2010 Mushing History Conference/K9 Athletes Symposium

We are delighted to be combining this year’s Mushing History Conference with the Willow Dog Mushers Association’s K9 Athletes Symposium in Willow, Alaska. For your information here is a preliminary breakdown of the weekend schedule (subject to change) and ticket prices are below:

Click here for registration form
and complete information!

WDMA K9 Athletes Symposium
Saturday, September 25, 2010

ALL DAY – Gear Swap

Bring your unwanted dog gear and other miscellaneous items to sale, but please NO live animals for sale or trade. Bring photos and pedigrees instead. Gear Swap will take place in parking lot near Old Community Center next to the Willow Community Center starting at 10 am until whenever.

ALL DAY – Mushing History Museum

Sleds, gear, photos, posters, books and more – and lots of mushers talking about the colorful and important history of mushing, located in the Old Community Center log cabin next to the Willow Community Center starting at 10 am until everyone gets tired of talking about mushing! Special Presentation by Thomas Swan on “Dog Mushing in the Historical Northwestern Fur Trade.” Time TBA.

ALL DAY – Vendor Fair

Come and check out a variety of vendors. The vendor fair is open to the public free of charge from 10 am until 1 pm.

10:00 am – 12:15 pm – Hands-On Seminars

Hands-On Seminars will run TWICE for one hour so that you can take part in at least two different seminars. You can learn more about: How to Use a GPS – Vic Stanculescu, No Snow? No Problem! “Dirt Dogs” – Alaska Skijor Club, Nose Work Demo / Weight Pull – Claudia Sihler / Judy Carrick, Canine Massage & Acupressure – Susan Whiton, Extreme Weather Outdoor Survival – Kent Kantowski, John Wilber and Debbie Moderow and Trap Release – Dave Korpi. These events will take place in different areas at the Willow Community Center.

• 1:00 pm- 2:00 pm –
Official Start of Sled-Dog Mini Symposium & Mushing History Conference

Keynote Speaker, Mary Shields

• 2:30 pm – 3:15 pm –

Program #1: Tips & Hints for Stretching Your Kennel Dollar
Greg Sellentin, Gayle Wood, Perry Solomonson, Erin McLarnon

Program #2: Police K9 Unit Demo

• 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm –

Program #1: Mental Toughness – The Human / Canine Connection with Jim Lanier, Claudia Sihler, Ellen Halvorson

Program #2: Frisbee Dogs

• 4:30 pm – 5:15 pm –

Program #1: Developing Leaders – with
Ed Wood, Greg Sellentin, Roxy Wright, others TBA

Program #2: Gun Dog / Retriever Demo – Baron Rae of Wetland Retrievers

• 5:30 pm – 6:15 pm –

Program: Pioneering Women Mushers & Their K9 Athletes:
Mary Shields, Roxy Wright, Rose Albert, Sue Firmin, others

• 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – (separate ticket required)

Fundraising Dinner / Silent Auction / Film: Mary Shields, “Season of the Sleddog,” in the Willow Community Center

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mushing History Conference

Sunday, September 26, 2010

ALL DAY – Gear Swap

Bring your unwanted dog gear and other miscellaneous items to sale, but please NO live animals for sale or trade. Bring photos and pedigrees instead. Gear Swap will take place in the parking lot near Old Community Center next to WCC starting at 10 am.

ALL DAY – Vendor Fair

Come and check out a variety of vendors.

ALL DAY – Mushing History Museum

Sleds, gear, photos, posters, books and more – and lots of mushers talking about the colorful and important history of mushing, relocated from Saturday to the new Willow Community Center, starting at 10 am.

ALL DAY – Mushing History Conference Schedule:

9:30 – 10:00 – Doors open, set-up displays, book tables, etc.
10:00 to 10:25 – Welcome, introductions, opening comments, etc.
10:30 to 11:25 – Dog Mushing in the Northwestern Fur Trade – Thomas Swan
11:30 to 12:25 – Mushing the Mail on the Iditarod Trail – Linda Chamberlain
12:30 to 1:25 – Lunch, viewing displays, visiting
1:30 to 2:25 – Women Mushers Panel – Roxy Wright, Rose Albert, Dee Dee Jonrowe, Sue Firmin, Kari Skogen
2:30 to 3:25 – Denali Park Kennels – Jennifer Raffaeli
3:30 to 3:45 – Break for 15 minutes
4:00 to 4:55 – Serum Run History – Erin McLarnon
5:00 to 5:55 – Iditarod Stories – Rod Perry
6:00 to 6:55 – Iditarod Trail History – Chas St. George
7:00 – Closing, breakdown, clean-up, visiting, etc.

