Joseph Charles Taché
	
Joseph Taché was born in Quebec. He worked for the Ministry of Public Works in Ottawa and in 1899 was named the chief engineer for the Yukon, responsible for all bridges and roads. Even though Dawson was the capitol, he established his headquarters in Whitehorse, the crossroads of rail, river, and telegraph.((Yann Herry, //La Francophane: une richesse nordique / Northern Portraits.// L’Association franco-yukonaise, 2004: 43.))
	
In 1899, Tache and three other men were swamped when they attempted to shoot the [left] channel of the Yukon River at Five Finger Rapids. The steamer //Merwin// was ascending the [right] channel by means of a cable and the crew slipped the cable without hesitation and steamed to their assistance. This report says that Tache drowned, which was obviously not the case.((//Dawson Daily News// (Dawson), 2 August 1899 in Bill Miller, //Wires in the Wilderness: The Story of the Yukon Telegraph.// Surrey BC: Heritage House, 2004: 34.)) 
	
In 1901, Tache supervised the improvement of the area at the head of Lake Laberge for summer navigation. Several long dams were being built to confine the water into one long channel and prevent it from spreading over a wide delta. He employed 30-45 men, three teams, and a pile driver, to set 1100 piles. One of the dams was 2400 feet long, another 1400 feet long and a third was 400. The shorter one cut the water off from running behind a small island. The dams were to be filled with brush and stone beginning in March 1901 and a large amount of stone was hauled to the site. The piles were cut locally and were set fourteen to sixteen feet into the ground. The construction crew camped at Upper Laberge and had a new house, blacksmith shop and other buildings.((“Supt. Tache in Dawson will investigate building of Gold Run Trail: Talks of this winter’s work on Lake Labarge [sic].” //Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 6 February 1901 from a report in the //Dawson Daily News// (Dawson), 25 January 1901. Reprinted in the //Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 15 January 2011.))
	
The Taches were solid members of the Whitehorse community. Joseph belonged to the Arctic Brotherhood, the North star Athletic Club, and the Lodge of Foresters. His wife, Leda Drapeau, was the first organist of Sacred Heart Church. His daughter, Marie Louise, married assistant engineer Paul Emile Mercier, the son of Premier Honoré Mercier of Quebec. When he returned to Quebec, Joseph Tache became the director of public works in Saguenay, in Lac-Saint Jean, and then in Rimouski where he was elected mayor in 1915.((Yann Herry, //La Francophane: une richesse nordique / Northern Portraits.// L’Association franco-yukonaise, 2004: 19.))