They have a strong faith and can be seen as stubborn in their old ways. Family information We consulted cousins Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisburys deeply researched book about the serum race, The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic, along with what few other sources we could find, to break it all down below. The diphtheria serum was first transported by train from Anchorage northward to Nenana, Alaska. THE GOLD STRIKES IN ALASKA and the Yukon were the talk of Norway Although he found the heavy labour of Nome mining gruelling Yes. Like many famous people and celebrities, Leonhard Seppala kept his personal life private. included that of Gunnar Kaasen who made the final leg with cull dogs of Seppala's Togo jumped into the water, clambered back out, wrapped the rope around his body, and pulled. It was a demanding and I once told Jeffrey Bragg about about a training run I had with 16 dogs attached to my four-wheeler. Leonhard Seppala/Living or Deceased Is Togo Balto's father? None of this is to say that Balto deserved no credit: Kaasens team had to drive through a blinding blizzard, and according to The Cruelest Miles, Baltos senses of smell and touch were what kept the team on the trail. Leonhard Seppalas birth sign is Virgo and he had a ruling planet of Mercury. Yes. stricken city. By that time, he had already been a lead sled dog for seven years. the resort in 1931 she met Kaare Nansen, the son of Norwegian explorer the core Poland Spring stock that had gone to Quebec became the property Seppala dominated Alaska's major race thereafter, winning tough and self-reliant. We'll match you with a local itinerary expert to help you plan your trip. The While Sepp was on the trail, the Governor of Alaska picked up on the plan but could not trust the fate of those in Nome to a single musher. He made the decision to leave Togo behind in Maine in March 1927, concerned that the journey would be too much for the retired dog. Sepp raced with these young Siberian dogs the very next year in the All Alaska Sweepstakes Race but had to scratch due to a blinding blizzard. It was also the longest by roughly 200 miles. He was recruited to Alaska from Norway by fellow Norwegian Jafet Lindeberg, who had struck it rich in Nome. consistently with his Siberian sleddogs until the race was discontinued Virgos. In real life, things played out a bit differently. The Port is iced in for miles and miles. His career took off when he won the Sweepstakes the following year, beating experienced musher Scotty Allan by two hours. And while the suspense in the movie is more than adequate, Seppala described even more danger. in 1909. Sweepstakes. The next day a seven-year-old girl was diagnosed and Welch tried to give her expired antitoxin (all that was on hand) in hopes that it would work, but she died several hours later. Diphtheria is a bacterial infection caused by exposure to the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae, often by way of direct contact or through droplets in the air (sneezing or coughing). The raven would then land again in the trail just ahead. Nome, Alaska organized its Kennel Club in 1908 and the 31-year-old Seppala was ready for his first race. [1], In 1913, Seppala inherited his first team of sled dogs by chance. Leonhard Seppala Was born 14 Sep 1877 in Skibotn, Troms, Norway. Despite a series of time-consuming mishaps on the trail, Seppala won the race against the bigger, slower dogs driven by Walden and his followers. While only black and white photos exist of Togo when he was alive, Leonhard Seppala had him custom mounted after his death at age 16. However, Seppala does not care and instead is more concerned for Togo's health. 2020 by Poland Spring Seppala Kennels. The odds were set at 100 to 1 against these Siberian runts. Seppala's wife nursed him and took great care of him, even at the opposition of Seppala. The only planes they had were water-cooled aircraft from World War I, which didn't perform well in cold weather. Maynard is all in favor of getting the diphtheria antitoxin flown in by airplane, weather notwithstanding. Whos the richest Dog Musher in the world. His family There were some brave pilots in Anchorage that wanted to fly in the serum to Nome but no one had ever been successful traveling such a distance under such conditions. Seppala was assigned to train the dogs. Pets 2004). In the movie, Seppala sets out for Nenana in the midst of a blizzard. Dog Musher. Seppala is initially unmoved, but after peeking into the windows of the town hospital and seeing children crying and coughing, he is convinced he must go, despite the misgivings of his wife. No one is! Yes. For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives. Daughter of unknown Van der Straeten and Private Wife of Leonhard Isaksen Seppl . Seppala continued the trail across Norton Sound. Leonhard Seppala: property of Jonathan Hayes. on the S.S. Ohio in the city of Nome, where Lindeberg had his Pioneer pampered, comfortable retirement. the tour was completed and his dogs safely settled in Poland Spring, he Togo, it must have been harder yet for Seppala's old Sweepstakes leader. until he completed his "masterpiece" in December 1898, the project Seppala continued to import, breed, and train Yes. In 1960 the chipper little man flew to Laconia to serve as honorary judge at the World Championships Sled Dog Derby. Balto became famous, but the unsung hero was Leonhard Seppala's Siberian Husky, Togo. Few mushers would dare tempt their fate by crossing Norton sound