Advance Registration (Saves you money! Respond before Sept. 10)

1 Day Pass: WDMA members: $20.00 (Juniors/under 18: $5.00)
non-members: $35.00 (Juniors/under 18: $5.00)

2 Day Pass: WDMA members: $30.00 (Juniors/under 18: $5.00)
non-members: $50.00 (Juniors/under 18: $5.00)

Fundraising Dinner/Movie/Silent Auction Saturday Nite $10.00
(not included with either 1 day or 2 day passes)

Click here for registration form
and complete information!

2010 Mushing History Conference & WDMA Canine Athletes Symposium

The 2010 Mushing History Conference, presented by Northern Light Media, will be held in Willow, Alaska, on September 25 and 26, in conjunction with the Willow Dog Mushers Association’s third annual Canine Athletes Symposium. The location is the beautiful lakeside Willow Community Center, in the heart of downtown Willow, Alaska.

Award-winning Talkeetna artist David Totten contributed artwork for a limited edition poster, which will be available for purchase.

David Totten

Totten, who has designed the official poster for multiple years of the Yukon Quest, and designed the poster for the 2010 Jr. Iditarod, has often used his own team of sled dogs as models for his artwork.

Mary Shields

The WDMA Symposium will hold center stage in the Willow Community Center on Saturday, September 25, with keynote speaker Mary Shields, the first woman to run and finish the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1974. Opening her kennel near Fairbanks to visitors, Mary has been sharing her 41 years of adventures in mushing, and her love of living in Alaska with her family of sled dogs, since 1984.

Complementing Ms. Shields’ address will be a panel of veteran women mushers, and attendees will also experience a wealth of canine athlete related activities, including hands-on seminars, workshops, demonstrations and more. There will also be a new and used gear swap, a vendor fair, and a fundraising dinner with a silent auction and a showing of Mary Shield’s PBS documentary, Season of the Sled Dog.

The 2010 Mushing History Conference is sponsoring a display of historical mushing items such as freighting sleds, antique harnesses, gear, posters, photos, books and more, and there will be a comfortable place for ongoing informal discussions about the history of sled dog travel in the north. On Sunday, September 26 the Mushing History Conference gets underway in earnest, with a program which includes The All Alaska Sweepstakes, the Serum Run, Dog Mushing in the Northwestern Fur Trade, Iditarod Mail Carriers, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the history of women in racing, and more.

• For information about the 2010 Willow Dog Mushers Association Canine Athletes Symposium and Mushing History Conference contact the Willow Dog Mushers Association, P.O. Box 858, Willow, Alaska 99688; 907-495-0671; http://www.willowdogmushers.com

• For information specifically about the 2010 Mushing History Conference, contact Northern Light Media, P.O. Box 759, Palmer, Alaska 99645; 907-354-3510; https://mushinghistory.wordpress.com

Mushing History Logo

The Mushing History Conference has a logo, designed by myself, Helen Hegener, and created by Billy L. Fikes of Raven Graphics in Wasilla, Alaska. The image is a watercolor and pencil sketch of an 1800s Indian dog team, possibly of the Mandan tribe, near Fort Clark, North Dakota, ostensibly done by the German explorer, ethnologist and naturalist Prince Alexander Philipp Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (September 23, 1782 – February 3, 1867). I can find no confirmation that the Prince actually illustrated anything, however, and I’ve become convinced that the illustration was actually done by a noted artist of the American West, Karl Bodmer, who traveled with Prince Max (as he’s still known amongst naturalists). Here’s the backstory:

In 1802, at the age of 20, Prince Maximilian Wied joined the Prussian army during the Napoleonic War, and, after rising to the rank of Major-General, retired in 1815. He led an expedition to Brazil from 1815 to 1817, and then apparently rested on his laurels for 15 years. In 1832, accompanied by the young Swiss painter Karl Bodmer, he traveled to America’s Great Plains, up the Missouri River, stayed at Fort Clark during the winter of 1832-1833 (George Catlin was there during the same time frame), and wrote a book, Travels in the Interior of North America 1832 to 1834, on his return.

During his travels, the Prince studied the cultures of tribes such as the Mandan and the Hidatsa and collected many specimens of flora and fauna of the area. His reason for the journey, as stated in the preface to his book, was to provide foreigners with a description of the natural scenery of North America and of the cultures of the indigenous inhabitants, a project he thought the United States government had neglected.

Karl Bodmer, born in Switzerland and having studied art in Paris, was asked by Prince Max to be the artist for his adventurous expedition across the American West. His duty was to make detailed illustrations of the life, habits and customs of the Northern Great Plains Indians. Bodmer recorded events occurring in the present states of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, sketching Indians and their surroundings at every stop. Known for his careful observation and attention to detail, he tried not to romanticize his subjects, but to depict them as they truly were. Today Bodmer’s original watercolors are recognized as among the most painstakingly accurate painted images ever made of Native Americans, their culture and artifacts, and of the scenery of the pristine Old West.

