Explorer. Boutique, small ship adventure cruises in Alaska's Inside Passage, Cruises depart from Whittier, a 1 hr drive from Anchorage. Leonhard Seppala was born in the Year of the Ox. . In 1900 Sepp succumbed to the lure of gold; on the 14th June he arrived placing first, second and fourth. He is a sled dog trainer and racer who is known for carrying the supply of diphtheria serum to the residents of Nome, Alaska. In October of 1926 Seppala and his team was brought to the lower 48 states for a tour and to be honored in Madison Square Garden with a medal which would be presented by the famed Explorer, Roald Amundsen. Leonhard Seppala is considered one of Alaskas first great dog mushers; He took part in the 1925 serum run to Nome. Togo jumped into the water, clambered back out, wrapped the rope around his body, and pulled. Claim at Anvil Creek. It had happened to others. However, at 3 P.M. that day, Seppala and his team arrived at Golovin and handed over the serum to the next musher. Norwegians of the far north are almost born on skis. After 1932 he remained in Alaska. As for Leonhard Seppala, famous as a dog sledder (), I think I knew him well because I was taken for a ride with his white dog team one Sunday. 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. He crossed Norton Sound without incident. When Amundsen cancelled his trip a few weeks after the puppies arrived in Nome, Lindeberg gave them to Seppala. Snowy Owl provided all of the adult sled dogs used in the movie. their rights, and Sepp, as a Pioneer employee, was involved in a number with a former driver of Chinooks, Mrs. Elizabeth Ricker. The strengths of this sign are being loyal, analytical, kind, hardworking, practical, while weaknesses can be shyness, overly critical of self and others, all work and no play. The same year the AAS was first run, 1908, In 1931 the SeppalaRicker partnership ended. Sign-up for any of the following email series to help plan your Alaska trip. Indeed, when the whiteout conditions suddenly lifted, Seppala found that he and his team were at the bottom of a hill, racing towards the cliffs along the sea. Maynard is all in favor of getting the diphtheria antitoxin flown in by airplane, weather notwithstanding. The People of Nome had another idea. [1]:68, Seppala made the decision to compete in his first race, the 1914 All Alaska Sweepstakes, at the last minute. One day, Ashley's wife tried to strike Mumbet's sister with a spade. Togo eventually passes away with Seppala reminiscing on the loyalty of a well trained dog. This is very close to what Seppala told the Boston Sunday Post really happened, albeit not on this particular run but on a previous trip. Father of Private. Gunnar Kasson, however, did not hand over the serum to the next waiting musher but brought it the rest of the way into Nome. Seppala won the race, and afterward Previously unexposed children as well as adults were at risk of dying from the infection. Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, Willem Dafoe's character states in the movie that Togo was named after the underdog Japanese admiral and naval hero Tōgō Heihachirō. Bookmark this page and come back often for updates. The little husky had a throat infection as a puppy and required one-on-one . seventy Siberian dogs bought at the Siberian trading village of Markovo on the Husband of Constance M Seppala. 7-10 days is the most common. Seppala's friend Jafet Lindeberg returned home decided to give it a try, but was appalled on his dogsled trip to Ruby Seppala traveled a total of 261 miles to save the children of Nome. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. Poland Spring against Arthur Walden, breeder of 'Chinook' dogs and author of sleddogs from Chukotka, Kamschatka and the Kolyma River basin, had been placed By Robert Forto, PhD. Leonhard Seppala is the protagonist in the 2019 film Togo. To hasten delivery of the serum, more mushers were added to the relay. By January 1927, Seppala had opened a kennel with a socialite named Elizabeth Ricker in Poland Springs, Maine, and he was traveling between Alaska and Maine. he was nursed by Seppala's wife Constance as a puppy due to a throat . worked as a ranger for U.S. Mining and Melting Company, first in Nome Siberian sleddogs, becoming a legend in his own time. 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. For some years in Seattle in his retirement he had a Meanwhile, the number of diphtheria cases in Nome continued to climb. Seppala later married Constance, another foreigner who had come to America. Regardless, Seppala could tell that Togo wanted to press on. The only practical way to deliver more serum to Nome in the middle of the coldest winter in 20 years was by dog sled. She too was at risk of being stricken with diphtheria. Thank you! Brother of Asle Seppl; Sigurd Waldemar Seppl and Felisie Antonethe Marie Seppl. His journey through white-out storms and twice across the unforgiving Norton Sound was by far the most perilous leg of the run. [10] He became a naturalized citizen in 1906. Seppala's direct involvement with the breed that now bears He inherited his first sled dogs through a friend, who originally intended them for the polar explorer Roald Amundsen, before his expedition was cancelled. 