Son of Alfred Atkey?
People, Photo, Road Trip May 22nd, 2008
Today I met a homeless chap who was cycling the 400 or so miles from Anchorage to the Canadian border and claimed to be the son of World War 1 pilot Alfred Atkey… He told me he makes this trip on a regular basis and although he is Canadian he never crosses because he doesn’t carry ID. Anyway he had stopped to make some coffee but ran out of water so having supplied him with some and chatting about the exploits of his famous father I took this snap. I’ll let you decide if you agree his story to be true - click for a picture of Alfred Atkey.
May 31st, 2008 at 5:49 pm
[...] More on the son of Alfred Atkey Waffle May 31st, 2008 Thanks to a resourceful uncle, here is a link to more information on Al Atkey, son of Alfred Atkey who I met along the Alaska Highway. If you scroll down and read the second Web Reference from the Anchorage Daily News there is an article about him. The original link to the Anchorage Daily News article is unfortunately broken but the text is preserved by zoominfo at present. My original post is here. [...]
June 20th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Hallo Steve,
Following on from our conversation last night I’ve put together the Family Tree for the Atkey Family and will publish it (with free access) on my web page (www.timedetectives.co.uk) later today.
Hope it is of use to anyone interested in the Atkey Family.
All the best,
Paul
On the down side I haven’t videod the Bear Joke yet
June 20th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Ok the family tree is ready to be downloaded if anyone is interested, just go to http://www.timedetectives.co.uk and click on the “Canada Atkey” tab then click on the pdf file for download.
Paul
June 20th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
[...] Yet more on Al Atkey! Waffle June 20th, 2008 Paul McNeil has put together the family tree of Al Atkey which you can find here. My original post is here. [...]
July 14th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Well now a year later I met alfred just a week ago, at this time he explained that his name was alfred atkey, and that he was an amateur musicologist traveling Canada (yes, he’s in the Yukon) collecting money for female composers of violin concerti. He feels it is a lost art.
Let it be said that he’s not only in fine condition, clean and free of odors, but that his clothing is only more delightful than when you found him. He is wearing one which rubber boot and one tennis show. He is also wearing every item of clothing that he owns such that he appears like a cartoon character with his little head popping out of a mound of clothes such that I’m not sure how he can move.
I gave him $20 on general principles, and a cup of ice since it was a hot day. A bit up the road I stopped in at Jakes Corner in Yukon (Jakes crossing) and spoke with a couple waitresses at this must see gallery / restaurant / ?
After visiting with the eccentrics at the lunch table I asked on a whim if any of them knew Alfred. They burst into laughter and said he’d spent the afternoon at their place a few days before. Apparently he’s using the bicycle more as a luggage carrier than for himself. They agreed that he was a delight, remarkably clean and alert for a man living outdoors, and somehow seemed to avoid the numerous human predators such a man might fall victim to.
Give me an email address and I’ll send along current photos.
dave
July 19th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Al Atkey was part of our lives from 1980 until he was deported.
October 5th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Hi,
I’ve made a facebook page for Al. It’s found at Facebook under Alfred Atkey, or his username of al.atkey@dancetc.com.
dave
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:44 pm
re: Alfred Atkey: I’m a school teacher in a small community in the Yukon whose husband works in Whitehorse and lives near Marsh Lake. Ron got to know Alfred last spring and he hired Alfred come to do odd jobs around the place. In early September, after having to cancel his plans to travel on his bike all the way to Edmonton he showed up at our place and my husband took him in for the winter. He is warm, cozy, well fed, and happy. So, all of you out there who might have been wondering about his safety and well-being for the winter, worry no more. Of course, I can’t say where he might be as soon as the highways are free of snow in the spring.
April 29th, 2010 at 8:18 am
I just heard from a man who saw Al last Sunday. I’ll post his message below without his email address or name. If you’d like to reach him please write me at david@dancetc.com and I can put you in touch. Dave Hoekje
Subject: Alfred Atkey
Hi Just a quick update on Alfred. As of Sunday April 25th he was in Fort St John. I saw him on the road side making little to no progress so I stopped and asked him if he was alright. What a delightful experience that turned out to be. He was fine, as it was evening and he had no place to stay i put him into a motel for the night. He said he was headed to Red Deer to stay with a brother. I told him if I could talk to his brother I would put him on the Grey Hound. Haven’t heard from him so I imagine he’s on the road south. What a character.
May 14th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Hi All,
I just read about my brother, Alfie, known in the north as Alcan Al. I am his younger sister, he also has a younger brother George and a little sister, Susan, who just passed away.
Just wanted to set the record straight that my father’s first wife was not our mother. Alfie should have at least known his mother’s first name even if he didn’t know her maiden name. If Irene had been his mother, Alfie would be 90 years old by now - he is actually 67.
She ran off on my father and when he didn’t hear from her for many years, he went back to the homestead near lone rock and worked on his music career. He enlisted in the second war, was assigned to Downsview, Ontario as a link trainer for new pilots. It was in Toronto that he met our mother, Dulcie May Boadway. They married in August of 1942 and had five children. The second child, George Vaughn only lived two weeks. They lived in Toronto, Edmonton, Yellowknife, Whitehorse, Lloydminster, and finally Toronto again where my father passed away at the age of 76 in 1971. Mom followed at the age of 59 in 1975. They are greatly missed.