The small watercolor on the logo, the sledge with three dogs, is quite unlike other examples of Bodmer’s work, such as this more easily identified Dog Sledges of the Mandan Indians, an aquatint engraving from Prince Maximilian’s Travels in the Interior of North America, 1839-43.

The logo image is an odd little drawing, almost amateurish, but a close look shows pencilled images below the sled, as though this was merely an informal unfinished study of the subject. Perhaps an artistic bit of note-taking. Or maybe it really was Prince Max’s attempt at an illustration? Whatever the case, it’s a compelling image, and nicely portrays mushing history.

Worth noting: Bodmers Journey, Friend of the Indians and His Adventurous Voyage is a newly released documentary film about Prince Maximilian and Karl Bodmer’s incredible expedition across America’s early west.

Conference Plans Taking Shape

The 2010 Mushing History Conference will be held in Willow, Alaska, on September 25 and 26, in conjunction with the 2010 Willow Dog Mushers Association’s Third Annual Symposium. A tentative schedule has been developed for this year’s conference:

Mary Shields

On Saturday, September 25 the 2010 Willow Dog Mushers Association’s Symposium will hold center stage in the Willow Community Center, and a wealth of canine athlete related programs are being planned. The Keynote Speaker will be Mary Shields, the first woman to run the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1974, and a panel of some of the first women to run the Iditarod will discuss various aspects of women and mushing. Also included will be a Gear Swap/Vendor Fair, Hands-On Seminars, multiple workshops and a Symposium/Fundraising Dinner with a Silent Auction and a showing of Mary Shield’s PBS video, Season of the Sled Dog.

From noon to 5:00 on Saturday the Old Log Cabin Community Center will be transformed into a mushing history museum, and a continuous informal conversation about the history of mushing will take place throughout the day. Everyone is welcome to join in the discussion as we explore the items on display, and share mushing experiences and adventures, tales of the trail, and more.

On Sunday the 2010 Mushing History Conference will get underway in earnest, with a full program focusing on the history of sled dogs and mushing:

10:30 to 10:45 – Welcome, opening introductions
10:45 to 11:30 – First presentation
11:30 to 12:15 – Second presentation
12:15 to 1:00 – Lunch and visiting
1:00 to 1:45 – Third presentation
1:45 to 2:30 – Fourth presentation
2:00 to 2:45 – Fifth presentation
2:45 to 3:00 – Break for 15 minutes
3:00 to 3:45 – Sixth presentation
3:45 to 4:30 – Seventh presentation
4:30 to 5:30 – Women Mushers Panel
5:30 to 6:00 – Closing

The presentations for this year already include the All Alaska Sweepstakes, the Serum Run, Dog Mushing in the Northwestern Fur Trade, Iditarod Mail Carriers, and the history of women in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, with more still under discussion.

Artist David Totten

We are excited to have Talkeetna artist David Totten designing a poster for this year’s combined event with the Willow Dog Mushers Association’s Symposium. David, who often used his own recreational team of sled dogs as models for his well-known “sled dog art,” has been awarded numerous placements in the prestigious “Art Show at the Dog Show” competitions, and in 1995, 1997 and 1999 was selected to paint the official prints of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.

Information updates about the 2010 Mushing History Conference will be shared via this website and the Mushing History Discussion Group, and at the Mushing History Facebook page.

Conference Director:
Helen Hegener
• Mail: P.O. Box 759, Palmer, Alaska 99645
• Phone: 907-354-3510
• Email: helen@northernlightmedia.com
Northern Light Media

2010 Mushing History Conference

Indian dog sled near Fort Clark. Watercolor by Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied, 1833

The 2010 Mushing History Conference will be held in Willow, Alaska, on September 25 and 26, in conjunction with the 2010 Willow Dog Mushers Association’s Third Annual Symposium. The WDMA Symposium will include a broad range of canine athlete-related programs, and the Symposium’s Keynote Speaker will be Mary Shields, the first woman to run the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in 1974.

The 2010 Mushing History Conference is still in the early planning stages, but the first Mushing History Conference, held in November, 2009, in Anchorage and Wasilla, Alaska, brought together many veteran mushers and a broad assortment of authors, historians, researchers, storytellers, writers and photographers for a wonder-filled weekend of exploring the colorful history of man’s travel via dogteam. Presentations traced the evolution of man’s relationship with working sled dogs, including trapline use of sled dogs in the North American fur trade, historic and present-day sled dog races, delivering the U.S. mail by dogteam, sled dog use in polar expeditions, the Centennial of the Iditarod National Historic Trail, Joe Redington’s work with dogteams for the U.S. Army, the evolution of sled dog nutrition and diets, the Iditarod Trail Committee’s historic documentary about the race, and much, much more.

