©Linda Dawn Hammond 1981/06
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DAWSON CITY CONTENTS
©Linda Dawn Hammond 1981/06
Joe Henry was born in May of 1898, year of the Gold Rush.
Joe Henry and Annie are members of
the Hwech'in first nation and are related to many of the locals in
Dawson. As individuals and as a couple, they serve as an inspiration
of love, longevity, guts and gentle decency! At the time I was in
Dawson, they were still spending the winters alone in their cabin off
the Dempster highway.
When I initially began photographing this anniversary portrait, they
were sitting side by side on a sofa outside the house of one of their
relatives, positioned quite stiffly. "Come on, Joe," I said to him,
"You've got to show the younger ones what kept you together for 60
years!" At this, he leaned towards her, she giggled like a young girl
...
Joe died in March of 2002 at the
amazing age of 103. He is survived by his widow, Annie, and over 100
descendants.
Note: Since this was written, Annie has also passed away.
One of territory's oldest residents dies by STEPHANIE WADDELL
A Whitehorse Star Archive story originally published March 22, 2002
Dawson City must bid farewell to one of its oldest and most respected elders. Joe Henry died late Wednesday night with his family by his side at Whitehorse General Hospital after suffering a heart attack earlier in the day. Today, his family and friends are remembering the mark the 103-year-old left on the community and their lives. With too many accomplishments to list off, Debbie Nagano, elder coordinator for the Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation in Dawson, described him as a happy-go-lucky elder. She remembered about a month-and-a-half ago the concern people around the community felt after he broke his hip and had a pin put in it. But, in true Yukon style, Henry wanted to go on a dog sled ride instead of letting the physical setback get to him. He took about a two-kilometre trek in the dog sled with his daughter, who rode the sled while Henry yelled directions from in the sled. "He was (103), but his mind and body sure wasn't," said Nagano. She remembered him always joking and laughing with others. A trapper and hunter, their oldest surviving son, Percy Henry, remembers as a child always wanting to go out with his dad. I wanted to be there in case anything happened to him, Percy said in an interview this morning. Joe Henry also made his own snowshoes, a skill he passed down to his children and grandchildren. Born in 1898, at the height of the Gold Rush, Henry learned the traditional ways of his people. He also worked on constructing boats before he married Annie around 1921. The marriage was arranged, and it lasted longer than some people's lifetime- 81 years. In an interview during the couple's 70th wedding anniversary, Percy Henry told the Star his parents were married sometime between 1919 and 1921, but because records weren't kept as much at that time, the exact date is unknown. The 1921 date was adopted by the family as the date. "They been together a long time," said Percy Henry of his parents. Both Annie and Joe Henry were raised in the Ogilvie mountains. In the mid-1930s, they settled in Moosehide, now an abandoned village, approximately five kilometres down the Yukon River from Dawson. Joe Henry worked on the boats, acted as a guide in the bush and was also a longshoreman on the Dawson waterfront. He continued to hunt and trap as well during his many jobs. He was a hard worker, Percy Henry said. When the Dempster Highway was built, Joe Henry guided the engineers on the project. This morning, Percy Henry recalled his father saying that the guiding expedition for the Dempster had been "good exercise". "He worked for quite a while," Percy Henry said. The family moved to Dawson after Moosehide had been abandoned. The move allowed the two youngest brothers of the 12 siblings to go to school after the government closed the school in Moosehide in 1957. The years Joe and Annie Henry spent together were not always easy. In a previous interview, Percy Henry cited the deaths of children and grandchildren, some to accidents and diseases, some to suicide as some of the more difficult times the family had over the years. "The only way I can figure how they can accept all the tough times they went through...they must have really believed in something," he said. Joe Henry was also involved in the finding of Jack London's cabin. "Joe was quite favoured," said Nagano of the Tr'ondeck Hwetch'in community. He also held the honour of being the oldest member of the Dawson first nation. Nagano estimated there are about 100 direct descendants of Joe Henry. Percy Henry said the family was still working on funeral plans for the elder.
