Leonard Elwood Usher (1925 - 2007)

Len Usher was born in Fort Langley, British Columbia and grew up dreaming about boats and fishing on the Fraser River. During the Second World War he trained as a general serviceman, a driver and a wireless operator and went overseas in January 1945. He had to wait until June 1946 to be sent home because those who served longest got to go first. He was delighted to spend the year in England and France. Back at Fort Langley, he bought a gill net boat and fished in the 1946/47 season. After selling the boat, he travelled to Whitehorse and took a job on the steamboats. He worked his way up on many boats including the Klondike, Aksala, Nasutlin, Keno, and Casca to eventually become second mate on the Keno and later the Casca. The era came to an end for Usher and the boats in 1952.¹⁾

Len worked for the Air Force as a powerhouse operator at the Teslin airport from 1953 to 1960. There he met Lillyan Rudolf and they were married in 1956. They purchased the Nisutlin Trading Post and operated it until 1978. Usher served brief stints on the Teslin Local Improvement District board. He built a house on the shore of Teslin Lake and he and Lillyan lived there for the rest of their lives. Len and Lillyan were selected as Mr. and Mrs. Yukon at the annual Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous in 1984. Up to his last year, Len never missed a year of moose hunting up the Nisutlin River at Horseshoe Pond. Lillyan died of cancer in 1988 and Len was bored in retirement. He fixed up a 32' handmade plywood and fibreglass riverboat and by August 1990 had a new 50 hp Johnson outboard, a galley, pilothouse, and bunks. Every year after that, he travelled down the Teslin River to the Yukon with a friend or a family member as they explored the river through his memories and stories of the late 40s and early 50s. The boat was warm and dry and let Usher extend his moose hunting career.²⁾

Len Usher was interviewed by Cal Waddington for Parks and Historic Sites, July - September 1978. Yukon River Aural History Project.³⁾