Iditarod part of Valley life year-round

It wasn’t so long ago in Alaska when planes, trains, automobiles — and more recently snowmachines and helicopters — replaced sled dog teams as our primary mode of conveyance.

And if it weren’t for sled dog racing, this unique part of Alaska’s past may have been left behind 50 years ago, restricted to old photos and old-timers’ tales.

Sled dog teams in Alaska and the Yukon did the work of hauling and carrying freight and people that was done by horses in the Lower 48.

In fact, it was working — not racing — sled dog teams that introduced Joe Redington to this unique partnership between people and dogs.

Redington served in the military from 1940 to 1948, and it may have been that background that helped him get a contract with the U.S. Air Force 5039th Maintenance and Supply Group to recover aircraft and personnel from remote Alaska crash sites.

Helicopters do such recovery work these days, but from 1949 to 1957, Redington had a contract to perform the work using a sled dog team.

The stars aligned one day in 1966 when Redington met Dorothy Page at the Willow Winter Carnival. She had an idea to organize a sled dog race to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the purchase of Alaska, but needed a reputable musher to join her effort.

The two united, and what grew out of their determined partnership breathed new life into what had been a dying mode of transport. It also gave birth to the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1973.

Without early supporters like Redington, Page, Joe Delia, Ed Gurtler, Nome mayor Leo Rasmussen and Dan Seavey, there would be no Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race today.

In its 40th year, this year’s race proved to be as storied a competition as ever. The race featured three generations of the Seavey family, including grandpa Dan, who competed in the first race in 1973, his son, Mitch, who won the race in 2004, and his grandson and Willow resident, Dallas, who was first this year to cross beneath the burled arch to become the Iditarod’s youngest winner ever.

We’d be remiss if we left out the generations of Redingtons and Smyths who’ve carved lives for their families out of this endurance race to Nome.

And who can forget that shoulder-to-shoulder sprint to the finish line this year between Martin Buser and his son, Rohn, of Big Lake?

Every March, Alaska mushers are transformed into international celebrities. But for the other 11 months of the year, many of them are our neighbors. Maybe they play on your softball team or attend your church. If you’ve been here long enough, odds are good your daughter remembers when Martin Buser brought his puppies to Camp Togowoods for her Girl Scout Troop to cuddle. Or, perhaps your son came home abuzz after DeeDee Jonrowe showed up at Goose Bay Elementary School to help break the Guinness’ Book of World Records for jumping jacks.

Congratulations to all of the competitors and volunteers whose hard work has made the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race possible for the past 40 years.