Elizabeth “Betty” Karman
Betty Karman grew up in Brighton, Ontario. She quit school when she was fifteen and got work scrubbing floors in a Manning factory. She was laid off when they found out she was not sixteen, and hired back a week later, after her birthday. She stayed there until the war broke out and then she joined the army. She broke her legs falling down some steps and was discharged. She heard about Whitehorse and saved some money for the trip. She took the train to Edmonton and then flew to Watson Lake where she got a job. She met Ed Karman there before going to Lower Post to cook for White Pass & Yukon Route. She and Ed got married in Dawson after he quit the army and went to work for a miner. They lived at several places along the Alaska Highway and then settled in Haines Junction where they ran the Wayside Garage.1) Betty worked for twenty years for the Yukon’s tourism department and was very involved in community volunteer work. She and Ed were strong supporters of local minor hockey. They were named as Mr. and Mrs. Yukon for the 1998 Yukon Sourdough Redevouz.2)