Carson Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Fair address: Yukon/Stikine Regional Heritage Fair

Project: YUKON TELEGRAPH

This film depicts the journey of a telegraph lineman, with voice over that describes the critical role that the telegraph played during the gold rush.   

What was the most interesting thing you learned about your topic?

That the telegraph wasn't just a early form of texting, it was the life line, if someone was injured or a accident had happened, the telegraph was the only way to get the word across.

What important lessons have you learned that you want to share with other Canadians?

I learned that the telegraph was the lifeline in the north, and without it, the Klondike could have been much more grim then what we know. I think the idea of the Gold Rush being a wild land full of lone wolves and renegades deserves to be put out the door and the knowledge that the Klondike was kept safe and ordered with the line over their heads.

How would you compare your life today to the lives of those studied in your project?

When I need to contact a friend, or call 911, all I need to do is pick up a phone, but in the Klondike, help wasn't a few numbers away, you needed to relay the message across hundreds of miles and ask for the next outpost to relay it to the next and the next one to continue the cycle.