Cyndy Fritts (2013 photo by Patty Bailey)
Cyndy Fritts, long time Iditarod volunteer and organizer of the Skwentna Sweeties, passed away on August 16, 2016 in Eagle River, AK. Cyndy will long be remembered for her warm and friendly personality, her sense of humor, her can do attitude and her generous gifts of time and talent in her role at Iditarod’s Skwentna Checkpoint.
Cyndy and her husband Rob moved to Alaska from Colorado in 1974. They settled in Anchorage for a short time. In 1978 Cyndy and Rob established a homestead in Skwentna. While living in the bush, the Fritts family expanded. First came Zach, born in the fall of 1979 and then Keegan arrived during the summer of 1983. Like all residents of Skwentna, the Fritts family ventured to the post office a couple of times a week to collect mail. Here they met Postmaster, Joe Delia.
When living in the bush, people help their neighbors out when help is needed. Such was the case early every March when Joe offered his homestead to Iditarod as a checkpoint. The task was way too large for one man or even one family so folks in the area pitched in. That was the beginning of a very long relationship for Cyndy and Rob not only with Joe Delia and his future wife Norma but also with Iditarod.
As Joe and Norma aged and the demands of the race grew, Cyndy and Rob became their chief assistants. Then “officially” in 1997 after 25 years of serving Iditarod Joe and Norma retired. They turned their labor of love over to younger legs and stronger backs. Cyndy headed up the Skwentna Sweeties and Rob directed the River Crew and took over Joe’s job as checker. Joe and Norma were still the ever-welcoming host and hostess and they watched with pride as the Fritts family including Zach and Keegan carried on the traditions of the Skwentna Checkpoint.
As Teacher on the Trail in 2006, I met Cyndy just after Bruce Moroney delivered me to Skwentna Checkpoint in his Cessna bush plane. We landed on the river and one of the River Crew gave me a ride up the hill to the Outback Cabin on his snow machine. He told me to go inside and ask for Cyndy. Seemed like she had some sort of special ESP or radar as I didn’t even have the words out of my mouth before a woman wearing an apron and a Cyndy nametag greeted me at the door. Her smile was so warm and friendly. Her eyes twinkled and shined with kindness. Immediately I felt welcome. She introduced me to six or eight women; all wearing aprons like hers as well as name tags. They called themselves the Skwentna Sweeties. She introduced me to the communications people and promised that I’d meet the Darlings (River Crew) as well as Joe and Norma Delia at supper. She found a small space for me to put my sleeping bag and said if there was anything I needed, just ask. Thanks to Cyndy, not only did this newbie feel welcome, I felt at home.
Todd Silver of Tacoma, Washington who along with his family has worked the checkpoint since the early 90’s tells about how they became involved as part of the River Crew (aka the Darlings) and how much Rob and Cyndy Fritts contributed to the Iditarod as volunteers. He writes, “Our family became involved with the Iditarod through the Rite in the Rain check sheets and musher journals we donate to Iditarod from our business each year. We then became connected serendipitously with Joe & Norma Delia and Rob and Cyndy Fritts who operated the Skwentna Checkpoint. Their warm welcome and invitation to volunteer for Iditarod drew us into their circle and it became an annual pilgrimage for us to go north to help them run the checkpoint. Cyndy and Norma headed up the “Skwentna Sweeties” cooking crew and Joe and Rob managed the River Crew. The two groups combined to make the checkpoint literally glow with welcome to all who came through. Our family has been deeply honored to be involved. Their legacy will continue strong through the next generation as Keegan and Stephen Fritts and Pat Delia and his family carry the torch onward. We (Scott, Todd, Teresa, Kelsey and Kent Silver) mourn Cyndy’s loss yet celebrate her life and memory.”
Iditarod communications volunteer Andi Malard says, “The first words I heard about Cyndy were, ‘Talk to Cyndy Fritts, she’ll find the answer for you.’ As I got to know her while working communications at Skwentna, the words described her perfectly.” Iditarod communications workers set up shop on a sewing machine situated right next to the kitchen stove. The cabin, while spacious enough for a single family, was a little tight for the large number of volunteers and mushers who would pass through the door on the first night of the race. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the communications people worked “closely” with the Skwentna Sweeties. It was obvious that Cyndy had her finger on the pulse of everything that was happening in the checkpoint. She was the go to gal.
Andi continues saying, “Cyndy was one of the first volunteers at Skwentna checkpoint. She and Norma Delia were good friends and the two of them together were the driving force behind the expansion of the early checkpoint and transforming it into the welcoming, comfortable stop along the trail that it is today. At the Delia homestead, Cyndy and her husband Rob helped solve the issues of a growing race; where to park the increasing number of dog teams, how to configure a parking area that allowed for some mushers to grab supplies and travel straight through while at the same time providing hot water, an abundance of delicious food and shelter to those mushers who stopped with their teams for a rest. When Cyndy had a vision, she would find a way to make it happen. On a personal note, Cyndy was a wonderful, outgoing, energetic friend who welcomed challenge and enjoyed learning new things. She was one of the bravest people I’ve been privileged to know and I will miss her.”
In the early days of the race, the number of mushers was only a fraction of what it has grown to today. Thus, the number of volunteers necessary for a checkpoint to run efficiently and smoothly has also grown. What a few people on the river and a few people in the cabin could do years ago doesn’t come near to what is needed today, especially in an early checkpoint like Skwentna. Early checkpoints are very labor intensive. The entire field of mushers comes through in a very short period of time. Between forty and fifty people are needed to run the Skwentna checkpoint. Just as a more efficient system and more help was needed on the river to manage the teams, more help and a better system was needed in the cabin to welcome and provide nutritious food for the volunteers and mushers. Cyndy was instrumental in helping to found the Skwentna Sweeties in responding to that need. The Sweeties create remarkable meals and make every person who enters the checkpoint feel like he or she is the most important person who’s ever walked through the door. That was a part of the legendary Delia hospitality that both Cyndy and Rob Fritts embraced and have paralleled over the years.
