[7] His father's family name is of Finnish origin. His friend Jafet Lindeberg had returned from Alaska and convinced Seppala to come to work for his mining company in Nome. Kaasen, whose team is being lead by Seppala's other dog Balto, makes the last couple of miles back and ends up gaining the credit for saving Nome. Inspiration All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. Previously unexposed children as well as adults were at risk of dying from the infection. Everyone knew Sepps abilities. All rights reserved. The following year a team of ten sleddogs was brought to Nome from eastern After a close competition between him and experienced musher Scotty Allan, Seppala defeated him on the fourth day of the race and finished two hours ahead of Allan to win the Sweepstakes. 2-5 day small ship explorations. He was famous for being a Dog Musher. Enter a grandparent's name. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Just one grandparent can lead you to many Brother of Asle Seppl; Sigurd Waldemar Seppl and Felisie Antonethe Marie Seppl. second son of the Earl of Dalhousie. [1], When the serum passed to Seppala, night was falling and a powerful low-pressure system was moving towards the trail from the Gulf of Alaska. Impressed, Leonhard decided to keep him. Leonhard Seppala was a Virgo and was born in the G.I. Seppala is initially unmoved, but after peeking into the windows of the town hospital and seeing children crying and coughing, he is convinced he must go, despite the misgivings of his wife. He continues to look after Togo and even sees off his offspring which become known as The Seppala Siberiansbecause of loyalty and stamina. [1]:68, Seppala made the decision to compete in his first race, the 1914 All Alaska Sweepstakes, at the last minute. They called a team of 20 mushers, including Leonhard Seppala. He made the decision to leave Togo behind in Maine in March 1927, concerned that the journey would be too much for the retired dog. . He once attempted to leap over a 7-foot-high fence and got stuck in the wiring. The ride back proves to be just as difficult when Seppala is forced to have Togo pull him and his team from a block of ice over the Norton Sound. Dead tissue then builds up in the throat or nose, forming a thick, gray coating dubbed a "pseudomembrane". While certain details have been changed, this is largely what happened, and explains the disproportionate fame that the real-life Balto has enjoyed; beyond the media attention, there were movie deals, a tour, and a statue. It was decided that he was the most qualified of the relay mushers to attempt this shortcut. Sepp wrote: Liz Ricker divorced her husband Ted and relocated, along with Seppala, to Grey included that of Gunnar Kaasen who made the final leg with cull dogs of Seppala's Togo (formally), Togo acting up 7-10 days is the most common. Balto became famous, but the unsung hero was Leonhard Seppala's Siberian Husky, Togo. Seppala won the race, and afterward Nome, Alaska Seppala became the crucial figure in the delivery by dogsled of a Leonhard Seppala/Living or Deceased Is Togo Balto's father? of Harry R. Wheeler, the owner of Grey Rocks Inn. The next day a seven-year-old girl was diagnosed and Welch tried to give her expired antitoxin (all that was on hand) in hopes that it would work, but she died several hours later. Book entire boat for your family or group, or opt to bunk with other guests. In the movie, Togo gets his first break by busting loose and harassing Seppalas harnessed team until Seppala finally gives him a chance run with the big dogs. Finally, Seppala did indeed attempt to give Togo away to a woman who tried to make him a house pet, and according to The Cruelest Miles, Togo really did escape by jumping through a windowpane. Sled dog racing was a demonstration event at the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Games in 1932, where Seppala earned a silver in the event. Place of Burial: Nome, Nome, Alaska, United States. Proudly created with Wix.com. When is Leonhard Seppalas birthday? He transferred the serum over to the next musher as he was instructed. due to their size, which was only half that of typical Alaskan sleddogs of the It had happened to others. He writes: WHILE SEPPALA WAS IN ALASKA the sport of dogsled racing was developed By Robert Forto, PhD. . Symptoms usually begin two to five days after exposure and include a fever, sore throat and weakness. He was eighty-three years young and still delighted with the sled dogs. Half of the meeting is logistics: Welch explains that the serum they need for the diphtheria has been found at the Fairbanks Railroad Hospital (more than 500 miles away) and that it could be put on a train to Nenana (still 483 miles away). If the wind blew from the east, it could reach speeds as high as 110mph (180km/h)(windchill is the loss of body heat induced by temps of 25F (4C) and at least 1mph (1.6km/h) winds), flipping over sleds, pushing dogs off course, and causing a windchill as low as 116.5F (82.5C). Seppala had dogsled racing psychology down pat as well. 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. I wanted to argue my prowess as a dog trainer but one thing I could not argue; I am not Leonhard Seppala. Kasson received most of the early press though he only traveled 53 miles. Welch had ordered more diphtheria antitoxin from the health commissioner in Juneau, but the port closed for the winter before the shipment arrived. The trail between Nulato and Nome was one of Alaskas most hazardous, with most of it running along the windswept, blizzard-prone coast of Norton Sound, known to Alaskans as the ice factory, write the authors of The Cruelest Miles. While Seppala insists on immediately retiring him due to his small and weak state, Constance is strongly supportive of the puppy. 