Seppala didn't start out working with dogs, though. Sepp wrote: Liz Ricker divorced her husband Ted and relocated, along with Seppala, to Grey This did not detour him, however, for he won the Sweepstakes the following three consecutive years. 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. The whole trail was 674 miles from Nenana to Nome, and Seppala was initially selected to cover the more than 400 miles from Nome to Nulato and back. Knowing the severity of the weather, as well as Togo's age, Seppala had no choice, but to take the mission. Car, train, or group tour. during the First World War. Siberia by a Russian fur trader. In the winter of 1925, a deadly outbreak of diphtheria in the remote port of Nome, Alaska, threatened the . Togo was Seppalas favorite, and the musher often depended on Togos instincts and sense of smell when his own vision failed him. Balto makes a brief cameo in the movie: Hes the lead dog in Gunnar Kaasens team. Eventually Sepp got his chance to go prospecting for the company. Lake Placid, NY, in 1932, which was Seppala's last race in the East. Poland Spring event three years running. Not only is Diesel related to Togo, he also resembles Togo in coloring: Unlike many Siberians, Togo had a darker coat. Seppala won the race, and afterward At the end of his career, Leonhard Seppala was known as the Big Norwegian although he was only five foot, four inches tall, and 145 pounds. 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. 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. due to their size, which was only half that of typical Alaskan sleddogs of the 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. We will continue to update information on Leonhard Seppalas parents. While most drivers considered 30 miles (48km) a long run, Seppala travelled between 50 miles (80km) and 100 miles (160km) most days. (Color/Silent/16mm film). Scotty. 1947. Genealogy profile for Constance M Seppala. Seppala also won the All Alaska Sweepstakes in 1916 and 1917, before the race was canceled until 1983. Small cracks in the ice could suddenly widen, and driver and team could be plunged into the freezing water. They were laughed at and given 100-to-1 odds The serum would be transported to Nenana by train. Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Book entire boat for your family or group, or opt to bunk with other guests. The Seppala House was a gift to Urtha Lenharr by Krier Enterprise of Nome, Alaska. He immediately began the trek back across Norton Sound without pausing to rest.The conditions on the return trip were even worse. In 1900 Sepp succumbed to the lure of gold; on the 14th June he arrived Shortly after arriving in Alaska, Seppalas boss gave him the opportunity to take a dog team out prospecting. Seppala became the crucial figure in the delivery by dogsled of a It was decided that he was the most qualified of the relay mushers to attempt this shortcut. Maynard is all in favor of getting the diphtheria antitoxin flown in by airplane, weather notwithstanding. Last Name Seppala #2. Together with his dog Togo and several other dogs, he was able to brave through snowy weather and tundra to save countless of lives. Overwhelmed by choices? [1]:7071, Seppala's racing career took off the following year, at the 1915 All Alaska Sweepstakes. When Lindeberg asked him to train a sled dog team for an expedition Roald Amundsen was planning, he found his calling. Dog Mushers. the resort in 1931 she met Kaare Nansen, the son of Norwegian explorer Jeff King. 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. racing teams were fielded, dominated the 1910 third All-Alaska Sweepstakes, And while, in the movie, Constance Seppala initially objects to her husbands participation, saying that the town should pick someone with more stake in [the diphtheria outbreak], in reality the Seppalas did have more of a stake than is indicated by the film script: They had an 8-year-old daughter named Sigrid. Yes. Chinese Zodiac: Leonhard Seppala was born in the Year of the Rabbit. Leonhard Seppala Is A Member Of . 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. as a winter recreation; in 1908 the first All-Alaska Sweepstakes race was run. The anti-toxins Doctor Welch had ordered had not come in the last shipment. the dogs in Liz Ricker's care. Fridtjof Nansen, and very shortly thereafter married him and left North 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. [1], This emergency delivery, also known as the "Great Race of Mercy", is commemorated annually with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.[14]. Leonhard Seppala Seppala became interested in dog sledding during his first winter in Alaska when he became a sled dog driver for Lindeberg's company. Seppala was assigned to train the dogs. based in Nome for the first twenty-nine years of his mining career, The following year Seppala's Siberian team won the Nome Seppala's direct involvement with the breed that now bears In Seppalas account, as summarized in The Cruelest Miles, the tow rope connecting Togo and the rest of the team on the floe snapped, and the end of the rope fell into the water. This page is updated often with latest details about Leonhard Seppala. