Gold miner, boxing promoter, hockey manager and World War I hero
Joseph Whiteside Boyle might be Woodstock's most significant resident ever
By Mark
Schadenberg
Since
a writer loves reading, I truly enjoy the vignettes as presented in
the Our Canada magazine – as compiled and published by Reader's
Digest.
It's
interesting to note Our Canada evolved from a photo contest and the
fact so many Canadians wanted to write about their homeland. A flood
of paparazzi of mountains, meadows, lakes, loons, bogs and bays,
simply bogged down the folks at Reader's Digest so they converted the
prose and pictures into a distinctly Canadian magazine with its focus
solely pointing at the pictures and prose.
My
last visit to my dentist, was a good moment to discover an issue with
a long tale about the Klondike and Gold Rush of the Yukon. The
storyteller points out what you may see if you were to travel to
Whitehorse or Dawson City and learn about a previous era in Canadian
history – pioneer times when panning for riches became large
industry in the north. The magazine entry makes not to the Sourdough Joe Bakery on the main street.
My
interest was piqued due to my admiration of the most-significant
Woodstock citizen ever, in my opinion.
You
can't use the word 'lore' when discussing Joseph Whiteside Boyle –
Klondike Joe (1867 – 1923). The family's homestead beginning around
1872 in Woodstock is the current location of McDonald's on Dundas
Street and the Woodstock Print & Litho shop directly behind it
(Known as The Firs).
Boyle
accomplished or at least experienced much more than a usual lifetime
during his 56 years.
Klondike
Joe was a race horse trainer and owner, and boxing promoter, a
resident of New York City and later San Francisco before venturing or
adventuring to the far north. Boyle was an early entrepreneur in
hockey as during the Gold Rush times he travelled across the country
using various modes of transportation so the Dawson City Nuggets
entourage of hockey players could compete for the Stanley Cup against
the Ottawa Silver Sevens in 1905.
()()()()()()()()()()
Excerpts
from an on-line bio. Note: There are many links below as well.
Conquer
or be conquered was Boyle's motto. . .
In
the crazy jumble of men from every nationality, Boyle's racetrack
education would come in handy. There were sinners, con artists, fakes
and phonies, outlaws, crooks. You name it. They were represented.
. .
Nothing
daunted Joe Boyle. He would figure out something.
But
there was another problem. During the peak of the Klondike gold rush
and for 20 years thereafter, the Dawson mining recorder's office was
notorious for the amount and extent of its bribery and corruption. .
.
()()()()()()()()()()
There
was no specific reference to Klondike Joe in the Our Canada article,
but I was intrigued when seeing the business name: Sourdough Bakery.
Not knowing what the bakery specialized in, I do through my years of
reading about Klondike Joe, recall the term 'sourdough' also refers
to a long-time prospector in the north.
One
of the many biographies about Boyle is called 'The Sourdough And The
Queen' (Author: Leonard W Taylor. Published: 1983) and it delves into
Klondike Joe's European adventures as he became a national hero in
Romania during the time of the First World War. If you think Doctor
Zhivago is an epic movie, a mini series could easily be developed on
the life of Boyle. Among the stories to ready about Boyle's quest to
return the wealth of crown jewels to Romania which had been stored
away at the Kremlin in Moscow. 'Soldier', 'spy' and 'diplomat' are
three more words you could add to the definition of Klondike Joe as
he is an important part of the Bolshevik history in Russia / Europe.
He is so honoured as a national hero because he also assisted in
transporting food and other supplies into that country from Canada.
Given
a title of Duke in Romania, Boyle became quite a close confidant to
Queen Marie.
By
the time of his death – due to ailing health and a stroke suffered
in 1918 – he was then living in London, England.
Besides
the plaque to honour Boyle in Woodstock, there is apparently a
recognition plaque at something called Dredge Number Four at Bonanza
Creek in the Yukon. You must understand, that Boyle made his riches
by creating a dredge system to excavate gold by large volumes.
Stories
do change and evolve over time, somewhat like the children's
telephone game, but one item I liked in a biographical review of
Klondike Joe is that the Woodstonian never denied a story he heard
about himself, even if the tale seemed quite outrageous.
In
Pierre Berton's novel Prisoners Of The North, Boyle claims (pun, I
know) an important role which is noteworthy on its own as Burton grew
up in the Yukon.
Even
though he passed away in England in 1923, Boyle's grave was moved to
Woodstock in 1983 thanks to a committee that included his daughter
Flora, author Leonard Taylor, along with the Oxford Historical
Society and its members.
LINKS:
http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2012/05/09/boyle-will-be-remembered-on-kings-day
Woodstock has a
terrific history,
and its future could
include you
Mark
Schadenberg, Sales
Representative
Senior
Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal
LePage Triland Realty
757
Dundas St, Woodstock
(519)
537-1553, cell or text
Email:
mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter:
markroyallepage
Facebook:
Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
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