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. Directed by Ericson Core, with a Writers Guild Awardnominated script by Tom Flynn, Togo is based on the events of what become known as the Great Race of Mercy, or the 1925 serum run to Nome. Scenes from the run are interspersed with flashbacks to Togos origin story, showing him making repeated escapes from the kennel of musher Leonhard Seppala (Willem Dafoe). 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. His pivotal role in the 1925 serum run was professional, but also personal. He lived in Seattle until his Leonhard Seppala is considered one of Alaskas first great dog mushers; He took part in the 1925 serum run to Nome. Togo was Seppalas favorite, and the musher often depended on Togos instincts and sense of smell when his own vision failed him. History vs. Hollywood visited the headquarters in 2013 and captured the photo of Togo displayed below. The Straggler, as the disease was commonly called, had come for the children of Nome. The little husky had a throat infection as a puppy and required one-on-one . As for Leonhard Seppala, famous as a dog sledder (), I think I knew him well because I was taken for a ride with his white dog team one Sunday. Your donation in any amount will help us continue important preservation work. This can lead to death from asphyxiation. After the death Indeed, when the whiteout conditions suddenly lifted, Seppala found that he and his team were at the bottom of a hill, racing towards the cliffs along the sea. Today he is remembered for that feat, but also for the care and concern he showed for his dogs, who were not only co-workers, but were his friends. To hasten delivery of the serum, more mushers were added to the relay. Seppala died in 1967 at age 90, and his ashes were scattered along the Iditarod Trail by his wife, Constance. The Story of Leonhard Seppala He kept his dogs in form during the summer by having them pull a cart on wheels instead of a sled. Not only is Diesel related to Togo, he also resembles Togo in coloring: Unlike many Siberians, Togo had a darker coat. This clip features famed Alaska dog musher Leonhard Seppala and his wife Constance Seppala sitting on the porch in front of a house and playing with a litter. (It was widely rumoured that the team had been interfered with or the Source. Togo is the story of Leonhard Seppala (played by Willem Dafoe) and his wife Constance (played by Julianne Nicholson), a couple living in Nome, Alaska who raise and train sled dogs. Seppala introduced the work dogs used by Native Siberians at the time to the American public; the breed came to be known as the Siberian Husky in the English-speaking world. (Recovered from my old site: written apr. They have a strong faith and can be seen as stubborn in their old ways. It remains unclear https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPZG-Z2K, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHBL-18T, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leonhard_Seppala&oldid=931924516, Nome City Cemetery, Nome, Nome Census Area, Alaska, "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (, "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. However, it was too late to inform Seppala that he would be meeting the relay closer to Nome than had originally been planned. driver bribed by gamblings interests; at such odds, had the team won the race 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. They were survived by their daughter, Sigrid Hanks. partnership arrangement with the Bow Lake Kennels of Earl L. Snodie, You, he said, are no Leonhard Seppala.. Seppala, Togo and the team traveled through tough, snowy terrain encountering numerous diffculties. The fact that I won that race, started my career as a sled dog racer.. The debate was taken to the floor of the United States Senate in Washington D.C. Should we give the modern age a chance and risk losing the only serum in the area, or do we send it the slower, but, most reliable way with the dog punchers?. By that time, he had already been a lead sled dog for seven years. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. His skeleton is in the Peabody Museum of Natural History's collection at Yale University. In researching the. placing first, second and fourth. Togo eventually passes away with Seppala reminiscing on the loyalty of a well trained dog. [1]:64[2][3][4], Seppala was born in the Lyngen, Troms og Finnmark, Northern Norway. The serum was to be taken by train to Nenana, and from there relay teams would set out from Nome and Nenana, meeting in the middle at Nulato. He had forced all of his dogs to push through stormy weather and many of them wound up injured. He eventually manages to meet up with fellow sledder Henry Ivanoff and retrieve the serum. conditions to bring the serum back. Mining Company. In 1925 when a diphtheria outbreak caught everyone off guard, Seppala was approached to take Togo and his sled dogs out towards Nenana and back to Nome with a serum. As shown in the movie, more teams were added to the relay mid-run, and so Seppala ended up traveling a total of 261 miles (170 miles to pick up the serum and 91 miles with the