Northerners bid farewell to revered Dawson elder by Dan Davidson
A Whitehorse Star Archive story originally published March 28, 2002
DAWSON CITY Joe Henry took his last dogsled ride on Wednesday afternoon. His coffin was bundled onto Tommy Taylor's sled and a festively-decorated team of dogs followed a lead truck down along the freshly-plowed Yukon River ice road to Moosehide. It was followed by several snowmobiles and a convoy of vehicles containing family and friends, spaced out at intervals to minimize the strain on the ice. At the Moosehide cemetery, a work crew had been busy for days, thawing the ground with fire in the time-honoured Klondike tradition and digging the Dawson elder's grave. Annie Henry, Joe's wife, did not have to face the ascent of the river bank at Moosehide, but was instead flown to the settlement by helicopter. By shortly after 5 p.m., everyone was back in town at the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in Community Hall on Front Street for a mammoth potlatch feast in Joe's honour, complete with many testimonials from friends and relatives. Earlier, at 2:00, Saint Paul's Anglican Church was crowded to overflowing by an estimated 300 people, with more standing outside in the chilly air listening to the service on speakers set up by the Dawson City Music Festival Society. The service, which featured lots of music and hymns in both English and Gwitchin, was officiated by the Reverend John Tyrrell, assisted by pianist Betty Davidson and an ecumenical choir directed by Father Tim Coonen. Scripture readings were by Edith Josie, Ruth Carroll and Carol Tyrrell. Mabel Henry delivered the eulogy, in which she celebrated her 103-year-old father-in-law as a man whose life spanned parts of three centuries. She gave thanks for "the traditional ways of life that he taught his family and shared with his many friends." Joe Henry, or "Shädä," as he was known, was also called "Án Èlya" from his habit of giving things away to people who needed them. Born in the Blackstone country on May 24, 1898, Joe met and married Annie (an arranged marriage) on July 15, 1921. Together, they raised 12 children, an equal number of boys and girls. Their longevity as a couple was celebrated two years ago by the Guinness Book of World Records during the visit of Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson. Mabel spoke of the three cabins which Joe built over the years for his family to live in: two on the Dempster Highway and one in Moosehide. "He loved life, especially when he was out on the land where he would do a lot of hunting and trapping," Mabel said. "He was one of the few that knew how to make snowshoes, dog sleds, drums and many more traditional things." Joe held many jobs and did many things over his years. They included running the mail to Eagle, Alaska, working for the RCMP, guiding the Cat trains that staked out the route of the Dempster Highway (which some feel should be renamed for him) and leading author Dick North's expedition to find the lost cabin of Jack London in the 1960s. "Joe was a kind and giving man," she said. "He did not like to see anyone go without and he opened his heart and home to everyone. Joe loved to laugh, sing, drum and share his stories with all. "Joe was well-known both nationally and internationally and was well-respected by all who knew him. He will be sadly missed by all." Father John Tyrrell offered a sermon in which he recalled Joe and AnnieÍs devotion to their faith. Just five years ago, Joe was still walking to almost every Sunday morning service, Tyrrell said, often arriving as much as an hour early to meditate in the church. Even as his faculties began to fail him in recent years, he would snap back to attention during the prayers and singing that Tyrrell conducted for him at his home. The sermon offered memories of a man who had reached the end of his time on Earth and was ready, when he died, to move on to something else &endash; something he was sure was there for him. This, said Tyrrell, was the memorial service of a man who had been a Christian, and was therefore a celebration. Archdeacon Ken Snider assisted with the Commendation near the closing of the service. Family and friends of the Henry clan came from all communities in the territory from Old Crow to Whitehorse, and from Fort McPherson, N.W.T. The service and other proceedings were video taped for the family and for the Yukon Native Language Centre.
Note: More articles on the life of Joe and Annie can be found at the following Klondike Sun urls...
JoeHenry1Guinness Book of World Records, Elders Honoured
JoeHenry2Joe's Death
Contact: photos (INSERT "AT" symbol) IndyFoto.com