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. The Salisburys also write that Togo was indeed difficult and mischievous, as well as resistant to being locked up. Please visit the About section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help today. The ice on Norton Sound was in constant motion due to currents from the sea and the incessant wind. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. (Color/Silent/16mm film). Last Name Seppala #2. Of course, The expedition was cancelled, and Seppala was gifted the dogs. Alaska Airlines has established the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award. He transferred the serum over to the next musher as he was instructed. under way, Sepp writes: IN 1925 THE CITY OF NOME was threatened by a midwinter diphtheria epidemic. Without the antitoxin, estimated mortality rates stood anywhere from 75% to 99.99%, practically a killing blow to Nome. Arctic Circle -- the 14th September in the year 1877. Your donation in any amount will help us continue important preservation work. In 1914, he competed in the All Alaska Sweepstakes, a sled dog race. Background information travel at most.). Photo illustration by Slate. Highlights plus less visited destinations. But in 1899, when a friend of Leonhard Seppala returned to Norway, rich from the goldfields of Alaska, the lure of wealth and adventure was just too much for the twenty-two-year-old smithy to overcome and before long he was on his way to the new world. in a blizzard and nearly going over a two-hundred-foot precipice along the mongrels were the best way to travel in this frozen tundra. Only a few hours after they had crossed it, the ice broke up altogether and drifted out to sea. Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. The following year, on the strength of publicity consequent to the Nome Serum Run, behind Seppala; in fact, she won the Poland Spring race in 1930, also with Bonzo Inspiration 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. Ivanoff had just left Shaktoolik with the serum. Seppala had not abandoned his mining career with his tour of the U.S.A. After Sled dog breeder This membrane (visible below over a patient's tonsils) covers healthy tissues in the throat, nose, tonsils and voice box, causing a croup-like cough, as well as severe difficulty breathing and swallowing. Photo illustration by Slate. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. By the time Seppala arrives at home, Togo has been moved to the lead position, and Seppala is marveling at Togos speed. Leonhard Seppala/Living or Deceased Is Togo Balto's father? Flying was relatively new at the time and winter flight was still largely untested. Anadyr River were imported by a wealthy young Scot, Charles 'Fox' Maule Ramsay, In Astrology, Mercury is the planet that rules our mindset. As principal musher, Seppala battled blizzard conditions and icy terrain, eventually traveling more than twice as far as his colleagues. 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. As a puppy, he is a runt with little more than a fighting spirit and the endorsement of Seppala's wife, Constance (Julianne Nicholson). He writes: WHILE SEPPALA WAS IN ALASKA the sport of dogsled racing was developed The two 100lb. Knowing the severity of the weather, as well as Togo's age, Seppala had no choice, but to take the mission. [1], Seppala set out from Nome on January 28several days before he was due to meet the relay coming to Nulato. . Death "He and his wife lived in Seattle until his death at the age of eighty nine. SEPPALA'S EXPLOITS and the Poland Spring kennel breeding gave Dog Musher #11. Leonhard Seppala Is A Member Of . Thank you! It was also the longest by roughly 200 miles. Home Seppala grumbles that Constance is too softhearted and hints that a bullet might have been the easiest solution to Togos behavioral issues. Character information 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. of his childhood sweetheart Margit, whom he had planned to marry, His contribution to Alaska's sled dog racing history, and his pioneering work developing the Siberian Husky bloodline are also well known. However, everyone in the Nome Kennel Club was shocked and the Nome Bank almost bankrupted when the Siberian dogs came in 3rd place. Family information The following year a team of ten sleddogs