John Anderson Thomson was born on April 30, 1900 in Glengairn, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He served in the Royal Flying Corps. during World War I, joining in 1917 at the age of 16. After being wounded and spending time in recovery, John immigrated to Canada in 1920, settling in Unity, Saskatchewan. He spent the next several years farming sheep and teaching school. In 1926, John returned to Scotland and married Janet Paterson, from Braemar, who had been born June 18, 1902. The Thomsons returned to Saskatchewan after their marriage. In the 1930s, John attended the University of Saskatchewan and in 1934 was a student assistant with the Geological Survey of Canada in the Arctic. In 1936, he graduated with a degree in geological engineering. John worked at the De Santis Gold Mine in Timmins, Ontario from 1937 to 1941 as geologist, mine engineer, and mine superintendent. From 1941 to 1942 he was Chief Engineer at Delnite Gold Mine, also in Timmins.
John served as an RCAF navigation instructor in Manitoba during WWII, from 1942 to 1944. On April 6, 1944, while still in uniform, he arrived in the north, employed by the General Engineering Company of Canada as a field engineer and geologist. Janet followed soon after. General Engineering had a contract to evaluate the mining properties of Yellowknife Gold Mines and Yellowknife Bear Mines. By 1946, General Engineering was no longer active in Yellowknife, but John decided to stay, gaining a contract with Negus Mines. Together with J. A. Buchanan, Dominion Land Surveyor (DLS) of Edmonton, he formed Thomson & Buchanan Engineers, Geologists and Surveyors. John articled under Buchanan and earned his own DLS commission in 1956. John also filled in as Mine Superintendent at Negus in 1949 when the regular superintendent was on leave.
John’s surveying and geological investigation work took him all over the Northwest Territories and what became Nunavut, to mining claims, communities, and larger centres such as Fort Smith, Fort Simpson, Hay River, Iqaluit, and Yellowknife. His work included water and sewer main layouts, roads, power line rights-of-way, lot and block surveys, site certificates, legal mineral claim surveys, and surveys for mining companies. John undertook many significant surveys over the years, including surveying the power line from the Discovery Mine to Bluefish Hydro, laying out the route of the Mackenzie Highway proposed by the Federal Government in 1947 and suggesting a better route, doing DEW line surveys and laying out airstrips in 1954, finding river crossings for a pipeline from Alaska to Alberta in 1969 (not constructed), surveying a pipeline from Norman Wells to Zama pipeline in 1979, and surveying and investigating the Slave River as part of a hydro feasibility study.
When John broke his knee-cap in the spring of 1958 and was unable to do fieldwork for the rest of the season, he took the opportunity to teach geology and surveying at the University of Saskatchewan. From 1958 to 1966, John spent summers doing field work in the north and winters teaching in Saskatoon and drafting plans. This winter/summer transition led to the Anderson-Thomson being the first travellers on the unfinished highway between Fort Providence and Yellowknife when they left too late in the season to bring their vehicle back to Yellowknife by ice road.
John Anderson-Thomson’s business was run under the banner of “Thomson and Buchanan” for a number of years, then as “John Anderson-Thomson”, and “John Anderson-Thomson Engineering & Surveying Ltd.” as of April 30, 1976. After working in cooperation with Underwood McLellan Associates, out of Edmonton, for a few years in the late 1970s, John Anderson-Thomson officially sold his business to them as of December 31, 1981 and retired from official practice in 1982, although he remained on retainer as a consultant. The name of the Yellowknife business became Thomson Underwood McLellan Surveys Ltd.
John was involved with a number of organizations and had many interests outside of his business. The Yellowknife Branch of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy was established at the Anderson-Thomson house in 1945. John was also a member of the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors’ Association, Canadian Institute of Surveying, Association of Professional Engineers of Saskatchewan, and Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of the NWT. John received a Canadian Engineers’ Gold Medal Award from the Canadian Association of Professional Engineers in 1983.
In 1952, John assumed command of the No. 7 Company Canadian Rangers, on the request of the Governor General, Lord Alexander of Tunis. The Rangers participated in Exercise Bulldog III, a scenario to defend Yellowknife, in 1954, with great success. In 1954, he was appointed as Magistrate and Justice of the Peace, a position he held for the next 22 years. He earned himself the reputation of being a “hanging judge”, but received a special award from the RCMP at the end of his service. In 1959, John was invited to join the Royal Commission to determine the route for the Great Slave Lake railway from Pine Point to the current end of steel in Alberta. One of three commissioners, his minority report in favour of the western route, managed to convince Prime Minister Diefenbaker.
John also had a founding role in the layout of the Yellowknife Golf Course in 1947 and was a member for several years. He was also enjoyed shooting and curling.
