August 20, 1869 - Real Klondike Kate - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

Katherine Ryan, “the real Klondike Kate,” is born in New Brunswick. When people think of Klondike Kate, they conjure up images of a dance-hall entertainer or gold mine prostitute. The real Klondike Kate was Katherine Ryan, born August 20, 1869 in Johnville, New Brunswick. Ryan became a nurse in Seattle, Washington before journeying in 1898 to the Klondike, where she staked three gold claims. When she reached Whitehorse, she used her nursing skills to tend to the sick, but had many other occupations. A sign on her tent read, “Kate’s Café, open for business.” There she served food for two years before moving into more permanent quarters. At six feet tall, she was capable at handling unruly characters that led the northwest Mounted Police to make her a special constable so she could help with female prisoners. This job made Ryan the first woman to join the Mounted Police. Later, she became a guard at the Whitehorse jail. There she met a prostitute and dancer named Kitty Rockwell, who took on the name Klondike Kate, confusing anyone who didn’t know that Ryan was the real Klondike Kate. Ryan moved to British Columbia in 1919 and died in Vancouver in 1932.

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