once, and most would have wasted time going around. The very next year, Nome ran its second annual, 500 mile, All Alaska Sweepstakes Race. Mining Company. They were laughed at and given 100-to-1 odds Leonhard " Sepp " Seppala ( / lnrd spl /; September 14, 1877 - January 28, 1967) was a Norwegian-American sled dog breeder, trainer and musher who with his dogs played a pivotal role in the 1925 serum run to Nome, [1] and participated in the 1932 Winter Olympics. Seppala manages to get his team back to the outpost of Joe Dexter and passes the serum over to his friend Gunnar Kaasen. This also meant he worked as long as 12 hours a day. from Nenana more than halfway, and returned immediately by night across Norton His slow freight leader Balto (which was actually a cull from Seppalas team) became the famed dog of the Race for Life. New York had Kasson and Balto come for the dedication of a statue erected in Baltos honor. As a puppy, he is a runt with little more than a fighting spirit and the endorsement of Seppalas wife, Constance (Julianne Nicholson). By the time the war had ended, air transportation was becoming more and more of a reality in even these northern climes and, it seemed, the age of the Sled dog was quickly drawing to a close. On the second time, Seppala had no choice, but to let the dog run with the others. The following year a team of ten sleddogs was brought to Nome from eastern A street in Nome named Seppala Drive connects the town to its airport. Sepp states that the Serum Drive was Togo's last long run, and that Enter a grandparent's name. While my trail has been rough at times, he wrote in his diary at age 81, the end of the course seems pretty smooth, with downhill going and a warm roadhouse in sight. their rights, and Sepp, as a Pioneer employee, was involved in a number After a close competition between him and experienced musher Scotty Allan, Seppala defeated him on the fourth day of the race and finished two hours ahead of Allan to win the Sweepstakes. Siberian sleddogs, becoming a legend in his own time. entrusted him with the raising and training of a group of Siberian trade and allow him to work as a Master blacksmith. [1], Seppala set out from Nome on January 28several days before he was due to meet the relay coming to Nulato. Seppala saw the musher stopped on the trail and having trouble with his dogs, but did not intend to stop and be delayed. Photo of Seppala and his Siberians in Seattle: Jonathan Hayes. The enthusiasm for sled dog racing in New England together with the Serum Run publicity and the victory over Walden made it possible for Seppala and partner Elizabeth Ricker to establish a Siberian kennel at Poland Spring. Kennels, which operated until 1950. Ivanoff had to run after Seppala as he raced past, shouting, "The serum! of his childhood sweetheart Margit, whom he had planned to marry, day, yet they almost won an upset victory at the second Nome Sweepstakes race The Seppala House was a gift to Urtha Lenharr by Krier Enterprise of Nome, Alaska. 2-5 day small ship explorations. We will continue to update information on Leonhard Seppalas parents. He then bought a house near Seattle, where many other Norwegians it would have broken the Bank of Nome.) [7] His father's family name is of Finnish origin. and then in the Fairbanks gold fields until his departure from Alaska in discoveries. The same year the AAS was first run, 1908, Seppala married his wife Constance, a Belgian girl who had come to Nome in 1905. First Name Leonhard. Once the race was He immediately began the trek back across Norton Sound without pausing to rest.The conditions on the return trip were even worse. 1947. Leonhard Seppala was born in Norway. 7-10 days is the most common. Leonhard Seppala was born on the 14th of September, 1877. Wheeler, Shearer and the Belfords that were bred from them. The expedition was cancelled, and Seppala was gifted the dogs. The leader of the Serum Drive team had been Togo, and Sepp was outraged at the Plan your journey with this gorgeous printed map. [5][6] He was the eldest child of Isak Isaksen Seppl (born in Sweden of Finnish descent) and Anne Henrikke Henriksdatter. Let us simplify it for you, How much does an Alaska summer vacation cost? twenty-three of them spent with the Pioneer company. Directed by Ericson Core, with a Writers Guild Awardnominated script by Tom Flynn, Togo is based on the events of what become known as the Great Race of Mercy, or the 1925 serum run to Nome. Scenes from the run are interspersed with flashbacks to Togos origin story, showing him making repeated escapes from the kennel of musher Leonhard Seppala (Willem Dafoe). This clip features famed Alaska dog musher Leonhard Seppala and his wife Constance Seppala sitting on the porch in front of a house and playing with a litter of puppies. He is a sled dog trainer and racer who is known for carrying the supply of diphtheria serum to the residents of Nome, Alaska. as a winter recreation; in 1908 the first All-Alaska Sweepstakes race was run. Half of the meeting is logistics: Welch explains that the serum they need for the diphtheria has been found at the Fairbanks Railroad Hospital (more than 500 miles away) and that it could be put on a train to Nenana (still 483 miles away). Seppala and his Alaska Sweepstakes team: Property of Jonathan Hayes. Of course, Seppala had immigrated to Alaska from Norway when his friend Jafet Lindeberg convinced him to come work for the mining company he started in Nome. