The Caribou Hotel: Hauntings, hospitality, a hunter and the parrot

Review "A remarkable history not only of the hotel, but of the community...a great read from start to finish and I heartily recommend it..." - Yukon News"John Firth is our own contemporary Yukon storyteller." - WhatsUpYukon Product Description Navigating the fine lines between historical documents and local lore this frank, funny, insightful and well illustrated book brings to life in a lovingly told story the experiences, events and personalities of one of the most historically rich buildings in the north. The Caribou Hotel played a central role in history making events ranging from hosting the last living link to the Klondike Gold Rush (Polly the "mean bird with the foul mouth"), to North America's worst Pacific coast marine disaster, to being headquarters for the contractors building the world renowned Alaska Highway and the U.S. Army's CANOL pipeline debacle that put Harry Truman in the White House. Playing host to the rich and famous of the early 20th century, it gave them an unforgettable life experience far from the pretensions and social parlors of their Hollywood, New York and London, England homes. One of Canada's most famous haunted hotels, it was featured on a "ghostly" stamp released by Canada Post in 2015 and designated as a historical site by the Government of Yukon in 2008. From the Author Most books are written about great events or great people but only a handful are written about a building. The Caribou Hotel was the heart of the community of Carcross which, in it's time, was one of the most important towns in Canada's northwest corner and the interior regions of the United States' 49th state, Alaska. It was one of the earliest First Nation trade routes between the Pacific Coast and the interior and, for the first half of the twentieth century, nothing and nobody could access those areas without passing through Carcross. And being in Carcross, meant being in the Caribou Hotel.It's placement at the center of world-changing events (Klondike Gold Rush, Alaska Highway, CANOL pipeline) was astounding given it's isolated location.The "fact" that some of the previous owners and occupants still hadn't checked out long after they had 'checked out' added to the mystique of the hotel. It sparked a debate where one side held that ghosts don't have a place in history, countered by the belief that they may not have a place in history but they do have a place in the story.As a storyteller it was challenging (how does one give a building a personality?) and irresistable. From the Back Cover "John Firth is a grand chronicler in the fine tradition of Yukon storytellers. He knows how to navigate the lines between historical documents and local lore. This frank, funny, insightful and well-illustrated book brings to life the experiences, events and personalities of the Caribou Hotel and leaves us with a lovingly told story about one of the most historically rich buildings in the north." - Ken Coates, Canada research Chair in Regional Development, University of Saskatchewan and author of numerous books on northern and indigenous history. About the Author John Firth is an award-winning writer who grew up in Dawson City with the Klondike Gold Rush as his backyard and lives in Whitehorse, Yukon.