Dorothy Page
Encyclopedia
Dorothy G. Page was best known as "Mother of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race", the 1,049-mile (about 1,600 km) dog sled race
across the U.S. state
of Alaska
.
Page moved from New Mexico
to Alaska in 1960. She became the president of the Wasilla
-Knik Centennial Committee in 1966, and was in charge of coming up with an event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the purchase of Alaska
from Russia
. In her own words, the self-described "history buff" wanted "a spectacular dog race to wake Alaskans up to what mushers and their dogs had done for Alaska."
Page saw her first dog sled race in 1960. At the time, nearly every household in the rural Alaska Bush and Interior
had a team of sled dog
s for transportation. During the 1960s snowmachine
s started to replace the dogs, which all but vanished. The historic Iditarod Trail
that passed through both Wasilla and Knik
was an ideal stage. Dog mushing
had been the primary means of communication and transportation in the Bush and Interior by Alaska Natives
for centuries; remained so for the Russian, American, and French Canadian
fur trappers in the 19th century; and reached its peak during the gold rush
es of the late 19th to early 20th centuries.
Page was unable to get the support of a single dog musher until she met Joe Redington
, Senior (the "Father of the Iditarod") at the Willow Winter Carnival. Redington used dog teams to perform search and rescue for the U.S. Air Force, and owned a large kennel
. He also had been lobbying
to make the Iditarod Trail a National Historic Trail
since 1950s. Redington agreed to lend his support to the event, on the condition that a purse of USD
$25,000 be divided among the winners.
The money was raised. In February 1967, 58 dog mushers competed in two heats along a 25-mile (40 km) stretch of the old Iditarod Trail between Wasilla and Knik. The race was modeled after the first large dog sled race in the state, the 1908 to 1918 All-Alaska Sweepstakes (AAS) of Nome
. The official name of the event was the Iditarod Trail Seppala Memorial Race, after the three-time Sweepstakes champion Leonhard Seppala
. While Seppala was most famous for participating in the 1925 serum run which saved the city of Nome from a diphtheria
epidemic
, according to Page "Seppala was picked to represent all mushers... but it could just as easily have been named after Scotty Allan" (the founder of the AAS).
In 1968 the race was canceled due to lack of snow
, and the 1969 race was the last: With a purse of only $1,000, only 12 mushers participated. The Iditarod was held in 1973, largely due to Redington's efforts. The route of the race was extended more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to Nome, and a purse of $51,000 was raised. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has since grown into the premiere sport
ing event in the state, and the largest dog sled race in the world. The popularity also caused dog mushing to revive in the 1970s as a recreational sport.
Page also helped form the Iditarod Trail Committee, which organizes the race, and the Musher's Hall of Fame in Knik. She served four terms on the Wasilla City Council, and was Mayor from 1986 to 1987. She volunteered as the President of the Wasilla-Knik-Willow Creek Historical Society, and was the curator
of the Wasilla and Knik museums.
Page died on November 16, 1989. Despite her contributions to the sport, she was never a musher. After her death, the Wasilla Museum was renamed the Dorothy G. Page Museum in her honor. She is also commemorated by the Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award, given to the first musher to reach the midpoint of the race, in Cripple on even-numbered years, and the trail's namesake of Iditarod
on odd-numbered years. She was named the honorary musher during the 1997 Iditarod.
Dogsled racing
Sled dog racing is a winter dog sport most popular in the Arctic regions of the United States, Canada, Russia, and some European countries. It involves the timed competition of teams of sleddogs that pull a sled with the dog driver or musher standing on the runners...
across the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
Page moved from New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
to Alaska in 1960. She became the president of the Wasilla
Wasilla, Alaska
Wasilla is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the sixth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 7,831 at the 2010 census...
-Knik Centennial Committee in 1966, and was in charge of coming up with an event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the purchase of Alaska
Alaska purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, gained of new United States territory...
from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. In her own words, the self-described "history buff" wanted "a spectacular dog race to wake Alaskans up to what mushers and their dogs had done for Alaska."
