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Tag Archives: Iditarod Trail
1967 Centennial Race
The 1967 race was billed as ‘the biggest event in racing history,’ with an unprecedented purse of $25,000, richer than any purse offered for a sled dog race until then. It attracted mushers from all around Alaska, respected dog drivers such as George Attla, Gareth Wright, Earl Norris, Jerry Riley, Orville Lake, Herbie Nayokpuk, Dick Mackey, and even two champion sprint mushers from Massachusetts: Dr. Roland Lombard and Dr. Charles Belford. Continue reading
Posted in Alaska History, Books, News & Information, Sled Dog History, Sled Dog Races
Tagged 1967, Dick Mackey, Earl Norris, George Attla, Herbie Nayokpuk, Iditarod Trail, Isaac Okleasik, Joe Redington, Joee Redington Jr., Knik, Leonhard Seppala, purchase of Alaska, The First Iditarod
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1911 Iditarod Sweepstakes
On New Year’s Day, January 1, 1911, 62 years before the inaugural run of today’s race, the First Annual Iditarod Sweepstakes Race was held over a 20-mile course which started in front of the Miners and Merchants Bank in the town of Iditarod. Continue reading
Posted in Alaska History, Books, Gold Rush History, News & Information, Sled Dog History, Sled Dog Races
Tagged Alaska Kennel Club, Anchorage Kennel Club, Claude Shea, Eklutna, Flat City, Frank Dixon, George May, Iditarod, Iditarod Trail, Northern Commercial Company, Old Knik, race, sled dog race, Summit Roadhouse, Sweepstakes, The First Iditarod
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The First Iditarod, 2nd Edition
From 2007 to 2012 I travelled across Alaska to visit veteran mushers from the 1973 race who would share their memories of what has since become known as “The Last Great Race on Earth.” The bulk of my book is comprised of the verbatim words of these intrepid men who drove their teams on that first journey to Nome in 1973, captured through recorded and videotaped interviews and many notes and follow-up letters and emails. Continue reading
Posted in Alaska History, Book Reviews, Books, News & Information, Sled Dog History, Sled Dog Races
Tagged Anchorage, Iditarod, Iditarod Trail, Joe Redington, Nome, sled dog race, sled dogs
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Sled Dog Tales
True stories include Alaskan mail carrier Eli Smith’s epic trip to Washington, D.C., Alaska Nellie’s daring rescue of a lost mail carrier, the Rev. Samuel Hall Young’s 1913 trip over the Iditarod Trail, and Territorial Judge James Wickersham’s 1901 dogsled trip down the frozen Yukon River from Eagle to Rampart. Fascinating stories of Alaska’s history as seen from the runners of a dogsled! Continue reading
Posted in Alaska History, Book Reviews, Books, Gold Rush History, News & Information, Sled Dog History, Sled Dog Races
Tagged Alaska Nellie, “Iron Man” Johnson, huskies, Iditarod Trail, James Wickersham, Leonhard Seppala, Nome, Samuel Hall Young, Scotty Allan, Serum Run, sled dogs, Yukon River
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Joe Redington, Sr.
Joe Redington came to Alaska in 1948, settling on a homestead near Knik, south of Wasilla, with his family. He learned about sled dogs and how to handle a dog team from his new neighbors, mail and freight team driver Sharon Fleckenstein and Lee Ellexson, one of the last dog team mail drivers on the Iditarod Trail. Continue reading
Posted in Alaska History, Books, News & Information, Sled Dog History, Sled Dog Races
Tagged Dick Mackey, George Attla, Gleo Huyck, Hudson Stuck, Iditarod, Iditarod Trail, Iditarod Trail Committee, Joe Redington, Ken Chase, Knik, Leonhard Seppala, Nome, Raymie Redington, Tom Johnson, Unalakleet, Vi Redington, Wasilla
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Alaska Road Commission
The Commission did not favor use of these trails by trucks or automobiles, declaring in 1914 that it made “no pretense of having built roads adapted for automobile travel….” Continue reading
Roadhouse Registers
Travelers of the Trail • Seeking Shelter and A Warm Meal W. A. Dikeman and Charles Peterson reported by Iditarod Nugget as “First Mushers Over the Iditarod Trail: Taking 45 Days from Seward to Otter, they meet several others on the … Continue reading
Leonard Seppala House
The Leonhard Seppala House Restoration Project is an effort to save what many believe to be a key piece of Alaskan history, the home of a legendary musher, three-time champion of the All Alaska Sweepstakes, who played a central role … Continue reading
Posted in Alaska History, News & Information, Sled Dog History
Tagged HABS, Iditarod Trail, Jon Van Zyle, Leonhard Seppala, Nome, Nome Nugget, Seppala House, Serum Run, Togo, Urtha Lenharr
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Alaska Nellie
Nellie Neal Lawing, familiar to Alaskans as “Alaska Nellie,” lived a life much larger than most, even by Alaskan standards. She was a fisherman, a hunter, a trapper, a cook and a roadhouse keeper; she fed the crews building the Alaska Railroad, welcomed princes and presidents into her home, guided big game hunters and developed an impressive trophy collection of her own. She mushed a dog team, kept a pet bear cub, became famous for her strawberry pies, and saw a movie made about her adventures. She was one of a kind, an Alaskan original, and she lived life to the fullest. Continue reading
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