|
|
The history of Whitehorse Motors in Whitehorse, Yukon
A Guide to Whitehorse
Highlights of History from The Whitehorse Star
Dateline: October 3, 2025.
This is a history of not only the Ford Motors dealer Whitehorse Motors, but also of Ford cars and trucks in the Yukon, including earlier dealers. While there is a great deal of overlap in the information presented in the two sections below - the text list and the images - each also has unique information. Most of the information and images have come from the archives of The Whitehorse Star and its predecessors.
- March 14, 1906: the first auto owned by a Yukoner has arrived. W. H. Perry bought the large 25 hp machine in Los Angeles - the make wasn't mentioned. By August he had given up trying to operate it here, and took it to Vancouver.
- June 13, 1913: Cam Smith has bought the first known Ford auto in the Yukon Territory - a 25 hp, 5 passenger model.
- July 25, 1913: Dr. A. J. Gillis of Dawson is the first Yukon representative of Ford Motors.
- June 12, 1914: Six Ford autos passed through Whitehorse en route to Dawson for Dr. Gillis' agency.
- May 19, 1916: W. A. Puckett of Whitehorse has bought a Ford automobile.
- March 8, 1918: The first ad by W. A. Puckett, Whitehorse, as a Ford dealer.
- March 4, 1921: The first mention of a Ford mechanic: "Fred Vey is quite busy these
days repairing the many Fords in town and getting them in shape for the strenuous summer
season, which is fast approaching. It will seem good to have the cars snorting around again."
- April 8, 1921: Reports of less-than-successful outings with Fords have been common for years. Today, "R. H. Palmer has remodelled his old Ford so that the wheels will follow the groves made by the sleigh runners and he can operate on the Dawson trail. An
ordinary Ford is too wide to negotiate the winter trail."
- May 9, 1924: "On Tuesday morning W. A. Puckett, local Ford dealer, unloaded a Ford
touring car of the latest model for Dr. Culbertson. The new model presents very attractive lines and has several improvements over previous models. The road clearance of the Ford is a feature very much appreciated in this country, making it available for roads impassible for cars of other makes, Dr. Culbertson is well pleased with his car and purposes making good use of it."
- July 3, 1936: W. A. Puckett sells his business to the Northern Commercial Company.
- July 2, 1943: A sign of the times with vastly increased traffic due to the military presence, display ad: "POLICE WARNING. Traffic signs have been installed at various points in town for the safety and benefit of the public and
drivers of motor vehicles alike. Anyone found disregarding same will be prosecuted. BY ORDER."
- Summer 1950: The Northern Commercial Company has a car lot and showroom at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Steele Street.
- October 27, 1955: First ad by Whitehorse Motors, a division of Northern Commercial Company.
- November 22, 1956: Whitehorse Motors has opened a heated indoor showroom for used cars, at 3rd Avenue and Steele Street.
- March 1-2, 1957: the Motor Dealers of the Yukon present the first annual Auto Show in the Whitehorse Civic Centre Arena. Sponsors are Arctic Volkswagen Sales (Volkswagen cars and trucks); Ed Jacobs Motors (Austin and Morris cars and trucks); North Star Motors (Dodge, Desoto); Richard's Motors (Chrysler, Plymouth); Taylor & Drury Motors (Chevrolet cars and trucks, Oldsmobile, Cadillac); Whitehorse Motors (Ford cars and trucks, Monarch); and Yukon Motors (Pontiac, Buick, GMC trucks).
- May 1, 1969: Whitehorse Motors is sold to Rolf Hougen, Bob Parent, Moe Grant, Klaus Hoenisch and Magnus Hougen.
- November 21, 1969: Whitehorse Motors moves to large new premises at 4th Avenue and Wheeler Street.
- December 14, 1983: Moe Grant has been appointed Vice President and General Manager of Whitehorse Motors Ltd. He has had extensive automotive experience, joining the company in 1948 and has held various positions with the company during this 35 year period.
- June 26, 1987: Rick Nielsen is General Manager of Whitehorse Motors.
- July 29, 1998: A 1929 Model A is put on the roof of Whitehorse Motors' showroom.
- February 13, 2009: Rick Nielsen sells Whitehorse Motors to Wendy Tayler, Tina Woodland, and Bev Kitchen.
- November 18, 2011: a new showroom and parts and service department are being built.
- May 4, 2012: The grand re-opening of Whitehorse Motors in their new building.
For legibility, most of the images below enlarge when you click on them.
June 13, 1913: The first Ford in the Yukon?
Ford first appeared in The Weekly Star under the headline "Another New Auto." "Cam Smith has ordered a new auto mobile which he expects to arrive today. It is a 20-horsepower Ford with capacity for five passengers. The Ford is claimed to be the best machine for climbing hills and Cam evidently knew the country when he placed his order. He expects to use it as a general runabout and may establish a regular stage line between town and the Pueblo mine. He says he is investing in the machine as an experiment, but Cam's experiments are usually remunerative." Mr. Smith's Ford would have been a Touring model, seen below.
