Village Squire, 1981-04, Page 13Memories arise of stories from the Goldrush of 1898. such as
the adventures and tales of Robert Service's Sam McGee and
Dan McGrew, both mighty. fictitious characters who met their
respective destinies in the turn of the century North.
Naturally one does not visit Dawson City without trying one's
hand at a bit of panning for gold. Half a day was spent at the
activity, and the only thing that the men got for their efforts was
wet. There was no gold to be had that afternoon. The men from
Mitchell spent five days in Dawson, but no nights; the sun never
sets at that time of year.
All too soon it was time for their return trip. But it, too, was to
yield many memorable happenings. Along the Alaskan
Highway, about 130 kilometres north of Whitehorse, the plane
and crew were attracted to the Cinnamon Bun Strip. This country
airfield, with its rather unusual name. was located near a small
restaurant. The establishment is reputed to have some of the
best food in the North, and according to the locals, a hamburger
from the restaurant in Braeburn, Northwest Territories is almost
more than a meal. Ross and Joe will attest to that.
The name of the airstrip resulted from a visit by the famous
Canadian singer. Valdy. He ordered a cinnamon bun, and was so
impressed with what he received that he wrote a song about the
occurrence, thus. the name Cinnamon Bun Strip was coined.
After spending the night in the usual fashion (underneath the
wing of the plane, in a sleeping bag), Joe ordered what he
expected to be just a light breakfast; toast and coffee. The coffee
was fine, but the toast turned out to be two thick. eight inch
square slices of home-made bread, complete with all the jam and
marmalade they could eat; not exactly what they'd expected. A
bun the pair took with them lasted for two days after they left
Braeburn.
After a brief visit with a relative at Whitehorse, Ross and Joe
continued on along the Highway. Drawn by the scenery. they
followed a road which led into the mountains. They had been
warned that this road led into a blind canyon that had meant the
end to many planes and pilots. Being careful not to go too far in,
they followed the canyon for about 10 miles. before turning back.
The mountains rise very gradually and a pilot, not noticing the
change in height, could easily get caught in a situation where it
was too high to climb over the peaks and too narrow to turn
around. This particular canyon has claimed many lives and
aircraft.
Across the prairies. through Northern Ontario, along the west
side of Manitoulin and back into Southern Ontario. and the
voyage was over. The last leg was flown at a very low level, and
gave the flyers a chance to view the endless beauty of this region
of Canada.
In the words of Mr. Smith. "There is a "God -Awful" beauty to
this land. Nothing compares with this breadbasket of Southwest-
ern Ontario, covered with yellow -green -brown patchwork that
flames in the autumn and turns white in the winter. But nothing
compares either with that view of those ragged mountain peaks
in the Yukon and Northern British Columbia, seemingly standing
under our wings in that still morning air."
"It's locked in our memory forever."
Spring Classics
See the many styles
and colours of jackets
and blazers for men and
women in leather or suede
at
CIIjufon
THE ORIGINAL OLD MILL
AND FACTORY OUTLET IN BLYTH
523-9666 Since 1894
Famous for quality and low prices
WINTER
HOURS:
• MONDAY TO THURSDAY - 9 TO 6
• FRIDAY 9 TO 9 SATURDAY 9 TO 6
• SUNDAY 1 TO 6
EASTER WEEKEND HOURS:
Open Fri., & Sat. 9 - 9;
Closed Easter Sunday & Open Easter Monday 9-6
VILLAGE SQUIRE/APRIL 1981 PG 1'.