Here’s to DeeDee

If you’ve only cheered Dee Dee Jonrowe from your living room as she sets out in the wilderness to compete in yet another Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, there are a couple of things you’ll notice when you meet her around town at this or that community event.

First, you will see right away that she is every bit as nice in person as she seems on TV. In an era of athletes who fall from their lofty heights as soon as we proclaim them stars, Jonrowe is another breed. She’s the classy sort of musher whose care of her dogs is as legendary as the 16 top-10 Iditarod finishes she’s muscled into the record books.

Second, when you do eventually meet Jonrowe, try not to look surprised by her petite size. The Iditarod is a 1,000-mile race through the wilderness with only your dogs and skills to get you back alive. We’d guess some of the dogs in Jonrowe’s team are bigger than her — but not tougher.

It seems like everybody in the Valley has a Dee Dee story. Maybe she plays on your softball team or goes to your church. Probably she’s visited your children’s school to talk to students about dogs and dog care.

Wherever you met Jonrowe, there were probably dogs around. It is clear that she is a dog person; she loves her sled dogs and the dogs that live in her house as family members.

When March arrives each year, ask just about any Alaskan who they’d most love to see win the Iditarod, and you’ll hear Jonrowe’s name mentioned again and again by die-hard fans who have cheered her to two second-place finishes in her long career. We can only imagine the celebrations across Alaska if Jonrowe should ever cross first beneath the arch in Nome.

Whether you met Jonrowe when she first ran the race in 1980, or are a new fan eager for an autograph, you’ll have a chance to see her at 1 p.m., Sunday at the Knik Museum, Mile 13.9, Knik-Goose Bay Road.

On July 21, Jonrowe will be inducted into the Mushers’ Hall of Fame alongside more than a dozen other famous mushers, beginning with Leonhard Seppala and his lead dog Balto.

In addition to Jonrowe’s induction, the Wasilla-Knik Historical Society also invites the public to tour a nearby archeological dig and to see the mail delivered by dog sled.

Tour the Knik Museum while you are there, join the Wasilla-Knik Historical Society or bring a dish to share and enjoy an old-fashioned community picnic. We hope you’ll plan to attend the induction ceremony and stay for the fun that follows.

Here is to Dee Dee — for defeating cancer, competing in the Iditarod year after year, and for this new honor, your induction into the Mushers’ Hall of Fame.