Alfred Berger (1933 - 2009)
Fred Berger was born in Vienna, Austria. His father had an affiliation with the social democrats even after the Nazi takeover.1) Fred’s experiences there left him with a desire for peace and good government. He knew Jack London’s stories and was attracted to Canada. He worked on a farm in Alberta before coming to the Yukon in 1954. He worked at the Calumet Mine near Elsa but left after a close-call with a cave-in. He worked at various jobs in Dawson including Caley’s Store and Klondike Motors and then bought the Bonanza Hotel. Palma Brus came to Dawson during the 1962 Dawson City Festival and worked for Fred as a bartender. They were married two years later and lived in Vancouver where Fred sold car parts. They returned to the Yukon and sold the hotel. Fred took a government job that led to his involvement with Yukon unions.2)
The Bergers purchased the Orpheum Theatre in 1966. They also opened the first Sears outlet in Dawson and ran a bus depot for twenty-one years. They opened a drug store [without a druggist] after the town had been without for fifty years.3)
In 1974, Berger was elected MLA for Dawson and he took the Yukon New Democratic Party leadership. He served as MLA until 1978 after which he and Tony Penikett did an organizational tour of the territory. In 1981, the NDP became the official opposition for the first time. Penikett took over the leadership sometime after the 1982 election.4)
The Orpheum Theatre was badly damaged in the 1979 flood and Arctic Drugs was destroyed by fire in 1997. Berger’s health suffered after the fire, and he withdrew from business but remained interested in politics. He and Palma were chosen to be Mr. and Mrs. Yukon during the 1998 Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous. When the NDP won the 1985 election, Berger was appointed chair of the Yukon Development and the Yukon Energy corporations. He chaired the Klondike Valley Advisory Group as they prepared the Klondike Valley Land Use Plan. He served on the Dawson City Museum Board and was chair of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce.5)