Time Travels and Living History training in the Yukon Territory
Over the the last two years,I, longtime Bridging Ages time traveler and current board member, Scott Green, have worked with Donna Larsen, Executive Director of the Friends of the Klondike Corridor, to get many young people excited about history and their own heritage in Canada's Yukon Territory. Through Living History Time Travel camps, these children have researched various historical Klondike people, created costumes, developed their character, learned improvisational skills, and then utilized those talents to teach and entertain visitors at local museums and historic sites in Whitehorse and Dawson City. Our efforts with these children have been generously supported by the Dawson City Museum, the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation government and Parks Canada.
The transformation in the children is amazing. They go from sometimes shy, quiet individuals with limited knowledge of the history to confident, excited and proud performers. It is so rewarding to know that the skills and confidence they gain in these programs will stay with them for a lifetime and that in turn they will use these talents bolster their local communities in amazing ways.
Our plan is to expand the Time Travels to other venues this next year, including the famous Midnight Dome- perhaps recreating a hike to this pinnacle site that occurred in 1899:
"About 150 people, "many of whom were ladies,” attended the first formal gathering here to see the midnight sun on June 21, 1899. Weary mountaineers were greeted with a selection of nuts, candies, cigars and soft drinks at suitably elevated prices. Both the British and American flags were raised and the ceremony began with a bugle call. The highlight of the evening was a speech by playwright and poet Captain Jack Crawford. Disappointing the crowd, the sun set one-half hour before midnight and rose two hours later. No one, from this time on, expected to see the midnight sun on the solstice, but the Dome remains a popular spot for sightseeing and celebrating the long summer nights."
Scott Green, November 2017
(Scott Green previously portrayed Captain Jack Crawford during Time Travel events in Las Cruces, New Mexico not knowing then that he, like Crawford, would journey to the Yukon one day.)
