Shout-Out to Yukon Story Laureate John Firth

John Firth, with Ted Vandenberg at Stewart L.
In 1980 when my wife and I moved to the Yukon from Ontario, one of the first people we met was John Firth. He was the property manager for the apartment building where we lived in Whitehorse. John was an approachable guy who collected our monthly rent, plus he was the in-resident fixer for any problems with our basement flat. A one-bedroom apartment in Whitehorse rented for about $300 a month in those days, and our brand new unit was $320, if my memory serves me correctly.

We soon became close friends, a friendship that has endured 46 years; this despite the fact we departed Whitehorse in 1989. 

By virtue of his position on various national level associations over the decades, John has been a regular visitor to Ottawa. He and his lovely wife Dawn attended both our daughters' weddings, and over the years we have returned to the territory at various times to visit them and enjoy the Yukon outdoors together.

During the early years in Whitehorse, John was the person who introduced us to the Yukon River. Together we’ve been fortunate to navigate this historic and beautiful waterway from Whitehorse to Dawson City, one section at a time. 

My Yukon River quest began on Lake Bennett, which is the river's headwaters, a vast body of water stretching 42 kilometres from Bennett, B.C. to Carcross, Yukon. I arrived there in May of 1978 after the Naval Reserve posted me to Whitehorse to conduct northern cadet training on 27-foot whalers; basically large lifeboats rigged with sails. Our base of operations was the village of Carcross nestled along the shore of the big wind-swept lake.

Thirty years later in 2008, I finally completed the river quest to Dawson on a canoe trip led by John, with our long-time friend, Whitehorse Star Editor Jim Butler, brother-in-law Ted, nephew Mike and my son Scott making the voyage.

Each voyage has been an adventure, and there are many stories to tell, some of which are included in John's award-winning book River Time - Racing the Ghosts of the Klondike Rush. Documented in one of its chapters is the Lake Laberge adventure that could have turned tragic when sudden heavy winds blew down from the north, creating 15-foot waves.  This happened at the Yukon River's confluence with Lake Laberge where the shallow water causes a wave stacking effect on the sandy bottom.

Our group of six, including Mary-Ann, me and our three-year-old daughter Erin, tucked under the spray skirt on our 12-foot inflatable boat, and John steering a 16-foot square-stern canoe, his girl friend perched in mid-air each time the bow crested a wave, while her brother seated in the middle, bailed frantically to stay afloat. Eventually both vessels managed to motor forward through the roller coaster to the safety of deeper water where the swells were of a lesser size and spaced farther apart. 

The book is a riveting read that traces John's family’s roots back to the 1898 gold rush through the experience of his grandfather, T.A. Firth, who joined the stampede, climbed the Chilkoot Pass, built a boat, then floated the Yukon River up to Dawson. His epic trek is juxtaposed with John’s journey as he participated in the Dyea to Dawson Race held in 1997-1998 to commemorate the Klondike Gold Rush.

This title and seven more Yukon-themed books John has published over the last 25 years, place him in the ranks of Yukon's top story tellers. He is in the final months of a three-year term as the Yukon’s Story Laureate.

Go to http://johnfirth.ca to read more about my friend and order his books.



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