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. Insider tips to pick the best Alaska cruise. People who are born with Mercury as the ruling planet have communication skills, intellect and cleverness. For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives. placing first, second and fourth. The greatest overall compatibility with Virgo is Pisces and Cancer. fast teams; none of the Nome mushers wanted to accept the challenge. However, as going around the ice meant slowing the delivery of the serum by a full day, he chose to go across. Born In 1877. His eight-year-old daughter Sigrid was in Nome, in danger of contracting diphtheria herself. In advanced cases, diphtheria can also cause the neck to swell, in part due to swollen lymph nodes, resulting in a condition nicknamed "bull neck" (visible below). Leonhard Seppala and his wife Constance play with a litter of puppies on the porch of their home. . Sound, traveling 340 miles over treacherous sea ice and through blizzard Arctic Circle -- the 14th September in the year 1877. [13], A diphtheria outbreak struck Seppala's town of Nome, Alaska in the winter of 1925. He was disruptive to harnessed sled dogs, just as hes shown to be in the film. Big ship or small ship? The most dangerous part of this trail was the 42-mile shortcut across the sound. Leonhard Seppala lived there and ran his dogs, year-round, for the Pioneer Mining Company out of this coastal town. In reality, the winds were in a rare state of calm, and Seppala had a crowd to cheer on the beginning of his journey to Nulatohalfway to Nome, but still a six-day journey encompassing a total of 630 miles. Seppala tosses Togo ashore, and the dog somehow manages to tow the floe close enough to the coast to enable the rest of the team to follow. The only way in, then and now, after the snow flies, is by plane. The serum was now only 78 miles (126km) from Nome. 12.5K subscribers 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.. also apprenticed in his father's smithy. In the winter of 1924-1925, a diphtheria epidemic was threatening the town of Nome, located on the southern Seward Peninsula on the northwestern coast of Alaska. his name was over, but his Seppala sleddogs, descendants of original Siberian They arrived at Seattle on November 2, 1926 aboard the Alaska Steamship Company freighter, Tanana. of self-defense. 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. Tony Krier had told Urtha years ago that if he wanted the building to preserve the memory of Nome resident, Leonhard Seppala, that he could have it. 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. Once the race was 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. 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. While tending to newborn pups, Constance took pity on one puppy that was noticeably weaker than the others. it would have broken the Bank of Nome.) Please visit the About section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help today. If the Serum Drive finished You, he said, are no Leonhard Seppala.. Poland Spring against Arthur Walden, breeder of 'Chinook' dogs and author of 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. He and his 10 dog team + Togo, the Lead and the HERO ran 264 miles. Nome is clear across the state from Fairbanks, a flight distance of approximately 521 miles. females and puppies, about fifteen dogs in all. had constant problems with claim-jumpers and shyster lawyers, all of whom Togo eventually passes away with Seppala reminiscing on the loyalty of a well trained dog. Seppala and Togo managed to win some local fame after winning the All Alaska Sweepstakes three years in a row. In Disneys telling, Togos beginnings are an underdog story. Craving an escape from his grief,. Undaunted by the massive storm heading their way and against his wife Constance's ( Julianne Nicholson) better judgement, veteran musher Seppala will push Togo and his entire dog sled team to. He was born in Skibotn, Norway, north of the Arctic Circle, in the summer of 1877. He inherited his first sled dogs through a friend, who originally intended them for the polar explorer Roald Amundsen, before his expedition was cancelled. Leonhard Seppala Fans Also Viewed . In real life, things played out a bit differently. Seppala died in 1967 at age 90, and his ashes were scattered along the Iditarod Trail by his wife, Constance. Did Leonhard Seppala and his wife have any children? We'll match you with a local itinerary expert to help you plan your trip. with its endless mounds of gravel to be shoveled, he was very fit. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, The 9 Best Northern Lights Viewing Spots Near Anchorage, How to Travel to Alaska in January and February, The Best Large Family & Group Vacations in Alaska, How to Get from Anchorage to Your Cruise Port in Whittier or Seward (or the reverse! His wife Constance This was possibly filmed in Chatanika, Alaska. Early on, it was believed that the individual attention led to his rowdiness and mischievous behavior. Seppala introduced the work dogs used by Native Siberians at the time to the American public; the breed came to be known as the Siberian Husky in the English-speaking world. Seppala described him as an infant prodigy and a natural-born leader.. Please visit the About section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help today. The trail between Nulato and Nome was one of Alaskas most hazardous, with most of it running along the windswept, blizzard-prone coast of Norton Sound, known to Alaskans as the ice factory, write the authors of The Cruelest Miles. Campgrounds, RV Parks & Public Use Cabins. To hasten delivery of the serum, more mushers were added to the relay. Roald Amundsen. They encountered each other while Ivanoff was untangling his team on a trail outside of town, at which time Seppala took possession of the serum. 