Clocks in Fort Langley are turned back to early-day Klondike times. Youngsters are sitting down in rapt attention to hear oldtimers swap yarns of the Yukon when men struggled for gold over the trail in '98.
This quick change-over to bygone days is all part of Fort Langley's seventh annual Klondike Night celebrations, which started Friday and winds up tonight.
Near-record first night crowds milled around booths, "saloons," roulette tables and the Klondike bank, where patrons could cash their poke within the palisades of the birthplace of B.C.
Top drama of the big celebration Friday was the enactment of the shooting of Dangerous Dan McGrew. The colorful case was portrayed with a galaxy of gamblers and miners, while Coun. A. E. Roberts meted out summary justice in the kangaroo court.
Alex C. Hope, president of the Fort Langley Restoration society, was fined one sack of potatoes for the Douglas Day banquet Nov. 19 when charged with "trying to move the old Hudson's Bay fort to Haney."
Can can girls, resplendant in grandmother dresses, "brought the house down, while 12-year-old Billy Hawk stole the show as the Yokahama Mama.
Among Yukoners present was S.S. (Steamboat) Marshall, an RCMP veteran with 54 years of service, mostly in the far north. He was the first white man to go from Dawson to Fairbanks, Alaska, he recalled at the celebration. He remembers when he had to
tie prisoners' arms to trees as there were no jails in the district at that time. Court was held in a tent, he said.
Another oldttimer present was Ernest Corp of White Rock. He was in the Yukon for 52 years and remembers when it took nearly two years to travel from Edmonton. For many years he engaged in placer mining and only came out of the northland five years ago. He represented Mayo district in the Yukon as a councillor for 15 years.
Malcolm Ross, ex-prospector, miner and carpenter, was also on hand along with John O'Reilly Webster, who claims to have worked for the boss gambler of the north, Jack Marchbank.
Patrons to the gala affair are being transported by Ed McCorquodale in a replica of the famed Klondike coach which once ran between White Pass and the Yukon.
The big show ends tonight, but already oldtimers are planning for next year's Klondike Night.
