Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 30/06) - For decades, the Gold Range bar, or the Strange Range, has been known throughout the Territories as a window into the heart of Yellowknife.

It's long been the place to visit when passing through and a must-see destination for visitors.

Sam Yurkiw: honoured by Northerners at the Gold Range, Jan. 22. - NNSL file photo

Staff and patrons at the bar honoured the 80th birthday of former Yellowknife businessman and Range owner Sam Yurkiw earlier this month.

They threw him a Sunday afternoon party last week.

Alzheimer's pulled Yurkiw away from the bar a little more than two years ago. He owned the Range for almost 30 years.

He now lives in the Stanton Hospital's extended care facility.

Partiers included mayor Gord Van Tighem, former broadcaster George Tuccaro, former premier Stephen Kakfwi, along with government employees, journalists and dozens of Range regulars from past and present.

Performers included Charles Nabess, Bobbi Bouvier, Norbert Poitras, Lou Delaney and Gary Tees.

The Jan. 22 event raised $5,000 for the Yellowknife Association of Concerned Citizens for Seniors.

The money will go towards furniture and equipment for the association's Alzheimer's and Related Dementia Project, a care facility planned for construction in the spring of 2007.

Last year, the Gold Range fund raised about $3,000 for the association.