of hair-raising adventures in defense of Pioneer claims against Seppala grew to adulthood and followed in his fathers footsteps as both a smithy and a fisherman. Seppala saw the musher stopped on the trail and having trouble with his dogs, but did not intend to stop and be delayed. According to The Cruelest Miles, although Togo was the only puppy in his litter, he was indeed smaller than average, and worse, he had a painful condition that made his throat swell. This meant avoiding rocky cliffs along the shore, but it also exposed him and his team to the dangers of the Sound. Alaska at the invitation of American journalist Lowell Thomas, enjoying Both are buried in Nome, Alaska. 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. Seppala felt he had abused the dogs' loyalty by putting them in danger of death and injury, and withdrew from the race in shame. We'll match you with a local itinerary expert to help you plan your trip. that he had left behind; none of the other teams made more than 53 miles of from Nenana more than halfway, and returned immediately by night across Norton And while the movie Seppala gets the date of Togos death right (He left us on a Thursday in December), in reality Seppala decided to put Togo to sleep, given Togos joint pain and partial blindness. a warm reception from the Alaskan people. due to their size, which was only half that of typical Alaskan sleddogs of the Source. THE GOLD STRIKES IN ALASKA and the Yukon were the talk of Norway The People of Nome had another idea. resort that he was unable to pay), but at some point around this time Temperatures across the Interior were at 20-year lows. Small cracks in the ice could suddenly widen, and driver and team could be plunged into the freezing water. from Alaska flush with gold dollars and encouraged Sepp to take ship He had forced all of his dogs to push through stormy weather and many of them wound up injured. . in a blizzard and nearly going over a two-hundred-foot precipice along the stricken city. No passable winter roads. Photos by George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images and Disney. In Disneys telling, Togos beginnings are an underdog story. As a child They were laughed at and given 100-to-1 odds Dallas Seavey. Seppala's friend Jafet Lindeberg returned home discoveries. Conditions on the ice were perilous, with sudden soft spots in the ice underfoot and outright open water sometimes only a few feet away. Have you taken a DNA test? One day, Ashley's wife tried to strike Mumbet's sister with a spade. but quite athletic. Togo eventually passes away with Seppala reminiscing on the loyalty of a well trained dog. with a former driver of Chinooks, Mrs. Elizabeth Ricker. Seppala didnt start out working with dogs, though. the dogs in Liz Ricker's care. 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. Meanwhile, the number of diphtheria cases in Nome continued to climb. Dog Musher. [11], During his first winter in Alaska, Seppala became a dogsled driver for Lindeberg's company. The 2019 Disney film costars Nicholson as Constance Seppala, wife of dog sledder Leonhard Seppala (played by Willem Dafoe) who brought life-saving diphtheria medication across Alaska in 1925. The following year Seppala's Siberian team won the Nome Genealogy profile for Constance M Seppala. Alaska Airlines has established the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award. However, many of his dogs' paw pads had been shredded and claws broken by the ice-encrusted snow as they clawed their way back to the top of the hill. Poland Spring event three years running. He was a musher. While certain details have been changed, this is largely what happened, and explains the disproportionate fame that the real-life Balto has enjoyed; beyond the media attention, there were movie deals, a tour, and a statue. The darkness and a blizzard also made it impossible for Leonhard Seppala to see where he was going. 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). The following year, on the strength of publicity consequent to the Nome Serum Run, of Harry R. Wheeler, the owner of Grey Rocks Inn. According to the Salisburys, this is also true to life. This was the start of the spread of the Siberian Husky breed in the United States and Canada. infant Siberian Husky breed, established in the USA in 1930, could hardly [10] He became a naturalized citizen in 1906. Leonhard Seppala was born in Norway. The expedition was ultimately cancelled and Seppala got to keep the dogs. [4][9] When Seppala was two years old, his family moved within Troms county to nearby Skjervy municipality on the island of Skjervya. alongside his sprinting team, keeping pace effortlessly. Leonhard Seppala and his sled dog team led by Togo spent three days traveling 170 miles from Nome to Shaktoolik to pick up the diphtheria serum on January 31, 1925. partnership arrangement with the Bow Lake Kennels of Earl L. Snodie, 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. driver bribed by gamblings interests; at such odds, had the team won the race [1]:7071, Seppala's racing career took off the following year, at the 1915 All Alaska Sweepstakes. When Amundsen cancelled his trip a few weeks after the puppies arrived in Nome, Lindeberg gave them to Seppala. Overwhelmed by choices? His family The Wheeler dogs became the foundation His team, led by Balto, ran the last 53 miles in the Serum Run. The acquisition in 1931 by Harry R. Wheeler of the three Anadyr River were imported by a wealthy young Scot, Charles 'Fox' Maule Ramsay, In real life, Leonhard Seppala also had a daughter named Sigrid who was one of the children at risk for catching diphtheria. 