The friendly, happy group which closed the 2009 Mushing History Conference, photo by June Price

The speakers and presenters at the first conference included Jane Haigh, Kenai, Alaska, author of Gold Rush Dogs, and Assistant Professor of History, Kenai Peninsula College; Joe Redington, Jr., Manley, Alaska, champion musher and son of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race founder; Jeff Dinsdale, Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada, a historian and researcher who’s been working with sled dogs for almost 40 years; Kevin Keeler, Anchorage, Alaska, Iditarod National Historic Trail Administrator; Dr. Linda Chamberlain, Homer, Alaska, scientist, author, professor, historian and dog musher; Rod Perry, Chugiak, Alaska, author and veteran of the first Iditarod in 1973; Chas St. George, Wasilla, Alaska, Public Relations Manager for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race; Carol Beck, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, musher, co-chair of the 2008 Arctic Winter Games Dog Sledding Committee; and Tim White, Grand Marais, Minnesota, inventor of the Quick Change Runner (QCR) System, winner of multiple championship sled dog races, and a Mush with PRIDE Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Historic photographs, books, maps, pamphlets, posters, slide shows, mushing films, videos, short subjects, documentaries and more were also presented.

Information updates about the 2010 Mushing History Conference will be shared via this website and the Mushing History Discussion Group, and at the Mushing History Facebook page.

Conference Director:
Helen Hegener
• Mail: P.O. Box 759, Palmer, Alaska 99645
• Phone: 907-354-3510
• Email: helen@northernlightmedia.com
Northern Light Media

Mushing History, Part Five

This post is the fifth and last in a series of reports on the 2009 Mushing History Conference, which took place Nov 6-8 in Anchorage and Wasilla, Alaska.

• First report: Tim White and Carol Beck
• Second report: Denali National Park and Kevin Keeler
• Third report: Linda Chamberlain and Rod Perry
• Fourth report: Joe Redington, Jr. and Jeffrey Dinsdale

Jane Haigh

Jane Haigh with an autographed copy of Esther Birdsall Darling's classic, 'Baldy of Nome' Photo by June Price

Jane Haigh, an Assistant Professor of History at Kenai Peninsula College and an accomplished Alaskan author and historian, has written or co-written a number of books of popular Alaskan history, including Gold Rush Dogs, Children of the Gold Rush, Gold Rush Women, King Con: The Story of Soapy Smith, and The Search for Fannie Quigley: A Wilderness Life in the Shadow of Mount McKinley. In 2008 Jane was honored by the Alaska Historical Society with their annual “Historian of the Year” recognition.

For the 2009 Mushing History Conference Jane gave a presentation on Nome pioneer and Alaskan author Esther Birdsall Darling, the woman who was part owner of Scotty Allan’s kennel, and who helped to found the Nome Kennel Club. Esther Birdsall Darling was responsible for publicizing the All Alaska Sweepstakes races and writing the race programs, including the booklet and postcards titled The Great Dog Races of Nome Held under the Auspices of the Nome Kennel Club, Nome, Alaska: Official Souvenir History, printed in Nome, Alaska by the Nome Kennel Club, 1916.

Esther Birdsall Darling was the author of several books on Nome and the All Alaska Sweepstakes races, including the classic best-selling children’s book, Baldy of Nome, detailing the exploits of Scotty Allan’s famous leader. First published in 1913, the book was kept in print by popular demand through the next four decades, and Baldy’s descendants, including Boris and Navarre, were featured in additional books by Esther Birdsall Darling.

Jane Haigh’s slideshow and discussion of the famous Nome author and pioneer brought a wonderful Alaskan personality to light for the conference attendees.

Chas St. George

Chas St. George, Director of Public Relations, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, photo by June Price

Chas St. George, Director of Public Relations for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, brought a film preview from the newest Iditarod video project, Purely Alaskan, the first in a series of videos highlighting the almost forty years of Iditarod race history. The 90-minute documentary, now available from the Iditarod website, tells the story of the race through archived photos and interviews with more than fifty people, including past champions and other mushers, race veterinarians, Iditarod Air Force pilots, volunteers and others.

Chas St. George had brought more than just the film clip; he also brought along a piece of mushing history in the form of a handwritten letter on the first Iditarod Trail Race stationery from Joe Redington, Sr. to Howard Farley of Nome, dated December, 1972, saying in part, “I thought you might be interested in this race. I need some help on that end…”

Dec. 1972 letter from Joe Redington, Sr. to Howard Farley in Nome. Photo by June Price.

In an article about the conference for Mushing magazine, Alaskan author June Price quoted St. George:

“‘Joe Redington Sr. put it on the line,’ he said. ‘He put his mortgage on the line. Journalists were following him around calling him a Don Quixote,’ he added, but Redington never wavered. ‘It wasn’t about who won,’ said St. George, ‘but about the journey,’ a sentiment shared by everyone there.