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. It had happened to others. Lindeberg, his friend and supervisor at Pioneer Mining Company, had brought the puppies from Siberia as a gift for the explorer Roald Amundsen, whom he hoped would use them for his upcoming expedition to the North Pole. Lindeberg was a leading figure in the immigrant miners' fight for Seppala and Swedish Lapland Leonhard Seppala, born 1877, would during those days go from being a good musher and just another hard-working blue-collar man to being the most famous dog-team driver in the world. He told Seppala that the ad hoc health board believed that Nomes fate lay in Seppalas hands.. Bragg's rebuttal was brief and to the point. In 1946, he and his wife Constance moved to Seattle, Washington. In real life, Leonhard Seppala also had a daughter named Sigrid who was one of the children at risk for catching diphtheria. Neither he nor his canine freight leader, Suggen, knew the dangerous trail, and when a blizzard suddenly descended on the area during the race, Seppala realized his young dogs had lost the trail and they were all at great risk of death due to the nearby drop-off to the Bering Sea. He enjoyed the task from his first run, which he recalled clearly for the rest of his life. He and his 10 dog team + Togo, the Lead and the HERO ran 264 miles. [1], When the serum passed to Seppala, night was falling and a powerful low-pressure system was moving towards the trail from the Gulf of Alaska. scraper to clear the sluice boxes, and shoveling gravel on Discovery Nome City Cemetery, Nome, Nome Census Area, Alaska, USA Kristiana (now called Oslo), where he worked at the smithies there The Wheeler dogs became the foundation Leonhard Seppala is considered one of Alaskas first great mushers, and like all who took part in the 1925 serum run from Seward to Nome, hes a local hero. SEPP AND LIZ RICKER were a feature on the eastern race circuit from that he had left behind; none of the other teams made more than 53 miles of He had learnt to wrestle as a boy, virtually as a matter Seppala felt he had abused the dogs' loyalty by putting them in danger of death and injury, and withdrew from the race in shame. have gone anywhere without the Poland Spring dogs and the sleddogs of (Other relay teams involved in the delivery [13], A diphtheria outbreak struck Seppala's town of Nome, Alaska in the winter of 1925. Togo digs his way out of kennels, climbs atop shelves to squeeze his way out of a locked toolshed, misbehaves his way out of one potential adoption, and hurls his body through a glass window to escape another potential adoption. The Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award, which honors excellence in sled dog care, is named in honour of him. Seppala's worst competition during this entire period was the Quebec driver Emile Mayor George Maynard (Christopher Heyerdahl), who is also the publisher of local newspaper the Nome Nugget, and the town doctor, Curtis Welch (Richard Dormer), gather the important-looking men of the town in a saloon. were determined to do the foreigners out of their claims and take them claim-jumpers. This footage of the famed Alaska dog musher was possibly shot in Chatanika, Alaska in the early 1940s. Seppala gave the ageing Togo to Liz Ricker so that his old leader could enjoy a Last Name Seppala #2. Seppala probably would have continued to dominate the Sweepstakes race had it not been put to an abrupt end, with many sled dogs being deported to Europe. At the age of twenty he went to the city of In 1946, he and his wife Constance moved to Seattle, Washington. One of the most terrifying moments in the movie is the second crossing of the Norton Sound, on the way back toward Nome with the serum. Seppala and his team mushed five times farther than any other team during that effort. Lake Placid, NY, in 1932, which was Seppala's last race in the East. [1], This emergency delivery, also known as the "Great Race of Mercy", is commemorated annually with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.[14]. 1927 through 1930. with a former driver of Chinooks, Mrs. Elizabeth Ricker. In 1931 the SeppalaRicker partnership ended. (Color/Silent/16mm film). WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. His father was both a blacksmith and a fisherman. Lindeberg convinced Seppala to come work for his Pioneer Mining Company. All rights reserved. I wanted to argue my prowess as a dog trainer but one thing I could not argue; I am not Leonhard Seppala. of self-defense. It ranged from rough hills of smashed-together ice to slippery "glare ice" polished by the wind, where it was difficult for the dogs to get a foothold. He and his wife lived in Seattle until his death at the age of 89. Sign-up for any of the following email series to help plan your Alaska trip. His dog Togo would earn his place in the history books and a place at the Yales Peabody Institute. In the movie is more concerned for Togo 's health Enter a grandparent 's name discontinued Virgos erected! Judge at the World Championships sled dog Derby Seppala # 2 Seppala saw the musher stopped on the trail ahead. Although he found the heavy labour of Nome., which was Seppala 's last long run, and was. And instead is more than adequate, Seppala had no choice, but the unsung hero Leonhard... And took great care of him Alaska Sweepstakes race Mrs. Elizabeth Ricker in 1946, and! In discoveries northward to Nenana, Alaska in discoveries, Nome ran its second annual, 500 mile, Alaska. Siberians in Seattle: Jonathan Hayes until his death at the age of twenty he to. 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