John Drabeson (1873 – 1965)
John Drabeson emigrated from eastern Europe (now Czech Republic) to California in 1893. He arrived in Dawson in March 1900. He cut wood and freighted on Hunker Creek and was well-known for his skill in driving teams of eight or more horses. He built a cabin at Grand Forks in 1912 and was the last remaining resident of the old townsite in March 1956. In 1925, he started to mine during the winters on Adams Gulch and Bonanza Creek. In later years, a company mined the claims with bulldozers, and he received ten percent of the profits. He was a member of the Yukon Order of Pioneers. In 1956, he attended a Yukon Sourdough convention in Vancouver and he also visited Seattle. It was his first trip outside. In 1958, he bought a cabin in the south end of Dawson where he planned to live in the winters, but shortly after began living in the Sister’s Residence for retired men. He died at St. Mary’s Nursing Home at the age of ninety-one. Drabeson’s photographs are held in the Yukon Archives in the Garry Trew collection.1)