“Redington’s dreams were a huge part of the presentation made by Chas St. George, too. As a set of photos from the Iditarod’s past cycled before our eyes in an endless loop, St. George and others in the audience shared their appreciation of Redington Sr.’s ability to pull others into his dreams. Redington appreciated the history of mushing and lived the lifestyle, yet celebrated its adventure, too. Those gathered for the conference weren’t about just sharing ol’ stories about mushing; they were sharing it in a manner that put it in the words of those who’d lived the journey. St. George acknowledged this, so to speak, noting that the Iditarod’s effort to capture its own history isn’t about us telling the story ourselves, but an attempt to tell it through the words of those who’ve experienced this race.'”

More photos of the 2009 Mushing History Conference can be found at June Price’s weblog, Backstage Iditarod.

Mushing History, Part Four

This post is the fourth in a series of reports on the 2009 Mushing History Conference, which took place Nov 6-8 in Anchorage and Wasilla, Alaska.

• First report: Tim White and Carol Beck
• Second report: Denali National Park and Kevin Keeler
• Third report: Linda Chamberlain and Rod Perry

Joe Redington, Jr.

Joe Redington Jr. and Mushing magazine publisher Greg Sellentin, photo by June Price

Joe Redington, Jr. was raised on the Iditarod Trail and learned to mush dogs from his father, Joe Redington, Sr., who’s also known as the Father of the Iditarod. Joe is a former World Champion sled dog racer, and he and his wife Pam make their home in Manley Hot Springs, 160 miles northwest of Fairbanks, Alaska. Their Iditarod Kennels offers a tour of their kennel, sharing their knowledge about dogs, equipment, sleds and strateg, and they’ll describe their subsistence lifestyle of fishing, gardening, hunting and mushing for their visitors.

For the Mushing History Conference Joe brought an amazing slideshow and a video of his family’s colorful history in Alaska. On Saturday, at the UAA in Anchorage, he shared the slideshow and explained the photos of his dad’s early days in Alaska, his fish camps and boats, dogteams and airplanes, the Redington boys growing up in Knik and at Flathorn Lake, both on the Iditarod Trail; Joe Sr. working for the Army salvaging wrecked airplanes, and summiting Denali with champion musher Susan Butcher and the reknowned mountaineer Ray Genet; and Joe Jr. winning the 1966 World Championship Sled Dog Race at the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous. After the slideshow Joe answered questions and an interesting discussion ranging over many different topics ensued.

Joe Redington Sr., Father of the Iditarod

For Sunday’s presentation at the Grand View Inn in Wasilla Joe had brought a video he’s put together which combined many of the same slides with some additional images, but the narrator was his father, Joe Sr.! It was fascinating for those who were able to attend both the slideshow and the video showing, to hear father and son each talking about the family photos, commenting on things which happened over the years, ways of doing things, making observations and sharing laughs with the viewers. The stirring tribute to Joe’s father, “Redington’s Run,” by Alaska’s State Balladeer, Hobo Jim, ended the video. It was a delightful presentation, and certainly a highlight of the conference.

Jeffrey Dinsdale

In the early sixties Walt Disney Studios made a feature length film titled Nikki, Wild dog of the North, about a half-husky, half-wolf separated from its owner during the gold rush in Canada’s Yukon Territory. What many people don’t know is that Joe Redington Sr. bred the dog who played in the title role, and the story behind that dog, and all the dogs used in the film, and how they ended up in the kennels of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and what happened after that, is a fascinating tale!

Jeffrey Dinsdale, right, talking with conference organizer Tim White, left

Jeffrey Dinsdale has been involved in breeding and working with sled dogs for almost 40 years, as he and his family have lived in Canada’s Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Northern British Columbia. Throughout this time Jeff has maintained a keen interest in sled dog history; he was involved in the organization of the first Carcross, Yukon to Atlin, British Columbia Mail Run in 1975, and since 1992 he has been involved with the organization of the Gold Rush Trail Dog Sled Mail Run from Quesnel B.C. to Barkerville and Wells B.C. In the 1970’s and 80’s Jeff worked with the Canadian Kennel Club and the Eskimo Dog Research Foundation during a period when attempts were being made to ensure that these dogs, which are indigenous to the Canadian Arctic, would continue to thrive, and Jeff has published many articles in various sled dog-related publications.

Jeffrey’s interesting, engaging, and often humorous story of the Disney Dogs and the RCMP is available on his blog, titled simply Mushing Past. A very brief excerpt:

Nikki was bred by Joe and Vi Redington of Knik Alaska.(3). He was originally named Polar and was born February 4, 1958. At six months of age he was sold to Bill Bacon. His sire was Tok, a Malamute show dog and a fair working animal. His dam was Chena, also a Malamute, of Earl and Natalie Norris stock.(4). Nikki (Polar) had no Siberian Husky blood in him. The Redingtons later sold six other dogs to Bacon, three males and three females. Three were Chena’s pups, but three were sired by Tok of a ½ Siberian Husky ½ Eskimo Dog named Belle. Belle’s sire was from Greenland and was brought to Alaska by the U.S. Air Force 10th Rescue Unit of Elmendorf Air Force Base. In all it should be noted that over 200 different sled dogs were used in the movie “Nikki –Wild Dog of the North”, which was released in 1961 (5).

