Guy Swinehart (1882 - 1949)
	
Guy Swinehart was born in Wisconsin born to parents Rhoda and William Humphry Swinehart. He and his father went to Juneau, Alaska when Guy was fourteen in 1896. He attended the Sisters of Saint Ann school in Juneau for the 1986/97 year. His two older sisters, Leta and Vivian, came to Alaska and attended the school in 1897/98. Vivian remained in Juneau for the next two school years but Leta returned to Wisconsin to stay with her grandparents and her little sister Rhoda.((Gord Allison, “The Swinehart Farm – Part 1.” 2 July 2018. //Welcome to Yukon History Trails,// 2019 website: https://yukonhistorytrails.com/2018/07/02/the-swinehart-farm-part-1-introduction-from-wisconsin-to-the-yukon-1896-98/))
	
Guy lived on his father’s farm behind Fort Selkirk until 1914 when his father died. In 1915, he was mining in Dawson and also working as a horse wrangler and big game guide in the upper White River. In 1916, he started working as a telegraph operator. He was usually stationed at Ogilvie, at the mouth of the Sixtymile River, with occasional stays at other stations including Fort Selkirk.((Gord Allison, “The Swinehart Farm – Part 4 (The Family Reunites; End of the Farm, 1901-1914).” 13 November 2018. //Welcome to Yukon History Trails,// 2019 website: https://yukonhistorytrails.com/2018/11/13/the-swinehart-farm-part-4-the-family-reunites-end-of-the-farm-1901-1914/))
	
The flood in Dawson in May 1925 was caused by a series of ice jams that went right up to Fort Selkirk. The telegraph station at Ogilvie Island was swamped. Water was shoulder high in the office and ice stood 10 feet high outside. The operator, Guy Swineheart, climbed onto the roof to survive. He built a fire up there to keep warm and lived for three days on soda crackers and tea. The //Dawson News// reported that he was still clicking away although the wire was down in both directions. The wire crossed the Yukon River at this point. Cabins along the bank were swept away and the wire close to the bank was gone as miles of poles were taken by the flood. Telegraph service was not established again until June 1st, almost three weeks after the flood. The justification for fixing the line in the Yukon was the necessity to keep track of the river steamers and as a service to the passengers. This section was retained long after other sections were replaced by wireless radio. The telegraph system was abandoned in 1952 when the river boats stopped running.((Bill Miller, //Wires in the Wilderness: The Story of the Yukon Telegraph.// Surrey BC: Heritage House, 2004: 195.))
	
By 1927, Guy was living in California where he and all of his siblings eventually lived out their lives.((Gord Allison, “The Swinehart Farm – Part 4 (The Family Reunites; End of the Farm, 1901-1914).” 13 November 2018. //Welcome to Yukon History Trails,// 2019 website: https://yukonhistorytrails.com/2018/11/13/the-swinehart-farm-part-4-the-family-reunites-end-of-the-farm-1901-1914/))