Herbert J. Wheeler (1873 - 1966)
Herbert Wheeler was born in Lancashire, England and grew up in Ireland.1) His first job as a young man was working on the Province newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia for geologist Hugh Bostock’s father.2)
Wheeler came to the Yukon in 1897 and started working for White Pass & Yukon Route in 1900.3) White Pass & Yukon Route built the government winter road between Whitehorse and Dawson, the Overland Trail, in the summer of 1902. Wheeler was tasked with organizing regular stage service. The road was cut into five sections divided by the main rivers, the Takhini, the Lewes [Yukon], the Pelly, and the Stewart. There was a ferry at the Takhini but no means of crossing the other rivers except by small boat or canoe and fighting the ice until the river froze. Each division between the rivers was independent and transfers were made at the rivers. A stage from Dawson came as far as the Stewart. They dropped the outfit on the north side of the river and transferred mail, passengers, and express by canoe to the south side. This was repeated at all the crossings. After the rivers were frozen, the plan was for the south and north-bound stages to meet at Yukon Crossing, transfer loads, and turn back.4)
On 2 November 1902, Billy Cameron was driving the stage, and Herbert J. Wheeler and G.A. Jeckell were passengers.5) Jeckell was going north to teach school at the Dawson Public School.6) They arrived at Takhini Crossing to find there was only a thin jam of ice. Wheeler directed the building of a brush bridge, using limbs and green brush from the recent construction of the Takhini Roadhouse, and poured water over that and let it freeze. The bridge buckled and sagged but did not break under the heavy stage. They were one post late, but they drove all day and half the night to catch up and arrived at Yukon Crossing on time to meet the south-bound sleigh. They reached Dawson on schedule. The Overland Trail trip took seven and a half days (when the rivers were open) and five days when they had a continuous road.7) Wheeler is quoted as saying White Pass is a fair company, it’ll give you 24 hours to do a day’s work.8)
Wheeler was appointed superintendent of White Pass in 1907, general manager in June 1915, and president in 1928.9) He incorporated the paddle wheelers, trains, and steamships of his company into a transportation monopoly. Wheeler retired in 1947 and spent the last twenty years of his life in Victoria.10)