July 25, 1913: Dr. A. J. Gillis, Dawson - first Ford agent in the Yukon.
March 8, 1918: First ad by W. A. Puckett, Whitehorse, as a Ford dealer.
February 21, 1919
April 4, 1924
May 6, 1927
December 9, 1924: The new Ford models are out.
April 6, 1928: This 1½-page ad is paired not with an ad for dealer W. A. Puckett, but with Northern Commercial, which would buy the dealership 6 years later.
July 27, 1928
April 19, 1929
May 10, 1929
July 14, 1933
July 3, 1936: W. A. Puckett sells his business to the Northern Commercial Company.
July 10, 1936: The Northern Commercial Company has purchased the hardware and Ford agency of W. A. Puckett.
March 25, 1949
April 8, 1949
April 29, 1949
Summer 1950: Northern Commercial Company's car lot and showroom at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Steele Street.
October 27, 1955: First ad by Whitehorse Motors, a division of Northern Commercial Company.
November 22, 1956: Whitehorse Motors has opened a heated indoor showroom for used cars, at 3rd Avenue and Steele Street.
February 21, 1957
April 11, 1957
August 24, 1961
May 1, 1969: Whitehorse Motors is sold to Rolf Hougen, Bob Parent, Moe Grant, Klaus Hoenisch and Magnus Hougen.
A group of Whitehorse businessmen became the new owners of the local agency for Ford Motor Company of Canada today, as Northern Commercial Company Limited turned over its automobile and truck division after 33 years' service.
Headed by Rolf Hougen, the group includes Bob Parent, Moe Grant, Klaus Hoenisch and Magnus Hougen, who is down at the Oakville, Ontario Ford plant this week,
The change-over was announced jointly today by Howard E. Richmond, vice-president of Northern Commercial Company Limited, D.C. Shipley, Market Representation Manager, Pacific Region, Sales Division, Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited, and Rolf Hougen. Although under new ownership, the business will continue to operate under the name Whitehorse Motors Limited, and until later this fall, from the same premises at Third and Main. Additional space has been cleared, with the removal of old buildings along Steele Street recently, and the new and used cars will be displayed in that area.
Later this year, the business will move to the BYN property on Fourth Avenue, opposite the Whitehorse Elementary School, which has been purchased from the White Pass and Yukon Route. The garage will be remodelled to accommodate the new business, and White Pass will move its trucking and highway division to their new quarters in the industrial area.
The changeover is subject to final approval of the Ford Motor Company of Canada, following wrap-up of all details in Whitehorse.
Today's announcement ends months of unofficial rumours concerning the changeover and also precludes the possibility of Northern Commercial starting construction of their new department store on the Whitehorse Motors site this year.
Above the preceding article was a photo with the following caption: "NEW OWNERS: Signing the cheque for the first month's rent of Whitehorse Motors present premises, Rolf Hougen today announced jointly with Northern Commercial Company Limited and the Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited, a change of dealers for the agency here. In the picture, Moe Grant, who continues with the agency, D.C. Shipley of Ford, Mr. Hougen and Howard Richmond, vice-president of Northern Commercial Company Limited.
November 20, 1969: Whitehorse Motors moves to large new premises at 4th Avenue and Wheeler Street.
The new Whitehorse Motors garage on Fourth Avenue opening tomorrow, has immensely improved the appearance of the town in an area where travellers get their first view coming down from Two Mile Hill.
Set well back from the street, it occupies a block and a half, and where once gravel and wire fence faced the street, there are now asphalt and attractive open buildings.
The showroom for Ford products sits well out in front, with three walls of glass, trimmed with stained cedar siding. Inside the showroom, red carpeting covers the 2,000 sq. ft. of floor space and panelling is used on the offices of car sales and sales manager. The Budget Rent-a-Car service is also off the main showroom.
Behind, and down a step or two are the general office, the bookkeeping machine room, the cashier's desk and offices of the general manager and office manager. Here floors are tiled and the walls covered in bright pegboard in colors of yellow, orange and turquoise.
Behind this section is the parts manager's office and beyond that, a huge parts room.
The main service garage is to the south of the showroom and offices. Measuring 100 x 80 ft. it's the original White Pass garage which has now been covered with beautiful stone work between cedar panels. In it, in addition to all its regular equipment, are three new hoists, a new wheel alignment and a new tire setter.
On the extreme south end of the garage is the Recreational Centre, where Snow Cruisers, Evinrude motors and Yamaha motor bikes will be sold and serviced.
