Willow Mushers Hall of Fame will inducting two new members

The Willow Historical and Wildlife Foundation Museum and Willow Mushers Hall of Fame will be inducting two new members this weekend at the Willow Museum on Sunday April 13 at 2 p.m.

Vern Halter and Dr. Susan Whiton, owners and operators at Dream a Dream Dog Sled Tours, will be honored for their commitment and exemplary service to the mushing community of Willow.

“Willow’s been a really popular place for mushers for years. There’s a lot of history here of mushing going way back,” Madeline Gocke, President of the Willow Historic and Wildlife Foundation, said. “A lot of people in the community are into mushing and it seems like some of the people who have really made a difference in the sport or a commitment to the sport, to exemplify the best way to go about it… We thought it would be a good idea to have a mushers hall of fame in Willow with so many famous mushers.”

The Willow Mushers Hall of Fame inducts new members every year. Inductees are usually announced during the Official Restart of the Iditarod. Qualifications for the hall of fame include showing good sportsmanship, exceptional dog care and for advocating for the sport of dog mushing. Members must have lived in Willow for at least 10 years at some point during their mushing careers.

The event is free and will include refreshments for those in attendance. Current hall of fame members will be there to welcome new inductees and to share stories from the trail. The museum will be open from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Gocke said that the museum plans to be open on Fridays during the summer in conjunction with the Willow Farmer’s Market.