A Boy on the Alcan

Book excerpt: A boy on the Alcan is an intriguing story of seven year old Eddie Byskal. He was born in a small Missions Hospital on the shore of Wakaw Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. When Eddie’s mother passed away his father signed up as a carpenter on the construction of the Alaska Highway. Eddie, his sister Annie and stepmother, travelled by train to the village of Dawson Creek, British Columbia. It was the termination of the railroad and Mile O of what was to become a highway 1400 miles long, carved through a vast, unmapped wilderness. Eddie's parents were employed at camps along the highway. From 1943 to 1950 Eddie was moved multiple times to be cared for by others and often far from his parents. Attending school just happened when convenient. As you turn the pages of the book follow the footsteps of a young boy who faced the unknown every day asking, “Where is my home? Where do I sleep tonight? To whom do I belong? Am I just a waif?" At fourteen years of age and alone, Eddie considered his future and started on a path that could settle and establish him as a man with a purpose!