in one thousand nine hundred forty two the small town of dawson creek in canada was made the starting point of the alaska highway. this is where the railroad ended and the u.s. army wanted to create a link from there through northern canada to alaska to prepare for any attack by the japanese. the new wilderness road was to be completed within months and unbelievable fifteen hundred miles long about twenty four hundred kilometers in america its opening was celebrated in various propaganda films with canada and the united states war department decided to build a military highway from rio grande at dawson creek british columbia to care about alaska to link up and supply the their fields and provide emergency actor through
russia then to canada in one nine hundred eighteen. they have always been pioneers who ve chosen to live on the edge of civilization. through hard work and the most modern harvesting machines they make the most of the short season of the north. female. where you see a lot more forest here. we ve created many fields the land is good you could see that right away. two to three good weeks to harvest but when it starts raining and snowing again then it can turn into winter or on constant. every day at the same time a bell summons the members of the colony to meals. the family houses have no
in some places it is still easy to imagine what it challenge the project was. the case got in our bridge outside dawson creek was built entirely of wood in the winter of one nine hundred forty two. to lay the road as quickly as possible all bridges were initially built only from wood or mounted on pontoons. the hastily erected provisional solutions were only later replaced by concrete and steel. bridges roads and new prosperity through natural gas for the locals the highway meant great change. motorbike enthusiastic and artistic gary ocurred is from the denny tribe he lives near fort st john and appreciates the modern amenities the
a lot for open material. on march ninth one thousand nine hundred forty two the first soldiers arrived at dawson creek. thousands of men with bulldozers advanced into the frozen wilderness. it was to become the biggest u.s. construction project in world war two and the largest since the panama canal. there s little to be mined today s tourists of the vast effort needed to create their original highway. it has long since been tarred and extended and the region around dawson creek thrives off agriculture and natural gas production. the development of the highway has brought prosperity.
the region around the peace with her is not only rich in natural gas it s also the northernmost farmland in canada. the region is frost free just long enough to grow oats lentils and rapeseed. the alaska highway made it accessible. the fertile land attracted settlers that one would hardly expect here hutterites an old german religious community from the time of the reformation. there simple communal life seems old fashioned together the women pickle pew cumbers and the men work the fields. they believe in prayer and hard work. more than a hundred of them live in the colony at fort st john. the hutterites are farmers and strict pacifists. four hundred years ago they fled from tirol first to