Jack McDiarmid
Jack McDiarmid and some of the Van Bibbers operated the ferry in three shifts after the road was completed from Whitehorse to Elsa in 1950. The Stewart River bridge was constructed in 1959 and 1960. United Keno Hills Mines maintained the road from 1953 to 1957 and then the government took it over. The government compound was built in 1958, and Yukon Electric installed a power plant in 1964.1)
The first highway lodge at Stewart Crossing was operated by Red Nickles who served coffee and meals. Jack and Mary McDiarmid bought the Proctor sawmill buildings, moved them to the ferry landing and Mary ran Mary's Lunch Bar. In 1957, McDiarmid built a new lodge near the ferry docks and after the bridge was completed it was moved to a location approaching the bridge. Gas pumps and tire repair was added in a building behind the lodge.2) They operated the lodge until 1966 and employed many people in the region. They purchased the North Star Motel in Mayo and operated it until 1974.3)