The Whitehorse Star
August 25, 1960

    The Paddlewheeler Keno was scheduled to begin churning toward Dawson City on its final voyage at 2 p.m. today. Captain Frank S. Blakely, 71, of British Columbia, was at the ship's controls and Frank Slim of Whitehorse went aboard as pilot. H. J. Breaden of Whitehorse was signed on as first mate.
    After rotting six years at Whitehorse drydock, the 613-ton sternwheeler once more headed down the Yukon River. The huge orange paddlewheel lashed the water as the Keno began its 425-mile trip toward Dawson. A crew of 12 were on baord for the historic voyage, as were eight representatives of the press, radio and television.
    The trip is expected to take about three days, although the length of the voyage will depend on whether the riverboat becomes bogged on any sandbars on the way.
    At Dawson City, the Keno will be beached on a river lot and preserved as a relic of the great paddlewheel era in the Yukon.
    The Keno was built in 1922 and rebuilt in 1937. She measures 160 feet long and 30 feet at the beam. To enable the ship to pass beneath the Carmacks bridge, the old wheelhouse had to be temporarily removed. The tall smoke stack was fastened on hinges, and will also be taken down at the bridge.
    Skipper Blakely said it was his first trip down the Yukon River, although he has travelled the Mackenzie, Tagish and Columbia Rivers. On the Lower Columbia, Mr. Blakely owns his own sternwheeler which he uses for pleasure cruises. The ship is called the Radium and measures 70 feet. However, he has not been the captain of a ship as large as the Keno since 1914, when he was skipper of the Armstrong on the Upper Columbia River.

---

The Keno

The Death of Emil J. Forrest

Roster of Yukon/Alaska Sternwheelers