Yukon Gold
In the late 19th century, people came from all over the world to take part in the Gold Rush. They travelled anyway they could to reach the rugged snowy landscape of the Yukon. Steamer, pack horse, wagons. Today we travel there by Princess cruise lines. The old mining town of Skagway springs to life like a pop up book as the ships come in, folding itself away as the last one pulls out at nightfall.
It's easy to imagine Skagway as it was. The sidewalks are still made of wood and the steam train puffs along through the center of the town. The town is protected by majestic snow capped mountains. If it weren't for the fact that every shop either sells souvenirs or diamonds, it could still be the 1890s.
Ok, that's the travelogue over. Nowhere is that nice when it's pelting with rain. Even our stiff British upper lips are getting rusty. Every stop has been interesting, but almost ruined by the persistent heavy rainfall.
We took refuge from the rain in a little theater, right in the middle of town. It reminded me of an old English community hall, wooden and musty. On one side was a small galleried auditorium, on the other a room with a couple of baize covered tables optimistically called a casino. For the past 84 years, its been running a little historical musical, The Days of '98 Show. They have a built in set with the comic addition of a door center stage, which when opened reveals the street outside. The show was originally mounted by the local fraternal order of Eagles to raise money for the local hockey team. It now employs professional actors to raise money for a Christmas party for Skagway children every year.
To me, this is tourism at its best. Not large organizations trying to making profit for themselves, but local groups using tourists to help them help their community. The show was a simply constructed, but used original songs and comedy to tell a real story from the Gold Rush era. So it proved to be informative as well as fun, and a way of giving to the community to boot.
.
It's easy to imagine Skagway as it was. The sidewalks are still made of wood and the steam train puffs along through the center of the town. The town is protected by majestic snow capped mountains. If it weren't for the fact that every shop either sells souvenirs or diamonds, it could still be the 1890s.
Ok, that's the travelogue over. Nowhere is that nice when it's pelting with rain. Even our stiff British upper lips are getting rusty. Every stop has been interesting, but almost ruined by the persistent heavy rainfall.
We took refuge from the rain in a little theater, right in the middle of town. It reminded me of an old English community hall, wooden and musty. On one side was a small galleried auditorium, on the other a room with a couple of baize covered tables optimistically called a casino. For the past 84 years, its been running a little historical musical, The Days of '98 Show. They have a built in set with the comic addition of a door center stage, which when opened reveals the street outside. The show was originally mounted by the local fraternal order of Eagles to raise money for the local hockey team. It now employs professional actors to raise money for a Christmas party for Skagway children every year.
To me, this is tourism at its best. Not large organizations trying to making profit for themselves, but local groups using tourists to help them help their community. The show was a simply constructed, but used original songs and comedy to tell a real story from the Gold Rush era. So it proved to be informative as well as fun, and a way of giving to the community to boot.
.
posted by Hilary at
8:46 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home