Yukon who is who

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Adam Birnie (d. 1941)

Adam Birnie immigrated to Canada in 1902.((Kevin Shackell, “Those ‘dam’ Taylors recall the early days.” //The Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 14 March 1983.)) Birnie and Sidney Frank worked on the construction of the Lewes Dam in 1923, and Frank took on maintenance of the dam with assistant Bernie after the dam was finished. Part of the job was taking soundings. During a routine sounding in 1926, Sid Frank’s boat ran up on the apron of the dam and capsized. Frank was drowned when he tried to swim to shore.((//Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 8 January 1926.))

 In 1930, Birnie was living at the dam doing any necessary work. In the spring, removal of boards in the dam would give the crews launching boats at the Whitehorse Shipyard ways twelve inches of extra water.((Kevin Shackell, “Those ‘dam’ Taylors recall the early days.” //The Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 14 March 1983.)) Bob Taylor immigrated to Saskatchewan from Peterhead, Scotland in 1928. He worked in a lumberyard but was not happy with the wage and after two years decided to visit his uncle Adam Birnie in the Yukon.((Kevin Shackell, “Those ‘dam’ Taylors recall the early days.” //The Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 14 March 1983.))

Adam Birnie died on the job as a result of a stroke.((The Whitehorse Star (Whitehorse), 2 May 1941.)) His nephew, Bob Taylor, took the offered foreman position and he and Liz moved to live year-round at the dam. They were known as the dam Taylors to distinguish them from the Taylors living in town.((Kevin Shackell, “Those ‘dam’ Taylors recall the early days.” //The Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 14 March 1983.))