Alex McDonald (prospector) Alex McDonald (prospector) Alexander "Big Alex" McDonald (1859–1909) was a Canadian gold prospector who made (and lost) a fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush, earning himself the title "King of the Klondike". The son of Scottish immigrants, McDonald was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He was an unsuccessful prospector, having tried his luck in the Colorado gold fields, before heading to the gold rush in Juneau, Alaska, in the late 1880s. In 1895 or 1896, he was in the Yukon, employed by the Alaska Commercial Company at Forty-Mile to buy mining properties. Gold was discovered in the region in 1897.
Leif, the Discoverer (Whitney) request of its donor, Mrs. Joseph Gilbert, there was no dedication ceremony. On 26 April 2003, the Sons of Norway Fosselyngen Lodge held a ceremony to celebrate the recent addition of the statue’s lighting, which cost $3,800. The funds were bequested by the late lodge member, Duane Olson. The addition was a joint effort between the Sons of Norway Fosselyngen Lodge, Milwaukee County and the city of Milwaukee. Prior to this, there had been evidence of structural instability, through cracks, erosion, and the deterioration of caulking in a pedestal. Leif, the Discoverer (Whitney) Leif, the Discoverer is a bronze sculpture