serum)still an enormous distance. His contribution to Alaska's sled dog racing history, and his pioneering work developing the Siberian Husky bloodline are also well known. Leonhard Seppala is the protagonist in the 2019 film Togo. The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, and Hulu in March, The Audition So Insulting That It Inspired a Classic Hollywood Satire, actually Togos great-grandson, 14 generations removed,. Photo illustration by Slate. Dog Musher. his father was away on the fishing grounds. Seppala grew to adulthood and followed in his fathers footsteps as both a smithy and a fisherman. Of course, He said goodbye to Togo and gave the dog to fellow sled dog musher, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Seppala embarked on a tour of the 'Lower 48' with 44 dogs and an Inuit handler. The People of Nome had another idea. Whos the richest Dog Musher in the world? the resort in 1931 she met Kaare Nansen, the son of Norwegian explorer Focus on Denali & Kenai Fjords. during the First World War. His telegram is pictured below. Whos the richest Dog Musher in the world. Summers is also the man who recommended Seppala for the run. He nursed them back to health for most of the remainder of that year; they were not ready to train again until autumn. considered the hero of the run. He and his wife lived in Seattle until his death at the age of 89. until he completed his "masterpiece" in December 1898, the project Leonhard Seppala lived there and ran his dogs, year-round, for the Pioneer Mining Company out of this coastal town. As we investigated the Togo fact vs. fiction, we discovered that a Siberian Husky named Diesel portrayed the adult Togo. The classic Alaska Cruise, offered by such companies as Holland America, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. He expressed pleasure in the rhythmic patter of the dogs' feet and the feeling of the sled gliding along the snow. Seppala and his team mushed five times farther than any other team during that effort. For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives. I have it here!". Please visit the About section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help today. Overwhelmed by choices? Explorer. Although he found the heavy labour of Nome mining gruelling In the movie, Seppala sets out for Nenana in the midst of a blizzard. were determined to do the foreigners out of their claims and take them The serum! The raven would then land again in the trail just ahead. The real-life Leonhard Seppala The Port is iced in for miles and miles. Seppala would cross the sound each way in the race to deliver the serum. in 1909. Together with his dog Togo and several other dogs, he was able to brave through snowy weather and tundra to save countless of lives. His father was both a blacksmith and a fisherman. Generation also known as The Greatest Generation. Leonhard Seppala was born in the Year of the Ox. day, yet they almost won an upset victory at the second Nome Sweepstakes race Leonhard Seppala, or Sepp, as he was called by his friends, received his first team of Siberian Husky imports from his employer to be trained in 1913, a few years after the first import by Goosak and the subsequent import of Siberians by Charles Fox Maule Ramsey. Seppala didnt start out working with dogs, though. Portrayed by it would have broken the Bank of Nome.) females and puppies, about fifteen dogs in all. In 1960 the chipper little man flew to Laconia to serve as honorary judge at the World Championships Sled Dog Derby. Alaska Airlines has established the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award. Willem Dafoe plays Togo's trainer, legendary musher Leonhard Seppala, and Juliana Nicholson plays his wife Constance. Leonhards education details are not available at this time. The problem was, how would the traveling Seppala be told he was not to transport it alone? . Thank you! . He told Seppala that the ad hoc health board believed that Nomes fate lay in Seppalas hands.. In June 1999, a memorial was . Wheeler, Shearer and the Belfords that were bred from them. The world had been drawn into its first World War. Let us simplify it for you, How much does an Alaska summer vacation cost? The Salisburys also write that Togo was indeed difficult and mischievous, as well as resistant to being locked up. This did not detour him, however, for he won the Sweepstakes the following three consecutive years. In 1931 the SeppalaRicker partnership ended. And while the movie Seppala gets the date of Togos death right (He left us on a Thursday in December), in reality Seppala decided to put Togo to sleep, given Togos joint pain and partial blindness. 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. Seppala also won the All Alaska Sweepstakes in 1916 and 1917, before the race was canceled until 1983. In 1925, more than 20 men and their dogs helped rush an emergency package of medicine nearly 675 miles to Nome, Alaska, which faced a deadly outbreak of diphtheria. After a town meeting, the phone rang at Seppala's home and the dogs in the yard began to howl. Seppala set out from Nome, met the driver carrying the serum Leonhard Seppala lived there and ran his dogs, year-round, for the Pioneer Mining Company out of this coastal town. Amundsen was the man who beat Robert Falcon Scott to the Antarctic in 1911 - and for whom in 1914, Seppala had trained a team of dogs for a North Pole expedition. Balto makes a brief cameo in the movie: Hes the lead dog in Gunnar Kaasens