Janet Anderson-Thomson was also influential, assisting John in his work, designing the NWT tartan, and accompanying the junior and senior choirs at Holy Trinity Anglican Church. Avid supporters of the NWT Pipe Band, the Anderson-Thomsons were given honourary membership in 1979. John and Janet were also joint recipients of the Commissioner’s Award for public service in the NWT in 1975.
Janet Anderson-Thomson died 1983. John passed away two years later on September 15, 1985 at his daughter’s home in Ontario. Their two daughters, Mary and Myrtle were each already married and had families of their own in Ontario.
Jack Densem was born in Toronto in 1918. After graduating from school he began working for Remington Rand. In 1941 he took a leave of absence from his work to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force (R.C.A.F.) In 1945, Jack Densem spent six weeks in Ottawa where he received advanced training as a wireless mechanic. In 1946, he was sent on a special assignment to Yellowknife. In Yellowknife, he along with three other men from the R.C.A.F. were placed under the temporary supervision of Lieutenant Myers of the United States Navy. These men worked on an experimental signals project. They studied aerial photographs taken at fifteen minute intervals and then calculated the correctional measures needed to take into account the effects of the magnetic pull of the North Pole upon radio signal communication systems. This information was then sent to the United States Navy in Washington who produced final correctional charts. Densem spent nine months in Yellowknife in 1946. During this time, he met Isabelle McMillan who was working for Mrs. Swanson at the Busy Bee Café. Jack and Isabelle were married in Edmonton in 1946. In 1946, Jack Densem was discharged from the R.C.A.F. and returned to his old job at Remington Rand in Toronto. Jack and Isabelle remained in Toronto until his retirement from Remington Rand in 1988. At that time, the couple retired to Langley, British Columbia.
Alfred Klaus worked for Con Mine in Yellowknife from July 1941-July 1942, then left to join the Armed Forces.
John Phillip Matta was born in 1928 in Vancouver, British Columbia, the eldest of four children. His father worked in the mining industry and thus moved the family to mine sites in British Columbia and Quebec while John grew up. He graduated from high school in 1946, and worked in mines until 1953 when he chose to join the Royal Canadian Air Force. He spent 10 years in the RCAF as a photographer with photo intelligence. After leaving the Air Force he worked as a production manager for a photo finishing company until his retirement in 1991. He has lived in Calgary since 1954.
Captain Lewis Royal Morton was born on January 18, 1883 in the County of Morton, Ontario. He joined the Northern Transportation Company (NTCL) in 1907. He served as port skipper for the NTCL and was skipper on the "Radium King," "Radium Queen" and for the Hudson's Bay Company boat the "Mackenzie River." His service with the Northern Transportation Company was broken only by a four-year service as a Lance Corporal in the Royal Engineers during World War I. Over the years he worked for the Hudson's Bay Company, Northern Transportation Company Ltd. and the McGinnis Fish Company. He assisted in the building of many barges and boats, such as the "Porphyry," "George Askew" and "The Great Bear." He also assisted in the designs for the "Radium Gilbert" and the "Yellowknife." He traveled virtually every mile of waterway in the northwest, from the lower Peace River to the Mackenzie Delta. Captain Morton died in Surrey, British Columbia in 1980.
(Douglas) Bruce Prentice was born January 22, 1924 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to parents Robert and Lucille (nee Black) Prentice. During World War II he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). After the war he moved to British Columbia and attended the University of British Columbia. He became a teacher, and later a principal in Chilliwack, working at several schools including Yarrow, Bernard, Robertson, Sardis and Greendale Elementary. He also studied part-time at the University of Western Washing to earn a Master's degree.
Bruce's interests included photography, bridge, golf and travel. He volunteered with Air Cadets and was a member of the Legion, Probus, the Masons, Eastern Star, Royal Order of Jesters, and the Shrine Oriental Band.
Bruce was married to Dorothy (predeceased) for more than 60 years and had two children, Diane and Roger. Bruce passed away in Surrey, British Columbia at the age of 95.
John Thomas Richardson was employed as a carpenter foreman by the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited (Con Mine) in Yellowknife from 1936-1942. He sent these photographs to his younger brother, E. George Richardson who lived in Saskatchewan, as a souvenir of his life in the north. In 1942 Richardson left Yellowknife to join the Royal Canadian Engineers. He then served in Europe until the end of World War II. He was discharged with the rank of Sergeant in 1946, and was awarded several medals. J.T. Richardson died in Regina, Saskatchewan on July 30, 1992.
