The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 9, Number 4, Spring 2021 | Page 35

The Skagway Commercial Club
Southbound , en route to Skagway , from White Pass , Locomotive No . 69 exits the Tunnel Mountain tunnel ( elevation 2,275 ft ) at mile marker No . 16 . The wooden trestle , later reinforced with steel pilings , spans the yawning chasm over Glacier Gorge 1,000 feet above the gulch below . This photo and this Journal ’ s cover photo are reprinted with the permission of White Pass & Yukon Route , www . wpyr . com .
obsequious equipment . The Skagway Commercial Club is perhaps the most fitting body that could be secured for the occasion .” 32 The Club was a dead organization in the opinion of the editorial writer .
Finally , in July 1915 , a frontpage article announced the reorganization of the Skagway Commercial Club . Colonel W . L . Stevenson , who served on board of the Bank of Alaska , was elected chairman and wanted to take advantage of “ every opportunity to increase Skagway ’ s desirability and fame as a tourist resort .” 33 According to the article , there was a scheme by an unnamed group to build hotels and resorts all over Alaska but it came to nothing . 34 Three days later , the Club began their new boosting efforts by addressing the issues of the damaged Skagway River bridge . Addressing such infrastructure issues was important . While a road over the mountains into British Columbia was not yet constructed , houses and businesses were located across the river at 22 nd Street , the current bridge location . In a recap of the previous meeting on September 16 , 1915 , a special committee formed to “ investigate into the matter of the removal or razing of the unsightly and dilapidated buildings in the section of town lying south of Ninth Street .” 35 The Club also asked the city council for assistance to improve
31