Commissioner Adeline Webber is launching the King Charles III Coronation Medal program in the Yukon.

Webber, a partner in the program, has 21 medals to give to deserving Yukoners.

The first medals were given out Monday during an event at Taylor House.

To be eligible, nominees must have done something remarkable for Canada or their community and been alive on May 6, 2023.

This program and medal were created to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III on May 6, 2023.

The special medal recognizes 30,000 exceptional individuals of all ages and backgrounds across Canada who have made a positive difference in their communities.

“I’m pleased to be a partner in this program to give recognition where it is due,” said Webber.

“This program is a way to say ‘thank you’ to those who have contributed so much to our communities.”

John Firth, the Yukon’s Story Laureate, thanked the six recipients “for everything you have done for your country, your territory and your cultures.

“You have joined some very exalted company,” Firth told them.

“The last coronation medal to be presented in the Yukon was in 1959, even though the medal recipients had been named in 1953.

In 1953, there were just over 138,000 Queen’s Coronation medals presented; 12,500 of those came to Canada.

Fifteen were given out in the Yukon, while 13 were given to military personnel who were working in the North West Highway System here in the Yukon.

One was given to George Black. He was the former Speaker of the House of Commons, former commissioner and former Yukon MP.

The final one was presented to Patsy Henderson, one of the co-discoverers of Klondike gold.

“Patsy knew he was to receive the medal, but had to wait until 1959 to actually receive it, when Queen Elizabeth came to the Yukon – the only time a reigning monarch has ever visited the territory,” Firth said.

Henderson was the last remaining recipient of the 1953 coronation medal in the Yukon.

Firth showed a photograph of Patsy and Edith Henderson at the railway depot in Carcross, waiting for the train to take them to Whitehorse to meet the Queen.

“When the family saw this photograph, their first question was: where did Edith find red Adidas running shoes in 1959?” Firth said.

“Then they researched a bit more and discovered that Edith and Patsy both wore moccasins handmade by Edith.”

The red Adidas were actually red-beaded moccasins that she made specifically for this occasion.

Patsy Henderson received his medal, the command from the Queen and a flag from the monarch – not the royal standard, but a regular Union Jack.

When the Queen reached out to shake Henderson’s hand, Bill McBride, who was the master of ceremonies, said to her, “When you shake his hand, you shake the hand of history.”

Firth told the medal recipents, “All of you here to day are the hand of history. Again, thank you for your service.”