Think About The Wild
Rodden has created albums for adults but he says his niche is really children’s music. His recently released Think About the Wild.
Beaver Creek
A trip to town
Sid’s youngest daughter was in conversation with Yukon artist Jim Robb for a commission of Bordertown Garage and Museum / Sid’s Treasures.
Bon voyage
Back in those days, ‘20s and ‘30s was known as the Golden Age of Tourism. It was a pretty busy time! I have lots of old maps from that era. Fold-out maps to show the layout of the boats,” Sid tells me on this very smoky day in Beaver Creek, Yukon. He brings out a …
Teddy bear time
“I don’t know its full history but I found it in an old trunk. It must be from the early 1900s,” said Sid, carrying the teddy. “Everything is homemade. Someone’s pride and joy.” Sid set the teddy bear down on his coffee table so we could have a better look at the toy. “From the …
Rations and cookbooks
Late May brought sun and warmth to the bordertown of Beaver Creek, Yukon. Sid was already back working hard at the Visitor Information Centre. He could feel the season was going to be a good one. Sid had come a long way from his childhood in northern Netherlands during the end of the Second World …
Turn up the amp …
For a two-night gig this past July in Beaver Creek, Larry Berrio and his band shut the town down! Berrio, from Sudbury, Ontario, travelled 5,000 kilometres with his bandmates to the most westerly community in Canada. With open arms, the town of Beaver Creek welcomed the band.
Scavenging for Raven
Upper Tanana artist Teresa Vander Meer-Chassé has teamed up with Whitehorse-based artist Nicole Bauberger to create a scavenger hunt of installations and events this fall. The artists began collaborating a year ago around the idea that the shattered tire fragments you find by the side of the road resemble ravens. They began exploring the material’s …
South to Alberta (a.k.a. Sid’s trip down memory lane)
Fun fact: Elvis Presley drove a 1958 red MGA, just like this one, in Blue Hawaii.
The White River Ash, the mega eruption next door – Part 4
Past volcanic eruptions in Alaska have resulted in massive displacement of peoples and widespread environmental damage in the Yukon.
A whole lotta quakin’ goin’ on
On Monday May 1, 2017, at around 5:30 a.m., a magnitude 6.2 earthquake landed near the B.C.-Yukon border, followed by another slightly stronger one at around 7:30 a.m. The rare event got a lot more people talking about seismic activity in the region, and a few murmured their fears of an eventual “big one.”
South to Alberta – Part I
Exploration, adventure and community are among the most important aspects of living in the North. For many Yukoners, it was the “want” to explore a fantasized part of the world and to seek adventure in discovering Canada’s North, but it was the sense of community that made people want to stay.
Learning from Roy
“When we first came to Canada in 1953 [from Friesland, Netherlands], we couldn’t read or write. I went down to the local bookstore and found this book.”
’50s Diner!
The first snow has settled in the border town of Beaver Creek, Yukon. Sid is preparing his house and museum for a long cold winter.
This beauty even has adjustable suspension
I was sitting comfortably amongst blankets and a beaver pelt on Sid’s living room couch, visiting with Jill. She pours us a warm cup of tea and we chat about their winter plans in Arizona. I take a moment to ask Sid what we should write about next for What’s Up Yukon. He jumps up …
The Yukon is Great for Summer Travelling
Summer, with its long daylight hours, is a great time to travel around the Yukon. We started our travels the summer after we arrived, trading up from a VW Beetle to a Ford 150, and loading a second hand 8 ½ foot camper on the back. Over the next several years we covered all the …
Giving That Room Props for Its Good Vibe
When the Westmark Hotel in Beaver Creek closed its doors in 2013, it brought an end to the dinner and show extravaganza called Beaver Creek Rendezvous, a tradition that had taken place every year for 22 years. The closure of the Westmark was prompted by Holland-America tours’ decision to cease travel to Beaver Creek. Westmark …
Horses of the Yukon
Sid van der Meer, the history buff of Beaver Creek, Yukon, has a little part of the horse history displayed at Sid’s Treasures.
Stoking the Fire
Today, Sid and I are on the hunt for an unusual piece in his collection. As we sift through antiques after antiques, we come across a bellows. A bellows pumps air, and they are commonly known to be hand-held devices used to stoke small fires. However the bellows Sid possess is approximately a metre in …
A Big Yellow Truck with a Past
“It’s a 1942 International,” Sid tells me as we are standing by a truck whose yellow paint is slowly chipping away with age. The truck’s original grey colour has been exposed underneath the bright yellow. Its large body and tires tell us it was a truck built for working in rough terrain. “It’s a six …
Stereoscopic Views
Looking through Sid’s antiquities I spot a familiar sight: stereoscopes. I had a pair of bright orange View Masters (a trademarked format of stereoscope) when I was a child in the 1990s with photos of Bugs Bunny. Sid’s stereoscopes are truly antique and rare. “These ones are from the late 1800s up to the 1910s,” …
Banners! Banners!
