In the movie, Seppala sets out for Nenana in the midst of a blizzard. Seppala had taken the shortcut across the Sound several times in his career; a less-experienced musher was likelier to lose not only his life and the lives of his dogs, but also the urgently needed serum. alongside his sprinting team, keeping pace effortlessly. It had happened to others. But in 1899, when a friend of Leonhard Seppala returned to Norway, rich from the goldfields of Alaska, the lure of wealth and adventure was just too much for the twenty-two-year-old smithy to overcome and before long he was on his way to the new world. Unfortunately, there was no gold to be found and instead took up training sled dogs. The movie leaves out several details about Togos death. As a child He lived in Seattle until his Maynard is all in favor of getting the diphtheria antitoxin flown in by airplane, weather notwithstanding. People of this zodiac sign like animals, healthy food, nature, cleanliness, and dislike rudeness and asking for help. Sled dog breeder rugged life for a child; "Sepp" (as many later called him) grew up They have a strong faith and can be seen as stubborn in their old ways. mongrels were the best way to travel in this frozen tundra. Welch and Maynard were present at the equivalent meeting, but Seppala was not present nor very much involved in the decision. This film sequence is an excerpt of AAF-2240 from the Seppala-Hanks collection held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of the Alaska \u0026 Polar Regions Department in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Leonhard "Sepp" Seppala (/lnrd spl/; September 14, 1877 January 28, 1967) was a Norwegian-American sled dog breeder, trainer and musher who with his dogs played a pivotal role in the 1925 serum run to Nome,[1] and participated in the 1932 Winter Olympics. Leonhard Seppala is part of G.I. Within the year, after the dust had cleared, Seppala and Togo began to be recognized for their accomplishments. Born in 1877 #36. Flying was relatively new at the time and winter flight was still largely untested. Generation also known as The Greatest Generation. Arctic Circle -- the 14th September in the year 1877. (Recovered from my old site: written apr. with its endless mounds of gravel to be shoveled, he was very fit. THE GOLD STRIKES IN ALASKA and the Yukon were the talk of Norway with a former driver of Chinooks, Mrs. Elizabeth Ricker. worked as a ranger for U.S. Mining and Melting Company, first in Nome Wheeler, Shearer and the Belfords that were bred from them. a warm reception from the Alaskan people. Nevertheless, Seppala took off to Alaska where he started working under Lindeberg. The diphtheria serum was first transported by train from Anchorage northward to Nenana, Alaska. Photos by George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images and Disney. In the movie, Leonhard Seppala is depicted as a stoic, hardscrabble Norwegian whose demeanor is in direct contrast to that of his softhearted Belgian wife. Occupation The teams relayed on a 100 dogs to run . Summers is also the man who recommended Seppala for the run. He continues to look after Togo and even sees off his offspring which become known as The Seppala Siberiansbecause of loyalty and stamina. Disney Wiki is a FANDOM Movies Community. In the winter of 1925, a deadly outbreak of diphtheria in the remote port of Nome, Alaska, threatened the . To his surprise, the dog turned out to be a fast runner and Seppala happily decided to make him a lead dog and name him Togo after admiral Tg Heihachir. partnership arrangement with the Bow Lake Kennels of Earl L. Snodie, Leonhard Seppala with his dog Togo and Willem Dafoe in. Seppala was assigned to train the dogs. Everyone knew Sepp's abilities. Yes. Lake Placid, NY, in 1932, which was Seppala's last race in the East. his father was away on the fishing grounds. Seppala set out from Nome, met the driver carrying the serum Seppala's friend Jafet Lindeberg returned home If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. Yes. As the Salisburys put it, they were considered a part of the landscape.. remained in St. Jovite through the winter of 1931-32 and competed with Seppala left Togo, with great sadness, with Ricker to retire in comfort in 1927 (Seppala remembered it as one of the saddest moments in his life. the tour was completed and his dogs safely settled in Poland Spring, he Leonhard Seppala is considered one of Alaskas first great dog mushers; He took part in the 1925 serum run to Nome. Genealogy for Constance M Seppala (Van der Straeten) (1884 - 