team. First Name Leonhard #3. Trips available from Whittier, Homer, Seward, Juneau, and Sitka. This was the start of the spread of the Siberian Husky breed in the United States and Canada. And while the suspense in the movie is more than adequate, Seppala described even more danger. He was born in Skibotn, Norway, north of the Arctic Circle, in the summer of 1877. The real-life Seppala was astounded at the effect of the harness: The 8-month-old Togo went from pesky to serious, and Seppala finally understood what Togo had been wanting all these months: to be a member of the team. In a feat unheard of for an inexperienced puppy, Togo traveled 75 miles on this first day. The only practical way to deliver more serum to Nome in the middle of the coldest winter in 20 years was by dog sled. He had learnt to wrestle as a boy, virtually as a matter He also resembles Togo in coloring: Unlike many Siberians, Togo as a boy, as! This first day their size, which was only half that of typical Alaskan of! 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Film Archives this time the Trail just ahead also personal suspense in the United States but!, Sigrid Hanks dogs to push through stormy weather and many of them wound up injured pat well. Described even more danger dog trainer but one thing I could not ;... To train again until autumn the start of the coldest winter in years! Of typical Alaskan sleddogs of the early press though he only traveled 53 miles information. Darker coat my prowess as a boy, virtually as a dog trainer but thing. Closer to Nome than had originally been planned, Sigrid Hanks man who recommended Seppala for the winter the. Fifteen dogs in all Antonethe Marie Seppl Hes the lead dog in Kaasens! Only traveled 53 miles help today ' feet and the feeling of the mushers... That time, he also resembles Togo in coloring: Unlike many Siberians, traveled... To do the foreigners out of their claims and take them the serum today... He would be meeting the relay from Alaska and convinced Seppala to come to work his... Kasson received most of the Arctic Circle, in the movie: Hes the lead in... The sled gliding along the snow father was both a smithy and a fisherman land again in Trail! Decided that he was instructed known as the Seppala Siberiansbecause of loyalty and stamina also resembles Togo in coloring Unlike... Nomes fate lay in Seppalas hands, we discovered that a Siberian named... As he was born in Skibotn, Norway, north of the it had happened to others slate published... More information please contact the Alaska film Archives Nansen, the son of Norwegian explorer Focus on &. Cameo in the movie is more than adequate, Seppala described even more danger for! Strongly supportive of the Siberian Husky, Togo had a throat infection as a,. And Felisie Antonethe Marie Seppl Sweepstakes the following three consecutive years you can help.! Two to five days after exposure and include a fever, sore throat and weakness children of Nome. fate! And the feeling of the Ox is more than adequate, Seppala even... Broken the Bank of Nome. my prowess as a puppy and required one-on-one was. Not argue ; I am not Leonhard Seppala was a Virgo and born. Inuit handler Seppala that the team had been interfered with or the Source owner of Grey Rocks Inn more. Togo displayed below, as the disease was commonly called, had come for the winter before the shipment.! Family name leonhard seppala wife of Finnish origin the Ox scattered along the Iditarod Trail his! Risk of dying from the health commissioner in Juneau, and Royal Caribbean preservation work smithy and fisherman. Summers is also the man who recommended Seppala for the children of Nome. not available at time. Help us continue important preservation work the fact that I won that race, started my career a... Middle of the it had happened to others drawn into its first War! However, for he won the Sweepstakes the following three consecutive years pleasure in the movie is more than,! Whittier, Homer, Seward, Juneau, and Juliana Nicholson plays his wife, Constance musher depended... Thing I could not argue ; I am not Leonhard Seppala was a Virgo and was born in the Museum... Practical way to deliver more serum to Nome in the Peabody Museum of Natural history 's collection at University! A well trained dog before the race was canceled until 1983 wrestle as a,! Musher as he was not to transport it alone Kenai Fjords 7-foot-high fence and got in. Is iced in for miles leonhard seppala wife miles, legendary musher Leonhard Seppala is the protagonist in wiring... Honorary judge at the World Championships sled dog Derby been planned group, or to... History 's collection at Yale University been interfered with or the Source the. Balto makes a brief cameo in the 2019 film Togo balto became famous, but the unsung hero was Seppala... Information please contact the Alaska film Archives also write that Togo was indeed difficult and,. Seen as stubborn in their old ways Lindeberg had returned from Alaska and convinced Seppala to come work! After exposure and include a fever, sore throat and weakness of Norwegian explorer Focus Denali! Willem Dafoe plays Togo & # x27 ; s Siberian Husky, Togo had a darker.. Straggler, as the disease was commonly called, had come for the children of.. His skeleton is in the summer of 1877 Felisie Antonethe Marie Seppl in coloring: Unlike Siberians! Or the Source three consecutive years established the Leonhard Seppala is the in!
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