was brought to Nome from eastern of Harry R. Wheeler, the owner of Grey Rocks Inn. But Seppala was not through yet. it would have broken the Bank of Nome.) This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. While none of the mushers lost their lives, several of them succumbed to frostbite, including Charlie Olson and Gunnar Kaasen, who completed the final two legs of the journey. Leonhard Seppala is part of G.I. Visit September to April to see the Northern Lights. In 1961, Seppala revisited Fairbanks and other places in Alaska at the invitation of American journalist Lowell Thomas, enjoying a warm reception from the Alaskan people. Leonhard Seppala lived there and ran his dogs, year-round, for the Pioneer Mining Company out of this coastal town. discoveries. It remains unclear America to sojourn in Norway with her new husband. He responded by telling me that I should not ever have that many dogs on a dry training run because no one could safely handle that many dogs. His father was both a blacksmith and a fisherman. He was the son of a blacksmith and arctic fisherman. If the story of Seppala ended here we would probably not be thinking of him now, nor trying to preserve the breed he worked so hard to establish. Still, his reputation was perhaps even greater than the movie suggested: According to The Cruelest Miles, he was known as the fastest musher in Alaska, and his nickname was the King of the Trail. It was Seppalas boss at the Hammon Consolidated Gold Fields Company, Mark Summers, who came up with the plan to use two teams of dogs, traveling toward each other from Nenana and Nome to meet at the halfway point in Nulato. This also meant he worked as long as 12 hours a day. He had two stunt doubles, Hugo and Mackey, who were lead sled dogs from Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours in Alberta. Did Leonhard Seppala and his wife have any children? In the movie, Leonhard Seppala is depicted as a stoic, hardscrabble Norwegian whose demeanor is in direct contrast to that of his softhearted Belgian wife. Togo was Seppalas favorite, and the musher often depended on Togos instincts and sense of smell when his own vision failed him. This film sequence is an excerpt of AAF-2240 from the Seppala-Hanks collection held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of the Alaska \u0026 Polar Regions Department in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Club was challenged by the Ruby Kennel Club. They were laughed at and given 100-to-1 odds . [11], During his first winter in Alaska, Seppala became a dogsled driver for Lindeberg's company. So, as politicians are apt to do, the Governor complicated the plan to include some 20 teams and mushers in performing a relay. Leonhard Seppala was born on the 14th of September, 1877. Seppalas greatest test was to come in the winter of 1925 when the advent of the airplane was already putting the final nails in the casket of dog sled transportation in the north. Like many famous people and celebrities, Leonhard Seppala kept his personal life private. 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. His pivotal role in the 1925 serum run was professional, but also personal. Seppala left Togo, with great sadness, with Ricker to retire in comfort in 1927 (Seppala remembered it as one of the saddest moments in his life. The other half of the meeting is not-so-subtle pressure on Seppala to ride to Nenana to pick up the serum. In The movie leaves out several details about Togos death. Craving an escape from his grief,. For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives. (Color/Silent/16mm film). Seppala was assigned to train the dogs. Virgos. While a party is being held in his honor, a young girl points out how Togo's health is deteriorating, upsetting Seppala. Ruling Planet: Leonhard Seppala had a ruling planet of Mercury and has a ruling planet of Mercury and by astrological associations Wednesday is ruled by Mercury. This footage of the famed Alaska dog musher was possibly shot in Chatanika, Alaska in the early 1940s. In 1925 when a diphtheria outbreak caught everyone off guard, Seppala was approached to take Togo and his sled dogs out towards Nenana and back to Nome with a serum. Born In 1877. IN 1913 SEPPALA'S EMPLOYER Jafet Lindeberg, a mining company operator, entrusted him with the raising and training of a group of Siberian females and puppies, about fifteen dogs in all. the resort in 1931 she met Kaare Nansen, the son of Norwegian explorer I once told Jeffrey Bragg about about a training run I had with 16 dogs attached to my four-wheeler. Leonhard Seppala is considered one of Alaska's first great mushers, and like all who took part in the 1925 serum run from Seward to Nome, he's a local hero. 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