1969) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Details of Death: Died in the Poland Spring, Maine home of Elizabeth Ricker, a friend of Leonhard Seppala and fellow dog musher and breeder. By that time, he had already been a lead sled dog for seven years. Photos by Bettmann via Getty Images and Disney. Most Popular #186407. The Seppala House was a gift to Urtha Lenharr by Krier Enterprise of Nome, Alaska. Only a few hours after they had crossed it, the ice broke up altogether and drifted out to sea. Togo under way, Sepp writes: IN 1925 THE CITY OF NOME was threatened by a midwinter diphtheria epidemic. Kennels, which operated until 1950. His eight-year-old daughter Sigrid was in Nome, in danger of contracting diphtheria herself. The Ramsay import dogs, from which three trade and allow him to work as a Master blacksmith. Leonhard Seppala was born in the Year of the Ox. the resort in 1931 she met Kaare Nansen, the son of Norwegian explorer The victory is depicted as a flashback in the movie. death on the 28th of January 1967 at the age of ninety. fast teams; none of the Nome mushers wanted to accept the challenge. Kaasen, who was in charge of Balto, suffered frostbite to his fingers after strong winds blew his sled over. Leave a message for others who see this profile. Seppala grew to adulthood and followed in his fathers footsteps as both a smithy and a fisherman. This seems to be exaggerated a bit for the film. Poland Spring against Arthur Walden, breeder of 'Chinook' dogs and author of For an overview of the History of Seppala in Maine and the establishing of Poland Spring Kennel, click the link above entitled Poland Spring Derby. Alaska Airlines has established the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award. These three wins made himself and his Siberian Huskies famous. out driving horses and a wagon (which he had never done), filling a slip Sepp wrote: Liz Ricker divorced her husband Ted and relocated, along with Seppala, to Grey When Leonhard Seppala and his lead sled dog Togo began the relay to transport diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Togo was 12 years old, which is practically ancient for a sled dog. Leonhard Seppala lived there and ran his dogs, year-round, for the Pioneer Mining Company out of this coastal town. The only practical way to deliver more serum to Nome in the middle of the coldest winter in 20 years was by dog sled. Everyone looking on was quite amused when a Russian fur trader by the name of William Goosak pulled into the starting shoot with some half-sized bushy-tailed rat dogs he had imported from Siberia. Together with his dog Togo and several other dogs, he was able to brave through snowy weather and tundra to save countless of lives. Constance Seppala (wife) Born In 1877. Both are buried in Nome, Alaska. The enthusiasm for sled dog racing in New England together with the Serum Run publicity and the victory over Walden made it possible for Seppala and partner Elizabeth Ricker to establish a Siberian kennel at Poland Spring. publicity given to "newspaper dog" Balto who had led the Kaasen team, The Port is iced in for miles and miles. However, they could only afford a short rest, and set out again at 2 am. [1]:7071, Seppala's racing career took off the following year, at the 1915 All Alaska Sweepstakes. They wanted the 640 miles between the two towns to be traversed by the dog team. . In Astrology, Mercury is the planet that rules our mindset. Like in the film, Seppala almost missed musher Henry Ivanoff, who had been in Shaktoolik in case Seppala didn't arrive. Leonhard Seppalas birth sign is Virgo and he had a ruling planet of Mercury. None of this is to say that Balto deserved no credit: Kaasens team had to drive through a blinding blizzard, and according to The Cruelest Miles, Baltos senses of smell and touch were what kept the team on the trail. No one is! In June 1999, a memorial was erected to him in Skibotn. but quite athletic. The only planes they had were water-cooled aircraft from World War I, which didn't perform well in cold weather. After a town meeting, the phone rang at Seppalas home and the dogs in the yard began to howl. Mining Company. on the S.S. Ohio in the city of Nome, where Lindeberg had his Pioneer Scotty. resort that he was unable to pay), but at some point around this time While tending to newborn pups, Constance took pity on one puppy that was noticeably weaker than the others. Early on, it was believed that the individual attention led to his rowdiness and mischievous behavior. Leonhard Seppala: property of Jonathan Hayes. As we investigated the Togo fact vs. fiction, we discovered that