Say goodbye to premier sled-makes

WASILLA - I dont hunt, I dont fish, and I dont snowmachine. So, why should I stay up here for these winters?

That was a good question, evidently, and the answer for Keith and Mary Poppert was to move.

The Popperts, who make some of the dog sleds used in the Iditarod, will be moving their home and business to Colville, Wash., by the end of the month.

After 39 years, it is time, Keith Poppert said. The winters are getting just a little too cold and too long. I like it, but … .

But, the Matanuska-Valley is going to lose the workshop of a man who contributes to the areas biggest sports event the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

His brand name is KEMA sleds KE for Keith and MA for Mary. It has been their brand since 1964, when he first started putting together sleds based on more or less his own design.

He explained that he takes credit only more or less for the design because most serious dog-mushers come in with their own plans, based on what they want and need. Also, he pointed out, a dog sled is not an over-designed device.

Keith does the work on the sled and frame, and Mary makes and repairs the dog harnesses with her industrial-strength sewing machine.

He thinks the big selling point for his sleds is that they are cheap. His kids sleds, for a three-dog team, start in the $250 range, and go up from there.

He isnt sure how many of his sleds have raced in the Iditarod, but he figures he makes 60 to 100 sleds each year, many of them the kid-sized variety.

A lot of those sleds already are being sold in the Lower 48, so moving to Colville will actually put him closer to much of his client base. His sleds are on display at a dealers showroom in Graham, Wash., near Tacoma in Pierce County.

Through nearly four decades of making sleds, Poppert said the biggest change he has seen has been in materials.

They used to be all wood, he said. Now they are made of plastic and aluminum. It makes a lot of difference (in the total weight).

But basically, the sled is the same. Youve got to have a brake, youve got to have rudders, he said.

He still uses a mostly wood frame for the sled, because, he admits, Im hard-headed. But he has switched to aluminum rudders.

Basically, Im putting pretty modern-day materials into an ancient sport, he said.

Poppert has been working at the Wasilla Wal-Mart for a few years. He has already arranged a job transfer to the Colville Wal-Mart.

He and Mary plan to be out of town and on their way Outside by Monday or Tuesday.Photo: Keith Poppert and his wife and sled-making partner, Mary, are on their way to Colville, Wash. He will continue making sleds and will work at the Colville Wal-Mart. His workshop, pictured, was packed up weeks ago.Frontiesman file photos.