two men standing by John’s bunk, Quarfot by name, held up a hand with four fingers dangling free and draining blood all over the bunk. Next to him …
The Grizzly vs. the Truck
Video of Bear Attacking Truck The grizzly stood erect at the back of the “small paneled Canadian truck” slapping it with is enormous paws, rocking it in every direction. Rounding a curve in his bigger truck, John Friese spotted the small truck parked by the side of the road, “shaking with movement in the back …
Sleeping Standing on their Heads
Sleeping standing on their heads? That’s just one of the things the Tomlinson men hadn’t anticipated when they headed north. Link to another story “Ft. Nelson, Chester Russell’s Passage” At the beginning of World War II, officials in Washington and Ottawa developed a propensity for dispatching men deep into the subarctic north to accomplish all …
Mushy Spring Ice and Bush Pilot Bob Reeve
Mushy spring ice doth not a runway make. Famous Alaska bush pilot Bob Reeve found that out at Burwash. Willis and the surveyors were there. Link to another story “Stench and Reeve Airways” The Army occasionally hired Reeve to ferry personnel from place to place along the route of the Highway, and about two …
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Burwash Bounce
Burwash Bounce didn’t mean a thing to the Army, but it meant everything to Willis and his fourteen fellow surveyors. Link to Part 1 “Willis Grafe, Civilian Roadbuilder” Needing surveyors for the Alaska Highway Project, the Army blithely ignored the fact that most of Willis’s group of fifteen had exactly zero experience as surveyors. In …
One Night
One night, that is all Willis Grafe and his friends got as the guests of gracious Harriett Pullen. Willis had signed on to help the Army build the Alaska Highway and in early 1942 the Army intended to get him to where they needed him as quickly (and as cheaply) as possible. From the Pullen …
Willis Grafe, Civilian Roadbuilder
Willis Grafe, in early 1942, had a job he didn’t like in Salem, Oregon. And he heard a rumor. The United States Public Roads Administration wanted to hire surveyors to send north to Canada and Alaska to help the Army build a Highway. Link to another story “Civilians on the Alaska Highway Project” In his …
Youngest Alaska Highway Trucker
Youngest Alaska Highway Trucker? Without any doubt, Owen Ose holds that title. When three-year-old Owen piloted his truck on the Highway, the Corps of Engineers hadn’t even finished it. Owen, when he shared this claim with me a couple of years ago, hastened to add that the truck the youngest driver drove had “Tonka” printed …