a Siberian Husky named Diesel portrayed the adult Togo. The little husky had a throat infection as a puppy and required one-on-one . [18], Leonhard Seppala after the 1925 serum run, Role in the "Great Race of Mercy" of 1925, Last edited on 25 December 2022, at 22:30, "Alaska Airlines To Serve As Iditarod's Official Airline Sponsor", "The High North Tour 2021: "I Went to School to Learn Kven", "Leonhard Seppala, Alaska, State Archives (Juneau), Naturalization Records, 1900-1972", Photo: Winners of the Eighth All Alaska Sweepstakes from Alaska's Digital Archives, "2008 All Alaska Sweepstakes Media Guide", "The Siberian Husky: A Brief History of the Breed in America", "Alaska Airlines continues long-standing support of Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leonhard_Seppala&oldid=1129527357, This page was last edited on 25 December 2022, at 22:30. The fact that I won that race, started my career as a sled dog racer.. Find how many days you need based on what you want to see and do in Alaska. driver bribed by gamblings interests; at such odds, had the team won the race When he was a young man his friend Jafet Lindeberg convinced him to come to America due to the gold rush that was going on. He enjoyed the task from his first run, which he recalled clearly for the rest of his life. The dog that plays the adult Togo in the movie is a so-called Seppala Siberian named Diesel (the Seppala Siberian is now its own breed) and is actually Togos great-grandson, 14 generations removed, according to the movies director. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. fishing grounds. Willem Dafoe plays Togo's trainer, legendary musher Leonhard Seppala, and Juliana Nicholson plays his wife Constance. He immediately began the trek back across Norton Sound without pausing to rest.The conditions on the return trip were even worse. Despite the differences in the Disney version of the storysuch as the blizzard at the beginningthe fictionalized aspects are not an exaggeration of the dangers involved. After 1932 he remained in Alaska. His tour ended in January 1927 with the dogsled race at Poland Spring, Maine, where he accepted the challenge to race against Arthur Walden, founder of the New England Sled Dog Club and owner of the famous lead dog, "Chinook". Big ship or small ship? Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. His tour finished in the State of Maine in 1927 with a challenge race in Virgos. . However, in 1900, he emigrated to Alaska during the Nome gold rush. The other half of the meeting is not-so-subtle pressure on Seppala to ride to Nenana to pick up the serum. Husband of Constance M Seppala. Seppala had immigrated to Alaska from Norway when his friend Jafet Lindeberg convinced him to come work for the mining company he started in Nome. When Lindeberg asked him to train a sled dog team for an expedition Roald Amundsen was planning, he found his calling. of hair-raising adventures in defense of Pioneer claims against Seppala tells the story that he won this first race due to the intervention of a raven. They arrived at Seattle on November 2, 1926 aboard the Alaska Steamship Company freighter, Tanana. Whos the richest Dog Musher in the world. His journey through white-out storms and twice across the unforgiving Norton Sound was by far the most perilous leg of the run. [4][9] When Seppala was two years old, his family moved within Troms county to nearby Skjervy municipality on the island of Skjervya. However, Seppala does not care and instead is more concerned for Togo's health. All rights reserved. tough and self-reliant. In advanced cases, diphtheria can also cause the neck to swell, in part due to swollen lymph nodes, resulting in a condition nicknamed "bull neck" (visible below). Partner(s) Our picks for the best tours and experiences during your Alaska Cruise. While Seppala insists on immediately retiring him due to his small and weak state, Constance is strongly supportive of the puppy. This membrane (visible below over a patient's tonsils) covers healthy tissues in the throat, nose, tonsils and voice box, causing a croup-like cough, as well as severe difficulty breathing and swallowing. Seppala had to decide whether to risk Norton Sound in high winds in the dark, when he could not see or hear potential warning signs from the ice. ), Popular Alaska Itineraries Using In-State Airlines, Anchorage to Denali National Park Driving Map, Denali National Park Campgrounds & RV Parks. . "20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs 674 miles (1,085 km) in five and a half days." 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