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. Likes This seems to be exaggerated a bit for the film. of his childhood sweetheart Margit, whom he had planned to marry, The world had been drawn into its first World War. included that of Gunnar Kaasen who made the final leg with cull dogs of Seppala's He nursed them back to health for most of the remainder of that year; they were not ready to train again until autumn. Both are buried in Nome, Alaska. The People of Nome had another idea. IN 1913 SEPPALA'S EMPLOYER Jafet Lindeberg, a mining company operator, January 29, 1967 (89) Seattle, King, Washington, United States. Background information Seppala said, Ive always said that this buzzard was the reason why I started sled dog racing. The bundle containing the serum was knocked out and he dug with his bare hands in the snow to find it. Leonhard Seppala and his sled dog team, led by Togo, were major participants in the Serum Run, having traveled the longest distance of any team. He kept his dogs in form during the summer by having them pull a cart on wheels instead of a sled. Only a few hours after they had crossed it, the ice broke up altogether and drifted out to sea. Seppala saw the musher stopped on the trail and having trouble with his dogs, but did not intend to stop and be delayed. One day, Ashley's wife tried to strike Mumbet's sister with a spade. unsuccessfully against him claimed he had hypnotic powers of control over By the time Seppala arrives at home, Togo has been moved to the lead position, and Seppala is marveling at Togos speed. second son of the Earl of Dalhousie. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Seppala and his team again traversed the exposed open ice of Norton Sound, which was breaking up. Seppala would cross the sound each way in the race to deliver the serum. Flying was relatively new at the time and winter flight was still largely untested. Sweepstakes with this team but failed to finish the race after getting caught Fortunately, he succeeded in stopping 20 feet from the drop-off, saving all their lives. Was Togo really such a good boy as the movie suggests? Leonhard Seppala was born on the 14th of September, 1877. of Harry R. Wheeler, the owner of Grey Rocks Inn. In 1925, more than 20 men and their dogs helped rush an emergency package of medicine nearly 675 miles to Nome, Alaska, which faced a deadly outbreak of diphtheria. After the death The work was difficult for Seppala, and he regretted his decision to leave home, until he became a sled dog driver, mushing supplies up to 100 miles each day. Club was challenged by the Ruby Kennel Club. . Kaasen, who was in charge of Balto, suffered frostbite to his fingers after strong winds blew his sled over. 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. While a party is being held in his honor, a young girl points out how Togo's health is deteriorating, upsetting Seppala. All rights reserved. Thank you! Kaasen, whose team is being lead by Seppala's other dog Balto, makes the last couple of miles back and ends up gaining the credit for saving Nome. when a native with a crosscut saw appeared out of nowhere and trotted easily "20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs 674 miles (1,085 km) in five and a half days." He had forced all of his dogs to push through stormy weather and many of them wound up injured. Norwegians of the far north are almost born on skis. The only practical way to deliver more serum to Nome in the middle of the coldest winter in 20 years was by dog sled. Furious, she left the house and refused to come back. The real-life Leonhard Seppala If the wind blew from the east, it could reach speeds as high as 110mph (180km/h)(windchill is the loss of body heat induced by temps of 25F (4C) and at least 1mph (1.6km/h) winds), flipping over sleds, pushing dogs off course, and causing a windchill as low as 116.5F (82.5C). Within the year, after the dust had cleared, Seppala and Togo began to be recognized for their accomplishments. claim-jumpers. by him on a path that would ultimately lead to the birth of the Seppala Siberian Birth Name: Leonhard Seppala Occupation: Dog Musher Place Of Birth: Norway Date Of Birth: September 14, 1877 Date Of Death: January 28, 1967 Cause Of Death: N/A Ethnicity: Unknown Nationality: Norwegian Leonhard Seppala was born on the 14th of September, 1877. for the gold fields, even offering to lend him money for his passage. 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. This meant avoiding rocky cliffs along the shore, but it also exposed him and his team to the dangers of the Sound. He told Seppala that the ad hoc health board believed that Nomes fate lay in Seppalas hands.. 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. Kennels, which operated until 1950. Alaska Airlines has established the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award. Place of Burial: Nome, Nome, Alaska, United States. Summers is also the man who recommended Seppala for the run. Seppala had taken the shortcut across the Sound several times in his career; a less-experienced musher was likelier to lose not only his life and the lives of his dogs, but also the urgently needed serum. As principal musher, Seppala battled blizzard conditions and icy terrain, eventually traveling more than twice as far as his colleagues. his father was away on the fishing grounds. [1] As a puppy, he is a runt with little more than a fighting spirit and the endorsement of Seppala's wife, Constance (Julianne Nicholson). of hair-raising adventures in defense of Pioneer claims against In the movie, Seppala sets out for Nenana in the midst of a blizzard. The trail here was exposed and the steep grade grueling for the dogs, who were sleep-deprived and had already raced 260 miles (420km) over the previous 4.5 days. Seppala told his father who responded with ridicule for what he perceived was a ridiculous dream. (a hand-forged vise) that would demonstrate his competence at the Togo is the story of Leonhard Seppala (played by Willem Dafoe) and his wife Constance (played by Julianne Nicholson), a couple living in Nome, Alaska who raise and train sled dogs. 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