Joyce Hintze Elliott

A courageous enterprising pioneer

Joyce was born in 1940 when her mother was 17. In 1943, her mother, Helen Korpan, married a man named Hintze, who was German. He did not allow anyone in the home to speak Ukrainian, which was Joyce’s heritage. Because of that the children lost their Ukrainian heritage and language. They lived in a small Saskatchewan town named Hughton. Joyce had two half-brothers, Tom and Wayne. Her formative years were difficult. Her real father was never around; it was purported that he was away in the military.

Joyce was looked after by her grandparents for the first three-and-a-half years of her life. She cared for and respected them a great deal. When her stepfather came to retrieve her, it was not a friendly encounter. Joyce remarked, “When I was 15, I saw Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan show; Grandpa remarked that he was “a terrible person.”

Joyce went to Elrose for Grade Nine and when she was 15 she met Larry Elliott. She took a hair dressing course in Saskatoon but did not finish it because her mother became ill. During that time Larry always wrote to her. Finally, in 1958, when Joyce was 18, they married in Hughton.

In 1959, Joyce and Larry had a son whom they named Leonard. Joyce got toxemia and had to spend four to five months in the hospital. Larry insisted on feeding Leonard on Grandpa’s goats’ milk so that he would thrive. The birth of a daughter, Brenda, followed.

Larry joined the police force until 1963, then farmed at Elrose until 1969. His brother, Gary, was living in Whitehorse so, in 1973 the family pulled up stakes and moved to the Yukon

Together they cut a mile-and-a-half of road past the Takhini Hot springs and built a 14x24 sod-roofed cabin. They dwelt there for a year without power, phone or running water. Joyce collected water daily from a creek not too far away. She said, “We had the best in heat and appliances: our wood stove, Aladdin lamps and later on a two-burner hot plate.” Larry cut a deal with the Hot Springs: in exchange for helping out, he got free parking for his car.

Joyce home schooled Leonard because he was shy and did not concentrate well in the classroom. Joyce took Brenda to the school bus stop by snow machine. The unwritten rule was that when the temperature hit -40° the bus did not run. They travelled by horse in the spring and also walked. It was 1½ miles through wilderness. Joyce said they could smell grizzly bears.

In 1974, Joyce’s mother and grandmother came to visit. They promptly asked, “This is where you live?” Joyce promptly responded, “I don’t have to pay anything for it.” They wanted to see the sunrise and Larry replied, “It’s already over!”

In the fall of 1975, they moved to River Road, their present address. Joyce helped Larry build their home. They worked on the construction, sanded and stained boards, dug a hole for the septic tank and one for the water tank, and dug a hole for the outhouse. The house had propane lights, a stove and a fridge.

Joyce speaks fondly of her years of wilderness living in the Yukon. Wildlife was always in their backyard. She remembers the smell of a grizzly hear, and Larry talking to a lynx on the doorstep. She recalls Leonard saving the day with his shotgun as Brenda was shouting, “Mom, there’s a gopher in the toilet hole!”

They stacked and stacked green trees as they cleared the land; the beavers smartly and promptly hauled the green trees away to build themselves a house!

She commented that they ate rabbits, lynx meat they got from a trapper, and a gopher stew, which she remembers clearly had “little tiny bones.” In the freezing cold winters all she had to do was go out the door and cut a big piece of meat off the caribou hanging on a pole. A three-legged wolf kept trying to steal the meat off the hind quarters of a horse that they needed for dog food.

Joyce worked as a chamber maid at the Ben Elle Motel for two years and made donuts. She also worked for two weeks cleaning the Old Hospital. She cooked at the Yukon College Campus on Lewes Blvd. They made loads of cabbage rolls and became renowned for their “Flapper Pie.” Later on, she got a cleaning job at Yukon Hall.

Joyce also spent some time teaching her grandmother Korpan to read and write. She once went to Victoria with her grandmother who had a CNR rail pass. Joyce said, “We did the exhibition grounds in two hours, and then Grandma wanted to see Indians at the Calgary Stampede!”

In 1976, Joyce took a bus to Saskatoon and spent time with her mother during her mother’s last days. Her mother fought a hard battle with cancer and underwent many invasive and difficult treatments. Joyce swore that she did not want to die hooked up to numerous machines like her mother had.

When Joyce did get cancer, she refused to spend her time in the hospital. Her granddaughter Allison signed for her and took over the care of Joyce. Coincidentally and gratefully, a new drug had been discovered, which proved successful in similar cases to Joyce’s. The drug TIVA IMITINUS cost $4050 per month. Help to cover costs was available from the Canadian Health Care and very greatly appreciated.

Larry and Joyce did some travelling. They spent 13 weeks on motorbikes going across Canada to Nova Scotia and to Newfoundland. They remember when crossing on the ferry that they had to hang on to the walls when they went to the washrooms. Also, they had to tie the bikes down. Another time, they travelled by motorbike through the Eastern and Western States. They saw the Grand Canyon, caves, and New Mexico where “20,000 bats flew out of a cave!” They also saw the homes built into the cliffs at Mesa Verde.

Several years ago, Joyce’s husband Larry, was told by the doctors that Joyce would not be leaving the hospital. Joyce stated, “Gratefully, with the addition of those years, I have been a proud Sourdough Yukoner for well over forty years.”

Ritz Cracker Apple Pie by Joyce Elliott

Pastry for a two-crust pie:

20 Ritz Crackers
2 cups water
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
Butter or margarine

Combine water, sugar, Cream of Tartar, and bring to a boil. Drop in the crackers whole and keep boiling until transparent (8 to 10 minutes). Pour into unbaked pie crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust.

Bake at 425° for 30 to 35 minutes.