Yukon who is who

Stephen Frost (1933 - 2020)

Stephen Frost was born in Old Crow to parents Harold and Clara Frost. He spent most of his growing up years at Bluefish and a couple of years at Rampart House.¹⁾ Steven remembered sometimes going hungry as a child. He saw his first town in 1961 at age twenty-eight.²⁾

Frost was invited to race his dog team in the North American Championships in Anchorage. The Gwich'in did not use harness where the dogs worked side by side. His five or six dogs were strung out single file with a moose skin collar and caribou hair for back and belly bands. He was up against the world's best with twelve or sixteen dogs. He did not want to spoil their time so got off the trail when they came up behind. He finished maybe two hours behind but had a great time. He liked the race and came to Whitehorse in the next year for the new carnival called Rendezvous. Within a few years he was a champion and sponsored by the Edgewater Hotel. He drove his dogs right into the bar and gee-ed his dogs around the tables that were piled in the centre.³⁾ In the 1980s, he served a year as the race marshal for the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest dog race.⁴⁾

Frost retired from his position as the care and maintenance staff at the Old Crow nursing station after thirty-seven years. He also worked for different airlines at the airport, handling freight and greeting travellers.⁵⁾ After retirement, in 2005, he was still driving his skidoo or dog team to his cabin at the Bluefish area, about fifty km southwest of Old Crow. He was also trapping and teaching skinning to the kids at the school.⁶⁾ He and his wife, Ethel, had eleven children: six girls and five boys. Stephen Frost had good leadership qualities and was always willing to share his knowledge of the land. He is remembered for his compassion for people and his sense of humour.⁷⁾