Moe Grant (1929 – 2007)
Moe Grant was born in Mortlach, Saskatchewan. His father Hugh Grant, was an Anglican Archdeacon and a teacher at the Chooutla Indian Residential School in Carcross. Moe came to the Yukon with his parents when he was six months old. He grew up in Carcross and worked as a licensed mechanic.1)
Moe piloted his first aircraft in 1947 and had a few incidents over the years. The most serious was in February 1950 when he was on his way to Carcross from Atlin to attend his father’s birthday. His plane developed engine problems and he crashed in the mountains. He spent five nights and four days in the bush with a broken ankle. The official search was called off, but family, friends, and pilot Herman Peterson refused to give up. Grant was rescued and flown to Edmonton where he had both lower legs amputated. He never gave up flying.2)
Moe crashed again in 1961 and 1969, both accidents due to broken fuel lines. In 1979, Grant and his passenger Lloyd Atkinson crashed into the water above Miles Canyon when Moe’s Supercub float plane lost power. With the plane partly submerged, Grant and Atkinson stood on a pontoon as the plane flooded under the suspension bridge and out into Schwatka Lake. The police towed the plane to the end of the lake with a small boat and Grant and Atkinson went to the hospital for treatment of small cuts and bruises.3) Moe Grant was inducted into the Yukon Transportation Hall of Fame as a pioneer aviator.
Grant played mandolin and in 1975 began a weekly tradition of local musicians visiting Macaulay Lodge to provide entertainment for the residents every Wednesday night. Moe's father was living at the lodge in those early days. Eventually Moe convinced his fellow band members Joe Loutchin, Roy Roberts, and Gordie Healy to hold their weekly rehearsals at the Lodge. In 2002, Grant was given the Commissioner's Award for his tireless dedication to bringing music into the lives of Yukon's senior citizens.4)
Grant became a partner in the Whitehorse Ford dealership when Rolf Hougen purchased the company from the Northern Commercial Co. in 1969. Grant was managing the business then located on Main Street. The dealership was moved to its current Fourth Ave location the year Hougen bought it. Moe retired as the manager of Whitehorse Motors in the 1980s.5)