Jeffrey’s excellent article is well-referenced, and additional information is documented. As an example, here are the notes for the paragraph above:

(3) This is the same Joe Redington who went on to become the Father of the Iditarod.. There is a very interesting account of Bacon’s dealings for Polar in the book Father of the Iditarod, the Joe Redington Story, by Lew Freedman, Epicenter Press, Box 82368, Kenmore, WA, 98028, U.S.A. Go to page 71 for the story of Polar.

(4) The Norrises are well known for their Anadyr Siberian Huskies. It is perhaps not as well known that throughout most of the existence of their famous “Alaskan of Anadyr” kennels, Natalie Norris has also maintained a small breeding program of purebred Alaskan Malemutes. At one stage, Natalie also bred purebred Eskimo Dogs with breeding stock from both Greenland and Igloolik in the Canadian Arctic

(5) Have any readers ever seen this movie? Any comments would be appreciated, please reply using the contact email address on this site.

A long and colorful history of the RCMP in northwestern Canada is part of Jeffrey’s post, as is a detailed accounting of what happened to the Disney dogs.

Still to come are the presentations by author Jane Haigh, and Chas St. George of the Iditarod Trail Committee, and contributions sent for presentation by Thomas ‘Swanny’ Swan and Alan Stewart.

Mushing History, Part Three

This post is the third in a series of reports on the 2009 Mushing History Conference, which took place Nov 6-8 in Anchorage and Wasilla, Alaska. The first report in this series included the presentations of Tim White and Carol Beck. The second report described the display panels on mushing history from Denali National Park, and the presentation by Kevin Keeler, Administrator for the Iditarod National Historic Trail.

Dr. Linda Chamberlain

Dr. Linda Chamberlain of Homer, Alaska, is a scientist, author, professor, historian and dog musher, and she lives with her 20 Huskies and her husband, Al, on their 45-acre Howling Husky Homestead outside of Homer, Alaska. An epidemiologist specializing in childhood exposure to violence and brain development, Dr. Chamberlain has combined her public health career with her passion for dog mushing and rural living. During the summer months, she leads narrated tours of a circa 1910 wall tent, the sled dog kennel, and a living museum of dog mushing on their homestead. For her first book, Arctic Inspirations, she traveled from Alaska through the northern Canada and on to Siberia to gather stories of women starting businesses in the Arctic. She is currently working on a book called Mushing the Mail on the Iditarod Trail that traces the history of mail delivery by dog team in Alaska.

Collection of Linda Chamberlain

For the 2009 Mushing History Conference Dr. Chamberlain brought a presentation which traced the history of mail delivery by dog teams along the Iditarod Trail and the Kenai Peninsula, based on historical documents from the National Archives and Records Administration, the U.S. Postal Museum, the Alaska State Library, universities, museums and historical societies, interviews, private collections, and an extensive literature review.

While details on dog team mail carriers were sporadically and sparsely documented, Dr. Chamberlain has found many rich stories describing this dominant mode of transportation to deliver supplies and mail in Alaska from the late 1800s through the mid-twentieth century. Dr. Chamberlain described life on the trail of a Star Route Contract mail carrier and their dog team, and included many details about the types of dogs and equipment used, distances traveled, and the loads they carried. Her riveting stories of heroic deeds and tragedies on the trail provided a panoramic portrait of these postal pioneers and the Iditarod Trail that served as a lifeline between communities.

Rod Perry

Alaskan author, musher, filmmaker, adventurer and self-proclaimed raconteur Rod Perry brought a colorful exploration of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to the Conference, beginning with an impressive freehand drawing of the state of Alaska, which he filled in with rivers, mountain ranges, towns and cities, and of course, the Iditarod Trail. Rod was one of the intrepid mushers making the 1,000 mile trek to Nome in the very first Iditarod in 1973, with his media darling of a lead dog, “Fat Albert,” showing the way. Rod has been chronicling the rich history of the race for his two-volume set of books titled Trailbreakers. He describes Trailbreakers Volume I on his website:

“…Daring men and dynamic events that force the lock and break of the silence of the unknown North. Gold rush leads to gold rush, trail leads to trail, until it culminates in the last, glorious, hell-bent-for-leather gold rush and the final great gold rush trail in North America.

Trailbreakers Volume I is the most-complete, most-accurate telling of how the fabled Iditarod Trail came to be. As it relates the 1840-1930 progression of events establishing the “Last Great Gold Rush Trail in North America,” the book educates and corrects long-standing myths and misinformation that have grown up.

