Skagway mourns the loss of a community leader and former fire chief

In the last couple of years, Skagway has lost a number of prominent citizens, people who helped shape the community. Last week, the town lost lifelong Skagway resident Carl Mulvihill, a longtime public servant, local historian, and accomplished photographer. The former fire chief was given a grand sendoff Friday afternoon, he was 85.

A procession of fire trucks, police and park service vehicles, and dozens of civilians drive down Broadway Street on their way to the Skagway Cemetery on the Dyea Road. The lead vehicle is Fire Engine #2 a 1937 Ford bearing a casket draped in an American Flag. It’s Carl Mulvihill’s last ride through town. 

Former owner of the Skagway News Jeff Brady helped pen Carl Mulvihill’s obituary.

“He joined the fire department in 1953, I think he was still in high school. And then he went off to college and then the army. When he came back in the early 1960s, he got back with the fire department. He was really young and he was elected to the City Council. He was on it for five years. And then they needed a new fire chief in 1968. And so Carl got off the council and he became chief,” recalled Brady.

Mulvihill grew up in Skagway and became the longest-serving fire chief the town has ever seen, serving in the role for 31 years until he retired in 1999. 

“He was on a lot of fires but his biggest was probably one of his first. It was in October 1969 when the White Pass roundhouse burned. And that to date is still Skagway his biggest fire ever. It was a huge 300-foot long roundhouse building. The building was a total loss but they were able to save a lot of equipment that was in there,” said Brady.

He was a prolific photographer and a local historian.

“He always had a camera around his neck and he photographed not only every fire but everything about the railroad. He designed model railroad cars from exact measurements he had done of all the cars. I mean, every car, every car on the railroad. You’re talking about the whole history of locomotives, parlor cars, even flat cars, fuel cars, everything. And he had a collection that was huge in his garage that was two stories of railroad material and some firefighting material too in there,” said Brady.

Mulvihill was also known for his dry sense of humor.

“If anybody ever showed up in a fire department with a tie on, like to go join or something, he would go up to the guy and, and then take a pair of scissors and cut his tie in half because he didn’t like to see ties in the fire department,” recalled Brady.

Carl Mulvihill also worked as a Skagway police officer and a U.S. customs agent, which is where he met his wife Renate, who at the time worked for Canadian customs. They were together for the better part of three decades. In addition to his wife, he leaves behind two step-children, five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, numerous cousins, and a dog named Rosie.

Mulvihill was also an author and he had just finished his latest effort alongside fellow railroad historian Keith Nore. When published it will be called Century of White Pass and Yukon Route Equipment, and it will contain a large section of the historical photographs that he had cataloged through the years.

He joins a list of great Skagway characters that have recently departed their earthly bonds. Within the last year or two, Skagway lost legends like Dennis Corrington, Kathleen O’Daniel, “Dyea” Dave McClelland, Mark VanHouten, Ken Russo, Shirley Hughes, Scott Runman, Ed Fairbanks, Carlin “Buckwheat” Donahue, just to name a few.

Family members say details on a celebration of life for Carl Eugene Mulvihill have yet to be finalized.