So Happy Birthday to Victor Hahn born on this day, August 19, 1868 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to German parents.
He arrived here in Skagway on May 5, 1898 and originally worked as a draftsman. He succeeded Rogers as the Superintendent of the White Pass Railroad in 1906 and worked here until 1947. He must have been quite a politician to last that long as Superintendent!
He died in 1958 in San Francisco at the age of 90.
The photo above was taken on August 17, 1928 at Charles Walker’s house during President Harding’s visit to Skagway:
Left to right: A.F. Swenbsen, friend of Secretary Jardine, Boise, Idaho.
George A. Parks, Governor of Alaska.
William DeWitt Mitchell, Solicitor General of the United States, Washington, D.C.
William Jardine, Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
Henry O’Malley, U.S. Commissioner of Fisheries, Washington, D.C.
James T. Jardine, brother of the Secretary, Washington, D.C.
Charles H. Flory, U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture in Alaska, Juneau, Alaska.
V.I. Hahn, Superintendent of the White Pass & Yukon Railroad, Skagway, Alaska.
Check out those snappy boutonnieres, did they know it was almost V.I.’s birthday?!
1900 and 1929 census; 1905, 1915, and 1923 directories; California death index
Thank you for posting this photo. I am distantly related (1st cousin 3 times removed) to Charles O Walker through his sibling. Our family is visiting Skagway next month and I hope to do a wee bit of research on Charles.
V.I. Hahn (I was always told the “I” stands for Ignatius) was my grandpa. He was always sweet and gentle to me – when he came to visit he kept sweets in his coat pocket where he knew I would find them. When I visited Carcross in 1972, I was told by an old native woman there who remembered him that he would get out and work on the track – not just sit in the office. When he left for the last time to retire, all the workers crowded the dock to waive him off, yelling, “Goodbye Hahn! Goodbye Hahn!”