Page saw her first dog sled race in 1960. At the time, nearly every household in the rural Alaska Bush and Interior
Alaska Interior
The Alaska Interior covers most of the U.S. state's territory. It is largely wilderness. Mountains include Mount McKinley in the Alaska Range, the Wrangell Mountains, and the Ray Mountains....
had a team of sled dog
Sled dog
Sled dogs, known also as sleigh man dogs, sledge dogs, or sleddogs, are highly trained types of dogs that are used to pull a dog sled, a wheel-less vehicle on runners also called a sled or sleigh, over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines.Sled dogs have become a popular winter recreation...
s for transportation. During the 1960s snowmachine
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
s started to replace the dogs, which all but vanished. The historic Iditarod Trail
Iditarod Trail
The Iditarod Trail, also known historically as the Seward-to-Nome Mail Trail, refers to a thousand-plus mile historic and contemporary trail system in the U.S...
that passed through both Wasilla and Knik
Knik, Alaska
-Alaska:* Knik, Alaska, a ghost town located southwest of Wasilla. The townsite, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, lies within the Knik-Fairview census-designated place boundaries .-Census-designated places:* Knik-Fairview, Alaska...
was an ideal stage. Dog mushing
Mushing
Mushing is a general term for a sport or transport method powered by dogs, and includes carting, pulka, scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled on snow or a rig on dry land...
had been the primary means of communication and transportation in the Bush and Interior by Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives are the indigenous peoples of Alaska. They include: Aleut, Inuit, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, and a number of Northern Athabaskan cultures.-History:In 1912 the Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded...
for centuries; remained so for the Russian, American, and French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
fur trappers in the 19th century; and reached its peak during the gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
es of the late 19th to early 20th centuries.
Page was unable to get the support of a single dog musher until she met Joe Redington
Joe Redington
Joe Redington, Senior was an American dog musher and kennel owner, who is best known as the "Father of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race", which runs 1,049 miles¹ across the U.S. state of Alaska.-Early life:...
, Senior (the "Father of the Iditarod") at the Willow Winter Carnival. Redington used dog teams to perform search and rescue for the U.S. Air Force, and owned a large kennel
Kennel
A kennel is the name given to any structure or shelter for dogs. A kennel is a doghouse, run, or other small structure in which a dog is kept...
. He also had been lobbying
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
to make the Iditarod Trail a National Historic Trail
National Historic Trail
National Historic Trail is a designation for a protected area in the United States containing historic trails and surrounding areas. They are part of the National Trails System....
since 1950s. Redington agreed to lend his support to the event, on the condition that a purse of USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$25,000 be divided among the winners.
The money was raised. In February 1967, 58 dog mushers competed in two heats along a 25-mile (40 km) stretch of the old Iditarod Trail between Wasilla and Knik. The race was modeled after the first large dog sled race in the state, the 1908 to 1918 All-Alaska Sweepstakes (AAS) of Nome
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
. The official name of the event was the Iditarod Trail Seppala Memorial Race, after the three-time Sweepstakes champion Leonhard Seppala
Leonhard Seppala
Leonhard Seppala was a Norwegian born American Sled dog racer who participated the 1932 Winter Olympics. Seppala is considered the founder of the Siberian Husky breed. -Background:...
. While Seppala was most famous for participating in the 1925 serum run which saved the city of Nome from a diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
, according to Page "Seppala was picked to represent all mushers... but it could just as easily have been named after Scotty Allan" (the founder of the AAS).
In 1968 the race was canceled due to lack of snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
, and the 1969 race was the last: With a purse of only $1,000, only 12 mushers participated. The Iditarod was held in 1973, largely due to Redington's efforts. The route of the race was extended more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to Nome, and a purse of $51,000 was raised. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has since grown into the premiere sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
ing event in the state, and the largest dog sled race in the world. The popularity also caused dog mushing to revive in the 1970s as a recreational sport.
Page also helped form the Iditarod Trail Committee, which organizes the race, and the Musher's Hall of Fame in Knik. She served four terms on the Wasilla City Council, and was Mayor from 1986 to 1987. She volunteered as the President of the Wasilla-Knik-Willow Creek Historical Society, and was the curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
of the Wasilla and Knik museums.
Page died on November 16, 1989. Despite her contributions to the sport, she was never a musher. After her death, the Wasilla Museum was renamed the Dorothy G. Page Museum in her honor. She is also commemorated by the Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award, given to the first musher to reach the midpoint of the race, in Cripple on even-numbered years, and the trail's namesake of Iditarod
Iditarod, Alaska
Iditarod is an abandoned town in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska.- Geography :It is on a horseshoe lake that was once a bend in the Iditarod River, northwest of Flat, ultimately flowing into the Yukon river.- History :...
on odd-numbered years. She was named the honorary musher during the 1997 Iditarod.