Amongst the misinformation that has come down through the years, the very beginnings of the Iditarod Trail constitute some of the most interesting, and Rod addresses this at length in his book Trailbreakers, Volume 1. Rod explains how there were trails running north from Seward for about 200 miles to the Alaska Commercial post at Susitna Station, a steamboat stop on the Susitna River; and trails which coursed south from Nome, 300 miles to Kaltag on the Yukon river, over a popular route between Nome and Fairbanks; but in between the ends of those routes lay over 400 miles of little-used and rarely traveled terrain:

Did the natives of the trail route at one time or another travel every foot of the country over which the trail passes? Of course. Did they trade with one another? Absolutely. But were any of their trails of a character to constitute ready-made, connected, serviceable platforms for a direct trail between Susitna Station and Kaltag? Any close look into the situation strongly indicates that that is a most fanciful stretch.

Alaska 1915

This post is the third in a series of reports on the 2009 Mushing History Conference, which took place Nov 6-8 in Anchorage and Wasilla, Alaska. The first report in this series included the presentations of Tim White and Carol Beck. The second report described the display panels on mushing history from Denali National Park, and the presentation by Kevin Keeler, Administrator for the Iditarod National Historic Trail.

Still to come are the presentations by Joe Redington Jr., Jane Haigh, Jeff Dinsdale and Chas St. George, and contributions sent for presentation by Thomas ‘Swanny’ Swan and Alan Stewart.

2009 Conference, Part Two

This post is the second in a series of reports on the 2009 Mushing History Conference. Click here for the first report in this series, which included the presentations of Tim White and Carol Beck.

Denali Park Kennels Display Panels

Conference organizer Tim White had procured the wonderful display panels on mushing history from Denali National Park, filled with historic images and explanations of sled dog travel down through the ages. The panel shown here, titled Native Sleds – Form and Function, for example, shows several types of sleds such as an Athabaskan Buckskin Toboggan made of bent wood covered with skins, “ideal for traveling through the deep snow and narrow trails of Interior forests;” a “Built-up sled by Fred Akmalik of Tulugak Valley,” with the explanation, “Heavy runners and a raised bed held up well when traveling throughout the arctic coast of Alaska.” There is an illustration of the heavy Greenland-style sled, which could be pulled by either dogs or a snowmachine; and a “Siberian Yupik hauling sled made of whale baleen and walrus hide line.” The bottom of the panel shows a Malemute Eskimo Family in 1878 with their large sled.

Kevin Keeler

The third speaker on Saturday morning at UAA was Kevin Keeler, Administrator for the Iditarod National Historic Trail, which commemorates a 2,300-mile system of winter trails that first connected ancient Native Alaskan villages, opened up Alaska for the last great American gold rush, and which now plays a vital role for travel and recreation in modern day Alaska.

Kevin brought a wealth of information, beautiful posters, booklets, flyers, and other materials to share with the conference attendees, and he explained how January, 2008 marked the 100th anniversary of efforts to open the now famous overland route from Seward to Nome, and to commemorate this epic achievement, January 2008 to October 2012 has been designated the official Iditarod National Historic Trail Centennial.

Kevin also gave a powerpoint presentation which provided an overview of the history, route selection and development of the Iditarod Trail, the sleds and types of teams used, discussed the variations in routes, trail marking, a few of the old roadhouses, and explained a bit about what’s being done to preserve and protect the current day Iditarod National Historic Trail.

One of the many resources available free from the BLM Alaska site for the Iditarod National Historic Trail is a downloadable PDF of the beautiful and informative full-color, 24-page Visitor Guide, which details the route, the history, and the current projects along the trail. Of special note are the numerous easily accessible sites of interest along the present-day trail, especially between Seward and the Mat-Su area, and the wonderful old historic photos and interesting descriptions:

Sled designs proliferated, with manufactured sleds joining the ranks of toboggan-style handmade sleds. Most every sled at the turn of the twentieth century was equipped with a “gee pole.” The gee pole was a stout pole lashed to, and projecting from, the front of the sled, which the driver could use to leverage and steer the sled. Most dog drivers still did not ride the sled, instead running beside or riding skis or a sort of early snowboard between the dog team and sled. Riding the sled-runners was used only by drivers of light and fast mail and race teams.

There is also information about the Iditarod National Historic Trail at Iditarod100.com, the site for the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance, including a full-color PDF of a four-page flyer detailing the Centennial Framework, with additional details from history:

For the past century, wooden tripods have been placed at close intervals along treeless sections of the Iditarod Trail to guide travelers safely through blizzards. A 1912 article titled “Trail Making in Alaska” described how Colonel Goodwin, leader of the Alaska Road Commission expedition to mark the trail from Seward to Nome, constructed the tripods:

“…tripods…consisted of three sticks of timber each, two of which were eight feet long and the third ten or eleven feet long. They are so fastened together that the longest of the tree sticks projects two or three foot over the others and directly above the trail.”

The same design is still in use today, with volunteer groups and public land managers working to provide these safety markers over hundreds of miles of the trail.

