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Henry (Hank) Bergen was born on March 29, 1929 on a farm near
Elstow, Saskatchewan. His family had emigrated from
 Russia in 1924. He was the youngest in a family of five girls
and three boys and the only child born in Canada. When Hank was
4 years old his father passes away and he was 7 years old when
his brother George moved the family to Vancouver, BC., where his
Mom ran a rooming house on Nicola Street.
Later his sisters purchased a house at 144th and
Fraser Street, where Hank went to John Oliver School. At age 15
he went to sea as a Mess-Boy with the Canadian Merchant Navy. He
sailed from 1944 until 1946, advancing to Able Seaman, serving
in both the Atlantic and the Pacific theatres of War. He was in
London, England on VE Day and in Lyttelton, New Zealand on VJ
Day.
In 1946 he followed his brother, George, sister Sally, brother
in law John Backe and family friend Peter Foth to the Yukon,
taking his first job at the Whitehorse shipyards with the White
Pass Transportation Company.
From 1947 to 1952 he worked on the gold dredge at Clear Creek,
located midway between Dawson City and Mayo, Yukon. Clear Creek,
along with Thistle Creek and Henderson Creek was operated by
Clear Creek Placers Ltd., with Mr. Patti as General Manager and
Superintendent Ken Halley. The dredge-master at Clear Creek was
Bill Scott, who had his home and family in Dawson City.
In October, when the dredge shut down for the winter, Hank would
return to Vancouver and in November, 1949 he met Mona (Tate).
They were engaged on Valentines day and Hank returned to the
Yukon to work for Sally and John. With the financial assistance
of Bill Lunde, they built the Haines Junction Inn at mile 1016
on the Alaska Highway.
In April Mona flew to Whitehorse and they were married in the
Old Log Church. A reception was arranged by Sally and John and
Hyacinth and Lawrence Seely at the Coke plant. Some of the old
friends that attended were Bill Lunde, Hugo and Berta Seaholm,
John Olsen and Arne Anderson. After a few days at Marsh Lake
Lodge, they were off to Dawson City, via CPAir, and were flown
out to Clear Creek by Pat Callison in a small plane.
Three seasons were spent with Mona at Clear Creek and the
winters in Whitehorse. Hank drove a Whitehorse Inn Taxi for
Lloyd Cameray, a well known hockey enthusiast and supporter in
the winter of 1950/51.
He started working for the Army in the Highway Maintenance shop
as a Lineman under Fred Tromans, in 1952. While learning the
electrical trade his work took him from Blueberry, mile 101, to
Beaver Creek, mile 1202, in all 15 maintenance camps along the
Alaska Highway that were maintained by the Canadian Army and
from 1964 the Federal Department of Public Works.
For Hank and Mona, family was everything. They had three
children; two boys, Steven and Terry and a daughter Dianne. Most
weekends during the summer were spent camping, berry picking or
hunting around the Yukon, during the winter going to hockey
games, cross country skiing. As a child he was strongly
influenced by the Boy Scouts. This led to his ten year
involvement as a Cub and Scout leader.
Of all his travels, his favourite spot was Teslin which was at
the center of many family activities. It was also the boat
launch for the annual Goose Hunt in Nisutlin Bay, a highlight
every year. In 1986 when Hank turned 55 he and Mona built their
retirement dream home in Teslin on the Lakeshore. They spent 12
wonderful years at the lake until health forced a move back to
Whitehorse.
Hank and Mona enjoyed traveling to faraway places and had many
wonderful trips to Mexico, Hawaii and cruises through the Panama
Canal and to Australia and Japan.
Hank is survived by his loving wife Mona, two sons and daughter:
Steven (Fay), Terry (Pamela) and Dianne (Derek). He is also
survived by four grandchildren: Melissa (Jeremy), Daryl, Clayton
and Spencer, and his sister Mary Goudin of Surrey, BC. |
