Moe Grant

Moe Grant

The Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous (YSR) Board of Directors is very proud to rename their Volunteer of the Year Award to the Moe Grant Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award.

The award, in existence since 1996, is one of the many ways that YSR celebrates its volunteers who are so important in getting the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous festival off the ground every winter.  Moe Grant was an accomplished local musician and avid volunteer.  YSR renamed the award to honour and acknowledge his dedication to bringing music to the community and for showcasing community spirit while inspiring others.

“Volunteers are the heart and soul of the Sourdough Rendezvous Society.”  YSR President Marj Eschak said. “This festival is operated by community orientated people who want to see a fun filled festival that brings together friends and family and celebrates the coming of spring. Without volunteers, this festival would not happen.”

"Moe Grant epitomizes what the typical Rendezvous volunteer stands for; someone who, from the background, does what they can to make the event happen,” VP of Development Derek Charlton said. “Moe was integral to many events during the festival, and I would bet that not many people would know how much he was actually involved so we are pleased to be able to do this in his name." 

Moe Grant wasn’t born in the Yukon, but he arrived with his parents from Saskatchewan in 1929, when he was six months old. The family lived in Carcross and it was here that Moe developed his lifelong love of flying.

From the single-bay garage where he got his first job as a mechanic, Moe watched the busy gravel airstrip from which there seemed an endless parade of airplanes. Moe was hooked. In 1947, the teenager earned his pilot’s license.

He flew mostly for fun for the following fifty years. But, in 1950, his flying days nearly ended when he crashed his single-engine plane on an isolated mountain between Atlin and Carcross. Only the determined searching by Herman Peterson saved Moe from certain death.

He survived on the snow-covered mountain for five days before he was rescued. But his feet were frozen and he lost both legs in the ordeal. However, that did not stop him from flying well into his seventies. He didn’t officially retire until last year, when he was inducted as a pioneer aviator into the Yukon Transportation Museum’s Hall of Fame.

Moe married wife Cora in 1953 and the couple had two children, George and David.

In 1969, Moe became a partner in the Ford dealership when Rolf Hougen purchased the company from the Northern Commercial Co. He was already managing the car business, then located on Main Street, which was relocated to its current location on Fourth Avenue.

Moe gave much to the Yukon as a musician, and as a member of the Yukon Order of Pioneers. He is also fondly remembered for driving his Model "T" Ford in the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous parade.

He was the man with a mandolin and he liked to share the music. In 1975, he began visiting Macaulay Lodge to play for senior residents. Eventually, other musicians joined the group and their performances became a meaningful part of activities at the lodge. Recently, a group of musicians celebrated the 32nd anniversary of the weekly performances begun by Moe Grant.

In 2002, Moe was honoured with the Commissioner’s Award "for his tireless dedication to bringing music into the lives of Yukon ’s senior citizens."

A CKRW Yukon Nugget by Les McLaughlin
Reprinted courtesy of Rolf Hougen