Next: The presentations by Rod Perry and Linda Chamberlain. Still to come: Joe Redington Jr., Jane Haigh, Jeff Dinsdale, Chas St. George and others.

This post is the second in a series of reports on the 2009 Mushing History Conference. Click here for the first report in this series.

2009 Conference, Part One

The first Mushing History Conference was an unqualified success, bringing together many veteran mushers and a broad assortment of authors, historians, researchers, storytellers, writers and photographers for a wonder-filled weekend! On Friday the speakers and presenters, organizers and those interested in attending gathered at the beautiful Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters log cabin near Wasilla. Photographer June Price was on hand and shared several photos of the event, along with some great commentary, on the weblog for her book, Backstage Iditarod. Joee Redington shared a few slides from his family photo album at the gathering, and speakers who traveled to Alaska for the conference were delighted with the opportunity to tour the colorful Iditarod Headquarters log cabin, which is filled with race memorabilia.

Tim White

The 2009 Conference got underway Saturday morning at the University of Alaska Anchorage, with Conference Director and organizer Tim White giving the first presentation, on The Evolution of Working Sled Dog Nutrition and Diets From Prehistory to the Present. Tim is a champion musher, expert innovator, reknowned sled builder and designer of the famed Quick Change Runner (QCR) System, in which an aluminum rail is screwed to the bottom of wooden runners, then lengths of plastic can be slid into the rails, greatly simplifying the process of changing plastic during a race.

In a 2004 interview with Mark Nordman, an accomplished racer and longtime Race Marshall for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, June Price learned that Mark and Tim’s friendship extended back to the early 1980’s, when they traveled to Alaska together, Tim as racer and Mark as his dog handler:

Asked to characterize White, Nordman pauses to think. “Sled dog sports are his life,” he begins slowly. He explains that as being someone whose every thought and action is somehow connected to the dogs. “Tim White is the ‘ultimate dog man,'” concludes Nordman.

Tim’s slideshow presentation traced working and racing sled dog diets, from the ingredients of wolves and of aboriginal people’s dogs to the typical modern racing diets in long distance events. Tim explained the diets used during historic expeditions and explained how, under difficult circumstances, things can go wrong when an animal is expected to perform under difficult circumstances without the foods it is adapted to through evolution. An interesting sideline was a spirited discussion of the various feeds used in the first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1973.

Carol Beck

Carol Beck of Yellowknife, in Canada’s Northwest Territories, was the next speaker, and she brought to life the colorful history of the Diavik 150: The Canadian Championship Dog Derby, one of the longest-running sled dog races in the world, with a video clip from the outstanding DVD Trapline to Finish Line, The Story of Yellowknife’s Canadian Championship Dog Derby.

Carol Beck has raced for the last 26 years in many races in North America. She’s a very active race volunteer, and Carol and her husband Grant were co-chairs of the 2008 Arctic Winter Games Dog Sledding Committee. In addition to the video, Carol brought copies of the companion book, also titled Trapline to Finish Line, by Fran Hurcomb. The book begins with a brief history of the northern sled dog and goes into the early years of the Dog Derby, from 1955 to 1973 when local brothers Ray Beck and Danny McQueen dominated the race. Holcomb then explains the changes which happened between 1974 and 1986, as mushers from “outside” began entering the race, including Minnesota’s Tim White, who won six times, beginning in 1977 and placing in the top five in almost every race until his last first place win in 1996. The final chapters of the book relate the inevitable changes which have taken place in recent years, and toward the end the author notes how the young mushers from the north country understand sled dog racing in its original context: “Where their parents and grandparents once traveled with dogs out of necessity, mushers today run dogs for sport.”

This shift in perspective was epitomized in an exchange between Yellowknife musher Scott McQueen and his father, the late Danny McQueen. “Dad,” said Scott, “I just can’t seem to find enough time to run my dogs. The elder McQueen shook his head and laughed. “Boy,” he replied, “Times are sure changing. I could never find enough time to rest my dogs.”

The DVD Carol brought, Trapline to Finish Line, opens with a dynamic and riveting sequence shot from a lead dog’s-eye-view of the ice. The film was produced in 2005, on the 50th anniversary of the first race in Yellowknife, and includes historic footage of the early races. The DVD can be hard to find, but director and producer Greg Hancock has a short clip available at his website, figments of imagination. (Dec. 2009: Correction to this entry: Please see the much-appreciated correction and update regarding the “Trapline to Finish Line” book and DVD from Dave Anderson in the comments below.)

Next: The Mushing History Panels from Denali National Park Kennels, and the presentation by Kevin Keeler, Administrator, Iditarod National Historic Trail. Still to come: Rod Perry, Linda Chamberlain, Joe Redington Jr., Jane Haigh, Jeff Dinsdale, Chas St. George and others.

This post is the first in a series of reports on the 2009 Mushing History Conference.