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Author Archives: Helen Hegener
Sled Dog Movies
Last year, 2018, was noted by the Chinese calendar’s zodiac as being the Year of the Dog, but this year, 2019, seems to be the Year of the Sled Dog, as film after film featuring heroic sled dogs is released to movie theaters and home streaming services. There are two movies about the great Serum Run to Nome during the 1925 diphtheria epidemic, one focusing on the champion musher Leonhard Seppala, and the other on his favorite lead dog, Togo. One is an independent production, the other is from the powerhouse film company Disney Studios, but both are absorbing stories, beautifully filmed. Another champion musher, the sprint racing legend George Attla, is the subject of a new PBS documentary, and one of the greatest dog stories of all time is brought to life by a great film legend, Harrison Ford. Pass the popcorn! Continue reading
Posted in Alaska History, DVD & Video, Movies, News & Information, Sled Dog History, Sled Dog Races, Videos
Tagged Attla, Brian Presley, Disney, George Attla, Harrison Ford, Huslia, Joe Bifelt, Leonhard Seppala, Nenana, Nome, Serum Run, Siberian huskies, sled dogs, The Call of the Wild, The Great Alaskan Race, Togo
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A New Books Site
I have reworked an old website I built a few years ago and it is now a showcase for my Baker’s Dozen books on Alaskan history. The front page displays all the book covers, and clicking on any book title will take you to an in-depth description and ordering information for that book. Continue reading
Interesting Old Photos
As I’m researching and doing reference work on articles for Alaskan History Magazine I come across many interesting old photographs of Alaska which don’t meet my needs, but which seem worth sharing for those who enjoy the history. Continue reading
Old Alaskan Postcards
This post may take a minute to load, but it’s worth the wait to see these great vintage postcards of Alaskan towns like Nome, Seward, Valdez, Skagway, Juneau and more! Continue reading
Mush with PRIDE
The organization Mush with P.R.I.D.E., established in 1991 as an organization of mushers who were concerned about the care of sled dogs and public perceptions of mushing, supports the responsible care and humane treatment of all dogs, and is dedicated to enhancing the care and treatment of sled dogs in their traditional and modern uses. Continue reading
Seward’s Day
Seward’s Day, celebrated on March 25 in 2019, is a legal holiday in Alaska, falling on the last Monday in March and commemorating the signing of the Alaska Purchase treaty on March 30, 1867. It is named for then-Secretary of State William H. Seward, who negotiated the purchase from Russia. Continue reading
The Ascent of Denali
Hudson Stuck (1865–1920), known as the Archdeacon of the Yukon and the Arctic, was an Episcopal priest, social reformer, and mountain climber in the territory of Alaska who co-led the first expedition to successfully climb Denali (Mount McKinley) in June, 1913. He wrote a book based on the climb, The Ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley): A Narrative of the First Complete Ascent of the Highest Peak in North America, which was published in February, 1914 by Charles Scribers Sons, New York. Continue reading
Posted in Alaska History, Book Reviews, Books, Explorers, Kindle eBooks, News & Information, Sled Dog History
Tagged Alaska and the Klondike, Denali, Esaias George, Frances Welles, Harry Karstens, Hudson Stuck, Johnny Fredson, Kantishna, Mount McKinley, Mt. McKinley, Nenana, Peter Trimble Rowe, Robert Tatum, SS Princess Sophia, Ten Thousand Miles with a Dogsled, The Ascent of Denali, Voyages on the Yukon, Walter Harper
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Across Alaska in 1907-08
In October 1907, his work for the 1906-1908 Anglo-American Polar Expedition completed, Ejnar Mikkelsen set out on a formidable journey home, which would take him west along the Arctic coast from Flaxman Island, where he left Leffingwell to continue doing scientific research and mapping. Mikkelsen’s trail led to Barrow, Nome, Fort Gibbon, Manley Hot Springs, Fairbanks, and then down the Fairbanks-Valdez Trail to Valdez, where he boarded a ship for home. The first part of his journey was made by dogsled, the second half riding in the horse-drawn sledges which travelled the winter trails. Continue reading
Tribute to a Sled Dog
Prologue: Tribute to a Sled Dog, from “Sled dog : and other poems of the North,” by Charles E. Gillham, associate editor of Field & Stream magazine, an outdoor writer and game biologist. In 1934 he transferred to the Canadian Arctic as a Federal waterfowl biologist, and his arctic service resulted in four books, “The Raw North,” “Sled Dog,” “Beyond the Clapping Mountains” and “Medicine Men of Hooper Bay.” He left Alaska in 1945. Continue reading
Posted in Alaska History, Book Reviews, Books, News & Information, Sled Dog History
Tagged Charles E. Gillham, gold rush, huskies, husky, Nome, Peary, Sled Dog, sled dogs
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