Carmacks residents and others will say goodbye to a community legend at this weekend's funeral of Wilfred 'Iron Man' Charlie.

Charlie died Monday after a battle with cancer. He was in his late sixties.

'He put Carmacks on the map,' Joseph O'Brien, who knew Charlie from the time he was a young boy, said in an interview Thursday afternoon.

The Carmacks dog musher's racing skills would make their way into The Guinness Book of World Records, after he came in with the fastest time for the annual 15-mile (24.15-kilometre) sled dog race during Whitehorse's 1969 annual Winter Carnival. He did it in a time of 59 minutes, 33 seconds.

In an interview Wednesday, former Star publisher Bob Erlam recalled the first time he saw Charlie during the annual winter carnival held in Whitehorse in the 1960s.

Erlam and wife, Rusty, who live in Nelson, B.C., went to see the sled dog races that were part of the event. There was a lot of talk about a Carmacks musher that year, Erlam recalled.

Instead of a dog sled, Charlie used an old work toboggan that had no runners for him to stand on. It also didn't have a brake, so when told he needed one under the rules, he found an old stove piece to use for a makeshift brake.

Despite the odds against him in the race, given his equipment, he placed third.

Third place didn't garner any winnings, so Erlam, then publisher of the Star, gave him $25, and a few days later, offered to sponsor him with a sled for next year's race.

By the time race day was approaching the following year though, there was no new sled.

'I forgot all about it,' Erlam said with a laugh.

A day or two prior to the race, the Catholic priest who drove Erlam to the sled dog races each year asked him where the sleigh was. Erlam said he was lucky to know someone in town who made sleds.

The man who became Iron Man Charlie would take that sled to the first-place spot year after year and into The Guinness Book of World Records.

'He was a hell of a lot of fun,' Erlam said.

O'Brien, also a nephew of Charlie's by marriage, recalled at the time there were few, if any, TVs in Carmacks. However, there was a lot of entertainment around the radio with crowds gathered around to hear, 'There goes Iron Man Charlie' when the winter carnival dog races were covered.

Although Charlie usually finished in the winner's circle, just starting the race was another story.

Erlam recalled there always seemed to be some sort of situation at the beginning of a race for Charlie. In one instance, a dog got away and took off down Main Street.

'He chased that damn dog up the street,' Erlam said.

While there are many stories that could be told about Charlie, many remember the elder for the stories he told them.

'His sense of humour was unbelievable,' O'Brien said.

No matter how bad the situation, Charlie would 'bring you right up,' he said.

Ranger Sgt. Brian Murrell, also of Carmacks, recalled in an interview Thursday afternoon Charlie was still telling his series of hilarious stories when he went to visit Charlie in the hospital recently.

Murrell couldn't help laughing as he recalled a couple of his favourite tales from Charlie.

One was about a man dead of laughter. The man had been in the bush with a friend who, when he had to use the bathroom, accidentally sat on a bee's nest. The man started laughing at his friend's situation, so hard that he had a heart attack and died.

'It always struck me as funny,' he said.

Another story was about a friend of Charlie's who was staying in a wall-tent.

After enjoying a cup of tea inside the tent, he looked up and said to himself, 'I never realized you can see the mountains' from inside. The camper didn't realize his tent had burned around him as he was drinking his tea.

These were just a couple of the stories Charlie would tell again and again. They only seemed to get better each time, Murrell said.

'He was one-of-a-kind,' he said.

Charlie was likely the oldest person around 63 or 64 at the time Murrell had seen take and pass the fitness test for firefighters.

'He was in such great shape,' Murrell recalled, remembering hikes where Charlie would move so fast he would end up waiting for the rest of the group to catch up.

On those hikes, he would often point out the plants and wildlife of the area.

Charlie's knowledge of the land and wildlife was legendary.

Erlam recalled a drive to Fort Nelson, B.C., with Charlie, who would point out moose he would spot along the way. It would take the Erlams a long time to see the moose Charlie had noticed, and there were some moose Charlie spotted that the Erlams didn't see at all, despite trying to view the wildlife.

The elder would go on to share his knowledge with the younger generation in Carmacks.

Anytime the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation had initiatives to teach kids about the area, Charlie was called on because he knew the land and the history of the people so well.

'He was always active in the bush,' O'Brien said.

Charlie's service to his community extended beyond the borders of Carmacks.

About 15 years ago, Charlie became a Canadian Ranger. Over the years, he's been decorated for his military service.

His most recent award is still to come from Yellowknife for distinct service. It will likely be presented to his widow, Dawn, at a later date, O'Brien said. Charlie is also survived by his children.

Murrell said other military awards went to Charlie for his work in a High Arctic Ranger expedition, for four years of service and 12 years' service.

O'Brien, who's been working on funeral preparations, said there will likely be Rangers from many communities attending, joined by hundreds of others.

Being asked to be a pallbearer for Charlie has been one of the greatest honours O'Brien has experienced, he said. It's also going to be one of the hardest things he will do, he said.