Highway Women: Entertaining the Troops
The lack of women and recreation in general was sorely felt by the men working on the highway. Many of the relationships between the men and women working on the projects were like their jobs: transient and short-lived. For other women, particularly the locals, their interactions with the workers had permanent effects.
...This image shows military personnel dancing, possibly during a Christmas party, with pine boughs hanging above them. ca. 1944-1946. (view more details)
Military personnel dancing
Not all relationships formed during the Alaska Highway construction were transitory...(view more details)
Married August 1943 in Whitehorse
Some social activities were genuinely fun for both men and women. One Whitehorse local remembered the days when girls were bussed down to Teslin for dances with the Army boys. Many women remember the myriad social opportunities in those days including dances, tobogganing, skating, hiking, picnics at Miles Canyon, and trips by boats or vehicles to communities outside of Whitehorse. Teresa Chanatry was 18 when she moved to Whitehorse to work for the Northwest Service Command personnel office and remembers the active social life:
It didn’t take long to be included in lots of activities and many "blind dates" ("my boy friend has a buddy – would you go to the dance with him this Friday", etc.) Sometimes the blind date would result in a dating period of a few weeks or a few months, but it was a very transient situation for both civilians and the GIs, and an overwhelming ratio of "boys to girls". (Yukon Archives, Teresa Chanatry fonds, 99/68 MSS 273, p. 2)
sound clip
Other times the highway workers’ interactions with the locals had tragic impact. Military authorities tried to control moral and social behaviour, but it was almost impossible to police soldiers on leave and civilian workers. Sexual activity was not openly condoned, but women were expected to "entertain" the men as evidenced by these organized social activities.
Invitation to a dance... (view more details)
Invitation to a dance
"This is the Army" movie theatre entrance at MacRae near Whitehorse with a few men and women standing around the entrance... The movie starred Ronald Reagan. 1943. (view more details)
This is the Army
The birthrate jumped sharply during the construction years especially among the First Nation’s population. Venereal diseases reached epidemic proportions causing the Yukon Government to introduce "The Venereal Diseases Protection Ordinance" which allowed women with venereal diseases to be jailed until they were cured. However, men were not charged under this law and it had little effect on controlling the problem.
http://www.alaskahighwayarchives.ca/en/chap2/4Bentertaining.php