The Word - Vol 109

Let’s Get Hyderized! 🥃

Let’s go get Hyderized in Hyder Alaska, or maybe not. It’s not for everyone, but if you do decide to take the plunge, I’ll give you a little history first.

In 1910, the mining boom was in full swing, and the town, Hyder Alaska, was built on pilings at the end of the 71-mile-long Portland Canal, with Alaska on one side of the Canal and B.C. on the other.

Two miles from Hyder is the town of Stewart, British Columbia. Settled in 1905, Stewart is named after American mining brothers who prospected the area a few years earlier. Stewart, like a lot of old mining towns, has seen better days, especially the boom days from 1964 to 1984 when big copper and gold mines like the Premier and Granduc were going strong. The population these days is around 500 people.

The population of Hyder at one time grew to over 250 people, but you’ll find less than 100 people call Hyder home these days. It’s both the geographically easternmost and southernmost Alaska town that can be reached by car but only from Canada through the town of Stewart. It reminds me of the relationship B.C. has with Point Roberts, Washington! There’s no border control into Hyder from Canada, but to return to Stewart you must go through Canadian customs! When I was there in the 60’s, I do recall a customs woman in a white pith helmet. She came out of a little hut at the border and asked us where we were going and if we had anything to declare! There were only two places to go, Stewart or Hyder! At that time, the road ended in Stewart or ended in Hyder depending on which direction you were headed. Now there’s a road that links Stewart with the rest of B.C.

That’s probably more information than you wanted to know about the little town of Hyder, or Stewart, but you may be wondering about being Hyderized, which is an official welcome to Hyder Alaska. Well, here’s how it went down.

I got Hyderized at the age of 16, almost 17. I had decided at that point in my life I had enough education and was told that if it wasn’t school then it had to be work. The work I stumbled on was prospecting for silver on top of one of the mountains that surrounds Stewart and Hyder. I was teamed up with a university student, let’s call him Dave, who was trying to earn some money to further his education. I was getting my education the hard way.

One of the perks of the job on top of the mountain was a trip into town every couple of weeks. The mining company would send a helicopter up to get us. There wasn’t a whole lot to do in the town of Stewart, so Dave and I decided to walk down the 2 miles of gravel road to Hyder and see what was going on. We quickly found out there wasn’t much to do in Hyder either. At the time, there was a post office, a small general store, and the Glacier Inn! That’s where the welcome to Alaska ceremony took place.

Before we walked into the bar, Dave told me if I wanted to get served, I’d have to “look older!” Something he said could be accomplished if I tucked my chin down close to my throat. Really? Hey, he was a university student, he must know these kinds of things, so I did. We sat down and Dave said he’d do all the talking, and for me to just sit there and not say a word, and don’t make eye contact!

As we looked around the bar, we noticed that dollar bills had been stapled and pinned behind the bar and onto the walls. Each bill had been autographed, presumably by the person who pinned it there. We found out later that it all started when a prospector was about to head out into the bush in search of his fortune and told the bartender that if he came back and hadn’t found the mother lode at least there would be his dollar bill on the wall to buy a beer. That first dollar on the wall started what has now become a very famous and very valuable bar room wall.

Back to the ceremony. It didn’t take long for the bartender to come over to our table and give us both a long hard look, especially me at 16 going on 17. I looked a little out of place. Finally, he asked, “What can I get for you boys?” Dave didn’t look up, just said, “We’ll have a beer, please.” The bartender gave us both another look, especially me with my chin pressed hard against my throat, trying to look old. He walked back to the bar and returned with 2 frosty mugs of cold beer and 2 shot glasses filled with a clear liquid. “Have you boys been to Alaska before?” he asked. “No,” Dave replied. “Well, you have to be Hyderized before I can serve you a beer.”

Dave was a little apprehensive but took the shot glass off the tray and knocked it back. Now, I should point out that Dave was probably 20 years old, 6'2", and weighed about 210 lbs. I watched in amazement as Dave’s complexion started to change from relatively pale to bright red starting at the collar of his shirt. The color slowly rose up past his chin, his cheeks were like red roses and tears started to flow from his eyes. He then grabbed one of the mugs of beer and poured it down his throat in a matter of seconds! The bartender then looked at me and I said, “What?”

He said, “You want a beer, don’t you?” I said, “Did you see what it did to Dave?” His reply was, “You want a beer, don’t you?” I did want that beer, and peer pressure is a funny thing. I reached for the shot glass, put it back, and a cooling sensation came over my lips, like the feeling you get from rubbing alcohol, and then came the burn and the glow and I grabbed for the cold beer to put out the fire! We had been Hyderized, welcome to Alaska. The bartender just smiled and went and got us another beer.

It was a very wobbly walk back to the hotel in Stewart that night. I bought a mickey of that stuff the bartender called “Snakebite” 190 proof grain alcohol. I bought it as a present for my Dad back home.

My Dad was in the Navy in WWII and knew better than to drink that stuff. He put a little on a rag and used it to remove linoleum glue from the kitchen floor.

Till next week…
Wayne