Behind this, on the southwest end of the garage, is the body shop which holds the first and only "bake oven" in town. Here cars are painted in an airtight steel room, and dried as an infra red quartz crystal mobile autobake unit passes two and a half times over the vehicles. This stepped-up drying process gives a finish of durable hard service in just 70 minutes compared with the usual 24 hour air drying process.
Out in front, parallel to 4th Avenue and separate from the main garage, is the covered service station with two double and two single gas pumps. It too is done in field stone and cedar on three walls, with glass across the front. Inside are the office and display for quick sales items, and beverage machines and washrooms.
Between 35 and 40 people are employed at the new Whitehorse Motors garage. They're waiting to welcome the public to the grand opening Friday morning.
July 29, 1998: A 1929 Model A is put on the roof of Whitehorse Motors' showroom.
PAST AND PRESENT - Rick Nielsen, president of Whitehorse Motors Ltd., puts some finishing touches on the antique 1929 Model A on top of the dealer's Fourth Avenue showroom Tuesday afternoon.
February 13, 2009: Rick Nielsen sells Whitehorse Motors to Wendy Tayler, Tina Woodland, and Bev Kitchen.
Things at Whitehorse Motors may look and feel the same as they have for
years, but these days, general manager Tina Woodland is working for a new boss: herself. The Ford dealership's general manager is one of three investors who have bought out the long-time Whitehorse business from owner Rick Nielsen.
"It really just made sense," she told the Star this morning. Woodland made the purchase with Bev Kitchen and principal investor and now president Wendy Tayler.
As the general manager for four years and the dealership's controller
before that, Woodland has overseen the day-to-day operations of the business - which also includes a body shop, mechanic shop and the Budget Rent-A-Car outlet - while Nielsen was
working for the Yukon Party cabinet. During his years in government, Nielsen had removed himself from operational authority in the business to avoid conflicts.
After his work with government, he found that when he returned to the
dealership on occasion, Woodland had things well under control. "To be honest about it, they were doing a better job then I was," he said of the management team.
As time went on and Nielsen was at the Fourth Avenue dealership less and less, he and his wife started talking more about selling it, with the new team expressing an interest in buying it. "It's their kick at the can," he said.
With Tayler leading the charge on the purchase, Woodland was enthusiastic about the possibility. "I love the product and the people I work with," she said.
She argued Ford's best-in-class rating, quality control and other features make it a good product over other vehicle brands.
The purchase, however, may seem to come at an odd time to be investing in the automotive business.
"People might think I'm crazy," Woodland said. It comes in the midst of a recession across the country where a number of vehicle manufacturers are scaling back operations, laying off workers and calling for federal and U.S. government bailouts.
Woodland remains confident that Whitehorse Motors is in a good position, even with the challenging times.
The territory still has a relatively stable economy compared to many
other regions, she pointed out. And though people are generally being more careful about their purchases, taking into consideration when and what they buy, they still need to get around the territory, and many are still favouring larger vehicles. "It's still truck country up here," she said.
While Whitehorse Motors opened up shop in 1969, Ford's history in the
territory stretches back to the Depression era in 1935. "Ford cars and trucks have been
available for sale through franchised Ford of Canada dealerships in the Yukon since 1935 when Puckett's Hardware store sold the Ford Model A," Tayler said in a statement.
It would be just short of 20 years after the Whitehorse Motors dealership opened that Nielsen started working there under his then-future father-in-law, Rolf Hougen. Nielsen would gradually obtain majority interest in the company in "dribbles and drabs" as he described it as others got out of the business.
Though he spent years promoting and selling Fords, Nielsen said his
interest in running the business was never about the product. "It was about the people," he said, recalling both those he worked with and regular customers.
Among his fondest memories at the dealership were the Canada Day and Rendezvous parades, which served as an opportunity for the dealership to show off some of the older Fords, like the Model T and Ford Coupe.
Nielsen is now focusing his energies on looking after some of the older
vehicles and fixing them up after they were vandalized at the dealership a few years ago. The vehicles are now scattered in various locations around town.
"I'm a terrible softy for all that old stuff," he said, as he launched into a tale of purchasing an old White Pass and Yukon Route stage coach from a B.C. man a few years ago. "You could actually hook a team of horses up to that tomorrow," he said.
Getting back to his years at the Ford dealership, though, Nielsen, a son
of the late Yukon MP Erik Nielsen, said there are a lot of good memories, and that he lucked out that he was able to find work he enjoyed going to each day.
These days, Nielsen's so-called "retirement" is taking him to the skies
since last year, when he started flying part-time for Alkan Air. His Whitehorse-area farm also keeps him busy, he said.
July 2009
November 18, 2011: a new showroom and parts and service department are being built.
May 4, 2012: The grand re-opening of Whitehorse Motors in their new building.
July 12, 2013
|
