Solomon Charlie (1906 – 1987)
Solomon Charlie was born down the Nesling River near Aishihik. His father was Hutchi Charlie. They hunted, trapped and fished to get money for staples like tea, flour, sugar, and ammunition at stores in Champagne operated by Shorty Chambers or Taylor and Drury. They sometimes walked all day or longer to get to the store and the return trip could be up to 180 miles. Solomon had one year in the mission school and appreciated some of the modern conveniences but firmly believed that traditional life and surviving in harmony with nature teaches independence and resilience to the young. Solomon's first job was to maintain the Kluane Wagon Road on the 140 miles between Silver City to Whitehorse. He worked with shovels and a pick - no machines - doing everything from surface maintenance to building log bridges over creeks and low spots. In 1928, he worked as a deckhand for the British Yukon Navigation (BYN) on the Whitehorse to Dawson run and then on to Nenana, Alaska. The trip took about a month. Solomon also worked a long stint on the White Pass railway.1)
Charlie’s first wife, Jessie [Isaac], died in 1947. Before he got his snowmobile and truck he walked everywhere. Charlie lived in Haines Junction for years before moving back to his mother’s camp. About 1970, he built a cabin on the old Alaska Highway for his second wife Annie. She played a strong traditional wife's role, especially during Solomon's long battle with tuberculosis beginning in 1975. In 1989, he was still running a trapline that extended in a fifty-mile radius from his Cracker Creek home about twelve miles from Champagne. Solomon played the accordion, fiddle and piano and his dad played the fiddle before him. Solomon was also a popular guide for outfitters around the Yukon. In 1987, he and Annie travelled with son Bob to Midway Lake in the Northwest Territories with Bob's Klukshu Flats Boogie Band. Solomon also performed with a drum and he sang songs in his regalia. The three made side trips to Inuvik and Old Crow and after they returned Solomon said it was his last trip. Twelve days later he died in a vehicle accident near Haines Junction.2)