Paul Belanger
Paul Belanger was the manager of the Whitehorse Dog Team party mushing the first dog team to make the entire 2,400-mile trip from the Yukon to Winnipeg using the same team of dogs. The group left Whitehorse on December 7th, 1945, and arrived in Winnipeg on March 16th, 1946. The toboggan was on wheels for the last section of the journey. The trip was sponsored by Whitehorse businessmen to advertise the tourist attractions of the Alaska Highway and the Yukon Golden Jubilee festivities to take place in July 1946. The other male members of the party were Mike Czech, Fred Webber, and Charles Caddy. The lone woman was 22-year-old Mrs. Helen Czech who flew from Whitehorse to Edmonton and then accompanied the men across the country. She was not allowed to travel on the Alaska Highway, being told there was no accommodation for women along that 1,700-mile route. The travellers stopped at every small town along the way to give lectures and show films of the Alaska Highway and the Yukon.1) About the same time, Defence Minister Abbott stated there was no possibility of the Alaska Highway being opened for civilian traffic in the near future.2)