Mihajlo Vojnic

Mihajlo Vojnic
Mihajlo Vojnic in 1968.
Birth:	14 March 1870 Principality of Serbia
Death:	15 March 1977 Dawson City, Yukon, Canada
Age:	107 years, 1 day
Country:	SRBCAN
Centenarian

Mihajlo Vojnic also known as Michael "Black Mike" Winage [Serbian; Vojnić] (14 March 1870 – 15 March 1977) was Serbian-born Canadian centenarian and miner, pioneer, and adventurer.

Biography

Mihajlo Vojnic was born in the Principality of Serbia on 14 March 1870. He moved to Canada in 1882 and claimed to have been a guide and to have travelled as far as Aklavik, as well as a Constable with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Later he changed his name to Michael Winage. By the time he arrived in the Yukon on 5 March 1900 with his dogs and horses towards the end of the Klondike Gold Rush, gold had been discovered elsewhere in Canada and Alaska, prompting a new stampede, this time away from the Klondike. In the Yukon Winage was originally known as "Big Mike" because of his large size. After becoming a woodcutter he became known as "Sawdust Mike". After helping to unload 400 tons of coal in 1918 he finally became known as "Black Mike", a nickname which stuck with him for the rest of his life.

In 1961, when the Auditorium, a local theater in Dawson City, was being demolished, Winage saw an opportunity to make money by searching for the gold dust that had fallen from the prospectors and through the floorboards to the ground beneath. Two bars were found in the areas pointed out by Black Mike, one long and one short, their outlines drawn by gold. While Black Mike chortled at winning the long-standing bet, the successful miners shovelled, rocked and washed dirt and watched as nuggets and gold dust accumulated in a borrowed pan.

In 1968, aged 98, Winage was included in a National Geographic article on 'The Canadian North', which reported he was still panning for gold in the hills. Claiming to have outlived three wives and all his friends, he spent the last 20 years of his life in MacDonald Lodge, a home for senior citizens, in Dawson City, Yukon Territory.

Mihajlo Vojnic died in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada on 15 March 1977 the day after his 107th birthday.