Dr. Otto Schaefer was born on October 2, 1919 in Betzdorf, Germany. He graduated from high school in 1938 with the intention of studying medicine; however in September 1939 he was drafted into the German Army and served as medical personnel at the front in France and in Russia. During the war he was able to pass his medical and surgical examinations and in the fall of 1944 he functioned as a field medical officer until April 1945 when he became a prisoner of war until July 1945. After the war, he practiced medicine in Betzdorf and resumed post-graduate studies in 1946 where he worked in several different hospitals in Germany obtaining his internal medicine specialist degree in 1950. He immigrated to Canada in June 1951 with the aim of assisting with the healthcare of the aboriginal people in the Canadian North. Before being able to practice medicine in Canada, he had to pass basic science examinations and in the fall of 1951 he moved to Edmonton where he worked at the Charles Camsell Hospital. In July 1952, Dr. Schaefer's wife joined him in Edmonton and the couple moved to Aklavik in January 1953 where she assisted him in the laboratory and accompanied him during the Eastern Arctic Patrol aboard the "C.D. Howe" between 1955-1957. Dr. Schaefer worked for two years in both the Western Arctic, Eastern Arctic and the Yukon and after further post-graduate work at the Camsell and University Hospitals in Edmonton he passed specialist examinations and became a Fellow of the Canadian and American Societies of Internal Medicine. In 1964, he became the Director of the newly created Northern Medical Research Unit. He also spent several months each year in the late 1960s and early 1970s conducting community health and nutrition surveys in the NWT and visited many communities as a member of the Water Board and Science Advisory Board. Dr. Schaefer has received several awards and honors for his work in the North and in the field of internal medicine, including the Jack Hildes Medal and Award in 1987 (Canadian Society for Circumpolar Health and the Donner Foundation); Order of Canada (1976); and the Commissioner's Award for Public Service at the Highest Level GNWT, 1985); and Centenary Medal and Award for Northern Science of Canada (1985). Dr. Schaefer currently resides in Edmonton, Alberta.
Ben (Bent Gestur) Sivertz was born in Victoria, B.C. in 1905 to Christian and Eliborg Samuelsdottir, both Icelanders. During his childhood, he spent a great deal of time at sea. He graduated from the University of British Columbia after which he taught at schools on Vancouver Island and in Vancouver. During World War II, he joined the Royal Canadian Navy and was appointed as officer in charge of the Navigation School. In 1945 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (Military). Following the war he moved to Ottawa as a foreign service officer with the Department of External Affairs. In 1950, he was transferred to the Department of Resources and Development (later Northern Affairs and National Development). In 1954, he was appointed chief of the new Arctic Division. He succeeded F.J.G. Cunningham as Director of the Northern Administration Branch in 1957 and became Commissioner of the Northwest Territories on July 10, 1963; a post he held until 1967. He retired to Victoria, British Columbia.
Walter Slipchenko was born in Winnipeg in 1934 to Ivan and Olga Slipchenko. After being raised in Winnipeg, he furthered his education at the Canadian Military College at Royal Roads, Victoria, British Columbia and Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario, becoming an officer in the Royal Canadian Engineers. He later left the military, completing a Masters of Arts at the University of Manitoba in 1966. He then joined the federal civil service, being employed by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) from 1966 to 1988, in their Northern Coordination Research Group and Northern Science Research Group. In 1971, Walter was part of the Jean Chretien (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development) delegation to the USSR. Several agreements came out of this visit and succeeding visits, while Walter was secretary and coordinator of the Canada-USSR Arctic Sciences Programme. Finally, Walter founded the Circumpolar Affairs Division of DIAND, becoming its Chief. From the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, Walter also lectured at Carleton University in the Geography Department, held positions on several advisory boards, and researched the socio-economic and technical development of the northern USSR. From 1988 to 1992, Walter served in the GNWT as Director of Circumpolar Affairs. While he was in this role, the GNWT signed two international agreements of note: “A Programme of Cooperation” with the Home Rule Government of Greenland and a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in support of a joint venture to build a $26 million village. In 1991, Walter was honoured for his work, receiving the Gold Medal Award from the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada. Walter also assisted in the creation of the Canadian office of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, brought indigenous Russian participation in the Arctic Winter Games, and aided in the institution of several cooperative arrangements between circumpolar countries. From 1992 to 2000, Walter worked as a consultant, becoming involved with the establishment of the Arctic Council, the Northern Management Project for the Government of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Institution Building for Northern Russian Indigenous Peoples’ Project. In 1997-98, he was Executive Director of the Arctic Council Secretariat and in 1998-99, chaired the Advisory Committee on the Humanitarian Assistance Project to Northern Russia, Phase I. Walter was married to Olga Sheremeta and the couple had one son, Andrew. Walter Slipchenko passed away in July 2016, at the age of 82.