Yukon who is who

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Charlie Brefalt (1886 - 1970)
	
Charlie Brefalt was born in Amotfors, Sweden. He came to America at age twenty-three in 1909 and worked in the mines at Denver, Colorado. He prospected and mined through the west until 1916 when he came to the Yukon.((Linda E.T. MacDonald and Lynette R. Bleiler, //Gold & Galena.// Mayo Historical Society, 1990: 349.)) He worked at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho before coming north. In the Yukon, he worked at Pueblo Mine until April 1917.((Jane Gaffin, //Caching In//. Whitehorse: Word Pro. 1980: 17.)) He decided that the mine was unsafe and left there for Dawson where he cut wood for the winter and mined unsuccessfully on Henry Gulch. He went to the Mayo district in 1920 to work for the Yukon Gold Co. at Keno Hill. He staked claims with partner Joe Michaud and took a lease on Bert Lamb's Gambler claim. He also worked there as Lamb's partner. In 1923, he prospected the Beaver River and beyond with Matt Butijer (Butyer) and then returned to Mayo to take more options on other claims.((Linda E.T. MacDonald and Lynette R. Bleiler, //Gold & Galena.// Mayo Historical Society, 1990: 349.)) 

In 1924, Brefalt sunk a shaft for Charles Settlemier and Claude Bermingham and struck good ore. On September 13, 1924 he staked the Elsa claim, naming it after his sister, and in May 1925 he staked the Lucky Strike claim. In October, he and Dan Tolmie and a crew of twelve shipped 50 tons of ore and then 192 tons more over the winter. In 1925, he staked the No Cash claim. In 1928, Treadwell Yukon optioned the Elsa for $150,000. The Elsa and the Lucky Queen were Treadwell's richest mines. In 1933-34, Brefalt worked with Tolmie on No Cash with little success and also worked the Bermingham-Settlemier property with Elmer Gustavson. In 1938, he and Theodore Erickson staked Mount Hinton east of Keno Hill. In March 1941, Brefalt and Gustaveson leased the Elsa for four years until United Keno Mines took over. He continued to work the area until the major companies had all shut down and then helped Frank Buckle on the Hector-Calumet.((Linda E.T. MacDonald and Lynette R. Bleiler, //Gold & Galena.// Mayo Historical Society, 1990: 349.)) In 1948, Brefalt worked on Alex Nicol’s Vanguard claim on Charity Gulch, Keno Hill. He put in thirty-three feet of shaft and drifted one hundred feet to take out thirty-six tons of ore. Thirty tons of that were shipped during 1948 and he did not locate any more minable minerals after that.((R.L. Debicki, //Yukon Mineral Industry 1941 to 1959. //Indian and Northern Affairs, 1983: 53.))
	
Brefalt went to Toronto in 1950 to sell his Ajax fraction and had a stroke while he was there. He returned to Keno in 1954 and worked again on the Vanguard claim. He retired at age sixty-eight to Gibson's Landing and in 1963 returned to Sweden where he died.((Linda E.T. MacDonald and Lynette R. Bleiler, //Gold & Galena.// Mayo Historical Society, 1990: 349.))