Yukon who is who

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Bob Erlam (1917 – 2009)
	
Bob Erlam saw service during the Second World War in North Africa and Italy. One of his army buddies told him of great opportunities in the north and he and his wife Rusty came to the Yukon in 1947 with their sixteen-month-old son Paul. Bob worked at jobs in steam fitting, carpentry, electrical, and as a diesel operator. Bob and Rusty were an integral part of the Whitehorse theatre scene; directing and producing a couple of plays each year. Bob built the sets and produced the plays while Rusty directed the productions. The couple was behind the construction of the Whitehorse Drama Club on Second Avenue. The Erlams left the territory for British Columbia in 1958 but returned two years later.((Stephanie Waddell, “Legendary publisher dies at 92.” //Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 27 March 2009.))
	
After Erlam pinned a cartoon of a dispute between a local resident and the electric company to the door of the //Whitehorse Star// newspaper office, owner and publisher Harry Boyle asked Erlam to work at the paper. In 1963, Erlam got a note from Boyle saying he was now in charge as Boyle was going back to law school. Boyle went on to become a judge, and Bob took over as publisher of the newspaper and then bought the //Star// with Rusty in 1967. He convinced her to leave her government job in travel and publicity to write for the paper under then editor Flo Whyard. Their son Paul had been running the press for a few years already.((Stephanie Waddell, “Legendary publisher dies at 92.” //Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 27 March 2009.))

The Erlams owned the //Whitehorse Star// for thirty-five years. The paper moved from letter-press printing to offset printing with Paul in the midst of the switch. Jackie Pierce was hired in 1972 as advertising manager in a one-man department. In 1979, Pierce was offered a twenty-five percent share in the company and in 1982 she took over as managing editor when Bob and Rusty moved south. In the mid-1980s, the newspaper made a major change with the purchase of $200,000 worth of computer equipment. Jackie Pierce bought the paper in 2002, but Erlam continued to call. Bob Erlam is remembered for his boundless energy, endless curiosity, long stories, and good advice.((Stephanie Waddell, “Legendary publisher dies at 92.” //Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 27 March 2009.))