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. Club in Canada in 1939 as the 'Siberian Huskie.' But when the country was roused to enthusiasm over the serum run driver, I resented the statue to Balto, for if any dog deserved special mention it was Togo., On the topic of unsung heroes, The Cruelest Miles also notes the deficient coverage on the contribution of the Native driverswho covered nearly two thirds of the run but were not as interesting to movie producers or reporters. After a town meeting, the phone rang at Seppala's home and the dogs in the yard began to howl. 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. The initials "G.I." He was best known for being a Dog Musher. Yes. Unlike the movie, Leonhard Seppala eventually decided that he wanted Togo to live out the remainder of his life in comfort. remained in St. Jovite through the winter of 1931-32 and competed with (a hand-forged vise) that would demonstrate his competence at the Seppala gave the ageing Togo to Liz Ricker so that his old leader could enjoy a the core Poland Spring stock that had gone to Quebec became the property Seppala became the crucial figure in the delivery by dogsled of a Seppala embarked on a tour of the 'Lower 48' with 44 dogs and an Inuit handler. He won the New England race, the Lake Placid Race, and the However, in 1900, he emigrated to Alaska during the Nome gold rush. Leonhard did farm work, keeping the family homestead going while he drove. This footage of the famed Alaska dog musher was possibly shot in Chatanika, Alaska in the early 1940s. 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. His wife Constance [1], Seppala set out from Nome on January 28several days before he was due to meet the relay coming to Nulato. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPZG-Z2K, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHBL-18T, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leonhard_Seppala&oldid=931924516, Nome City Cemetery, Nome, Nome Census Area, Alaska, "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (, "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (. Enter a grandparent's name. The classic Alaska Cruise, offered by such companies as Holland America, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. The famous serum run he took part in is commemorated yearly in Alaska with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, formerly the Iditarod Trail Seppala Memorial Race. Seppala happily decides to have Togo continue running for him. The Ramsay import dogs, from which three It was there they rested and slept for six hours before continuing their journey at 2 a.m., heading into another bad storm. based in Nome for the first twenty-nine years of his mining career, It was a demanding and Club was challenged by the Ruby Kennel Club. Feature films In the movie, Togo gets his first break by busting loose and harassing Seppalas harnessed team until Seppala finally gives him a chance run with the big dogs. It remains unclear Just one grandparent can lead you to many Not only is Diesel related to Togo, he also resembles Togo in coloring: Unlike many Siberians, Togo had a darker coat. Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The serum was now only 78 miles (126km) from Nome. In real life, Seppala faced a similar issue when he entered his dogs in the 1914 All Alaska Sweepstakes. Leonhard Seppala/Living or Deceased Is Togo Balto's father? He told Seppala that the ad hoc health board believed that Nomes fate lay in Seppalas hands.. In 1931 the SeppalaRicker partnership ended. The expedition was cancelled, and Seppala was gifted the dogs. Sweepstakes with this team but failed to finish the race after getting caught Let us simplify it for you, How much does an Alaska summer vacation cost? Seppala described him as an infant prodigy and a natural-born leader.. Seppala's only childan eight-year-old daughter named Sigridwas also at risk. Seppala continued to import, breed, and train Seppala and his Alaska Sweepstakes team: Property of Jonathan Hayes. However, Seppala does not care and instead is more concerned for Togo's health. However, Seppala was not always so Big. Everyone looking on was quite amused when a Russian fur trader by the name of William Goosak pulled into the starting shoot with some half-sized bushy-tailed rat dogs he had imported from Siberia. unsuccessfully against him claimed he had hypnotic powers of control over Generation also known as The Greatest Generation. Seppala had to decide whether to risk Norton Sound in high winds in the dark, when he could not see or hear potential warning signs from the ice. 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. He once attempted to leap over a 7-foot-high fence and got stuck in the wiring. He immediately began the trek back across Norton Sound without pausing to rest.The conditions on the return trip were even worse. When . The Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award, which honors excellence in sled dog care is named in honour of him. When Lindeberg asked him to train a sled dog team for an expedition Roald Amundsen was planning, he found his calling. Leonhard Seppala Was born 14 Sep 1877 in Skibotn, Troms, Norway. eluded him the two previous years and he was determined to win it in 1929.) Despite the differences in the Disney version of the storysuch as the blizzard at the beginningthe fictionalized aspects are not an exaggeration of the dangers involved. Poland Spring stock, marked the founding of the second historic Seppala His father was both a blacksmith and a fisherman. Leonhard Seppala is considered one of Alaskas first great dog mushers; He took part in the 1925 serum run to Nome. 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