Tag Archives: The Cruelest Miles

Togo’s Serum Run

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Helen Hegener

As the worldwide fight against the coronavirus goes on we are reminded almost daily that pandemics and epidemics have happened before, and we have struggled through them with far fewer resources and much less medical and scientific knowledge than we have now. That is a very real comfort, and lends a bit of perspective to what we are facing. One such epidemic was a deadly diphtheria outbreak which raged across Alaska almost 100 years ago. Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, News & Information, Sled Dog History | Tagged Bering Sea, Bluff Roadhouse, Dexter Roadhouse, diphtheria, Dr. Curtis Welch, Elizabeth Ricker, Golovin, Governor Bone, Iditarod Trail, Isaac's Point, Kaltag, Leonhard Seppala, Manley Roadhouse, Minto Roadhouse, Nenana, Nome, Nulato, Olson Roadhouse, Port Safety Roadhouse, Scott Bone, Seppala, Serum Run, Shaktoolik, Siberian huskies, Solomon Roadhouse, The Cruelest Miles, Togo, Tolovana Roadhouse, Unalakleet, Unlakleet | 1 Comment

Leonhard Seppala’s Serum Run

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Helen Hegener

The 1925 serum run to Nome, also known as the Great Race of Mercy, was a 675 mile dog team relay of diphtheria antitoxin across the U.S. territory of Alaska, accomplished by 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs in … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History | Tagged Bering Sea, Bluff Roadhouse, Dexter Roadhouse, diphtheria, Dr. Curtis Welch, Elizabeth Ricker, Golovin, Governor Bone, Iditarod Trail, Isaac's Point, Kaltag, Leonhard Seppala, Manley Roadhouse, Minto Roadhouse, Nenana, Nome, Nulato, Olson Roadhouse, Port Safety Roadhouse, Seppala, Serum Run, Shaktoolik, Siberian huskies, Solomon Roadhouse, The Cruelest Miles, Togo, Tolovana Roadhouse, Unalakleet, Unlakleet | 8 Comments

The Ghost of Wild Bill Shannon

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Helen Hegener

It had been a long evening’s presentation as the mushers, snowmachiners, support crews and others gathered in the Nenana community center listened intently. The trail boss, musher coordinator and others explained the final preparations and outlined their trip across the … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History | Tagged All Alaska Sweepstakes, Don Duncan, Doug Swingley, Helen Hegener, Iditarod, Iditarod Trail, Nenana, Nome, Norman Vaughn, Northern Light Media, Seppala, Serum Run, Terrence Shanigan, The Cruelest Miles, Togo, Tom Walker, Von Martin, Wild Bill Shannon | 1 Comment

The Huskies and the Reindeer

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Helen Hegener

From 2009 through 2013 the twice-weekly Team & Trail column, written by Northern Light Media’s Helen Hegener, ran in the online newsmagazine Alaska Dispatch, and featured news of interest to the mushing community, including sled dog race reports, news, photos, articles, … Continue reading →