“They were popular back in the 1960s,” Sid tells me as we stand in one of his many garages. Built attached to his house, his old garage holds tools, machines and different parts of Sid’s antique/vintage collection. Looking up towards the ceiling, vintage banners, t-shirts, and hats are attached to the wooden beams above us. “They’re …
Propeller Invention
Sid van der Meer hustles about Beaver Creek’s Visitor Information Centre preparing his workplace for the 2016 tourism season. With new Yukon tourism commercials airing widely and with the Canadian dollar so low, Sid expects a rise in international tourists travelling through Beaver Creek this summer. I briefly interrupt his set-up routine to discuss a …
Thanks Dr. Jim
It’s been a month and a half since the Traditional Chinese Medical practitioner Jim Zheng passed away. Those who he helped will remember him fondly, and those who depended on him to help manage ailments will be wondering how to manage the void he has left in their lives. “Dr. Jim,” as he was known, …
Cave In
Sid van der Meer’s stories as dictated to his granddaughter Teresa. The tree leaves are rapidly changing and the temperature is beginning to drop. Autumn is about to arrive in Beaver Creek, Yukon and the tourism season is nearly complete. Like many residents of the small border town, Sid van der Meer is starting to …
An old wooden mantelpiece helps tell the story of the Northwest Staging Route
The airport in Beaver Creek, Yukon is small and if you don’t know what you’re looking for, there’s a good chance you will miss it. Many who know Sid van der Meer may recall him owning and operating a small aircraft in the 1970s. “I used to own a J-3 Cub. It was a ’45 …
An old wooden mantelpiece helps tell the story of the Northwest Staging Route Read More »
When local voices made a difference
In 1976 I was a young teacher just starting out in Beaver Creek, fresh from Nova Scotia and learning about the North. Regular stories about the Berger Inquiry (or Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry) were part of my education, as was the report itself when it came out, as well as the Lysyk Inquiry (or Alaska …
General Store
Sid van der Meer’s Bordertown Garage & Museum is composed up of numerous themed rooms. One room is themed as an old general store and post office. “I made the General Store because I had all this stuff pertaining to an old store. Those stores had everything, canned goods, tobacco products, lamps, shot gun shells …
Two Tones
Today, Sid sits outside the Beaver Creek Visitor Information Centre basking in the warm summer sun. As he waits for visitors to arrive, he admires the bodywork of his 1956 Pontiac in the sunlight. “I bought the ’56 in Whitehorse a few years ago. I just put a brand new motor in it and new …
Henry Ford’s Lady
Parked in front of Sid’s museum in Beaver Creek, Yukon sits a 1928 Ford Model A. “I bought it at a swap meet in Lethbridge about three or four years ago,” he says. “I put a new roof on it with new wood, canvas, and chicken wire.” I ask Sid what he meant by chicken …
Ironing it Out
No matter how often you visit Sid van der Meer’s Bordertown Garage and Museum in Beaver Creek, there is always more to see. Many people visit Sid more than once to hear his stories and discover additional objects in his collection. Sid’s collection is in constant change as he trades, sells, barters, and buys antiques. …
Diner Lights
Sid van der Meer recently travelled from the gold rush fields of Arizona back to Canada’s most westerly community — Beaver Creek, Yukon. Sid has strong family ties to the White River First Nation, on whose lands he resides. He built his own home and museum behind Beaver Creek’s baseball diamond. His museum has become …
Nebraska Turtle
Sid van der Meer has lived in Beaver Creek, Yukon since 1997. He’s made a comfortable home for himself, and a charming museum for friends and visitors. His collectables can be found in both his museum and his home. As you walk in the front door of van der Meer’s home, you are greeted by …
Western Command
Sid van der Meer is an antiquarian and a storyteller; he has many wild yarns to share with his family, friends, and visitors who come to his Bordertown Garage & Museum. One particular story he tells is how he found his Western Command military vehicle badge. Western Command military vehicles were used in the construction …
Boiling Water
Waking up to a layer of snow on the ground, Sid van der Meer ventures out to his museum. He is getting ready for winter when he will be in sunny Arizona and his museum will be covered in snow. As he walks along the museum’s boardwalk he comes across a unique object. It’s large, …
Fuelling Up
The beginning of September brings snow to Beaver Creek, home of Sid van der Meer’s Bordertown Garage & Museum. On a chilly September morning, van der Meer takes time to remember the past and retell the stories about the building of the Alaska Highway. He wanders through his museum to a room dedicated to the …
The Joys of Reading in Beaver Creek
This year was Beaver Creek Library’s first year participating in the TD Summer Reading Club (SRC). The summer reading program is a joint initiative by TD Bank Group, Toronto Public Library, and Library and Archives Canada designed to get kids reading in the off-season.The program provides participants with free program materials that include a reading passport …
Keeping Warm
This week, van der Meer tells the story of his collection of White Pass and stagecoach foot warmers. As the winter months are fast approaching, he digs out his collection of three foot warmers. As seen in the image, the foot warmers are rectangular-shaped objects that are covered in a felt-like material. Van der Meer …
Reflections on Rural Yukon Education
Robert Service School (RSS) celebrated its 25th year in its present building last May. There were no special celebrations, and I suspect that not too many people were aware of the anniversary. It was probably my time on the building committee that made me sensitive to the date. There were still a few staff members …
Life on the Border
National Geographic Channel’s TV show, Border Security, about customs officers dealing with strange and sometimes dangerous people is often set in a metropolitan city, most frequently in an airport. But Beaver Creek — the most westerly community in Canada — is a town of about 100 people, and it includes Border Services officers, too. Mark …
Emergency Services Off the Beaten Track
In Whitehorse, the hospital is usually mere minutes away from most corners of the city. However, in the Yukon communities, residents don’t have that luxury. Fortunately, there is a support system. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are available across the territory, thanks to 15 active EMS stations and approximately 150 volunteers. Doug MacKay is one of …
There’s a party goin’ on!
Here’s a taste of how Yukon communities, from B to W, will be celebrating Canada Day on July 1: Beaver Creek festivities will kick off with a parade, then volleyball, children’s games and a community barbecue at the RCMP. Carcross festivities will include a community barbecue, as well as a petting zoo and horseback rides …
Historic and Friendly Beaver Creek
Beaver Creek is just a few kilometres from the Alaska border on the Alaska Highway. As the most westerly settlement in all of Canada, this picturesque little community is used primarily as a border post and a service centre for the Alaska Highway. With a population of between 85 to 90 people, it may also …