It seems that Cyndy and Rob were cut from much the same cloth as Joe and Norma Delia. You are only a stranger once at the Skwentna checkpoint. Iditarod and all the people that come with it are welcomed with open arms. After first time visitors sign the guest book at Skwentna, they depart no longer as strangers but as friends. In the case of the incredible team of Iditarod volunteers – the cabin Sweeties, the river Darlings and race personnel – they leave as Iditarod Family. The Iditarod volunteers meet at Skwentna once a year for a hectic weekend when Iditarod passes through. It’s Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and every other holiday all rolled into one. For nearly 40 years, Cyndy Fritts has been instrumental in coordinating the hospitality and creating the feeling of family that defines Skwentna checkpoint.
Barb Abercrombie, also a communications volunteer, paints a true to life picture of Cyndy in saying, “Cyndy ran the Skwentna Sweeties like a well oiled machine. She was so committed to Iditarod as a volunteer, even after they moved from Skwentna to Eagle River. It was all of the details from personal name tags to Skwentna checkpoint shirts/vests/jackets/hats and that was over and above the meal planning, scheduling shifts, cleaning, transportation arrangements and opening and closing of the checkpoint. Cyndy and the entire group of Sweeties and the River Darlings made the checkpoint an unforgettable experience.”
Skwentna Sweeties (L to R) Cindy Camilli, Jen Camilli Landmesser, rookie musher Kristin Bacon, Cyndy Fritts, Melissa Moore Alger and Colleen Brown. Photo courtesy of Kristin Bacon.
Kristin Bacon’s first adventures on the Iditarod trail were as a member of the Skwentna Sweeties. Her 2016 journey on the trail was with her dog team as a rookie Iditarod musher. From her years as a Sweetie, she knew Cyndy well and writes, “As a friend of a friend, Cyndy welcomed me to the Skwentna Sweeties crew in 2003. Over the years she became a dear friend, inspiration and huge supporter of Bacon’s Acres dog team. My Iditarod dream was fueled by my time in Skwentna serving as an Iditarod volunteer with Cyndy and the rest of the Sweeties and Darlings. This year (2016) was my rookie Iditarod and my first arrival into the Skwentna checkpoint by dog team. It was a true celebration. The Sweeties and the Darlings greeted my team with signs, cheers and lots of love. Cyndy was right in the midst of it all, smiling. I will always remember her welcoming smile, her Skwentna pride and her huge heart. She will be really missed but her spirit will continue to be with me daily in my dog filled life.”
Jeana Spindle has worn the apron of a Skwentna Sweetie for multiple years. In the paragraphs that follow, she describes and reflects on her experiences and the character of the woman who organized the Skwentna Sweeties. “My first trip into the bush was in 2001 as a Skwentna Sweetie. It was also my first experience in a Cessna bush plane, my first Iditarod and a time when I met many remarkable people including Cyndy Fritts. Postmaster and trapper, Joe Delia fetched us from the airstrip with his snowmachine. Once inside the checkpoint cabin, his wife, Norma, and their beagle, Mac, warmly greeted us. It was the role of the Skwentna Sweeties to clean, make necessary preparations and cook for veterinarians, race officials/crew and the mushers. Cyndy was responsible for heading up the logistical details and operations for the cabin portion of this endeavor. Joe Delia and Rob Fritts headed up the River portion of the checkpoint.”
Jeana recalls the hard work it took to make Skwentna happen, “Over the years, I was blessed to join the Sweeties many time for the annual Iditarod pilgrimage to the Delia’s. It is difficult to describe the experience to those who haven’t been there. It is tiring work coordinating, planning, purchasing, and hauling supplies to Skwentna. Then after arriving we’re busy hauling and purifying water, scouring the kitchen and cooking for a small army of people. It is work but it is magical. It is camaraderie of people sharing stories and making memories. It was Joe and Norma Delia. It was Cyndy and Rob Fritts. It is the Skwentna Experience.”
“Cyndy fought her cancer with grace,” said Jeana. “She worked at healing. She worked on her positive outlook. A woman of faith, a woman of strong convictions, a woman of joy with an indomitable spirit, Cyndy set goals and moved forward. Having lost Rob in 2007, Joe in 2014, Norma during the last Iditarod and now Cyndy, the Skwentna Experience will never be the same. But how could it? It is we who are altered as our lives have been touched by people who remind us what it means to live, brought together by a single event. Cyndy may not have run Iditarod but she ran a great race and she ran it well.”
Cyndy was preceded in death by her husband Rob and her son Zachary. Her legacy lives on through her son Keegan Fritts and his spouse, Stephan Romanelli Fritts. Both men continue the Fritts family tradition of volunteering for Iditarod at Skwentna. Keegan is the official checker and Stephen lends his talents to food preparation, hospitality and organization of the checkpoint.
The Iditarod Trial Committee thanks Cyndy and Rob Fritts for their innovation, dedication and decades of service to the Last Great Race. Keegan and Stephen, know that your Iditarod family supports you in this difficult time.
A memorial service for Cyndy will be held at 2 pm on September 10th in Eagle River, AK at Community Covenant Church. Read Cyndy’s obituary using this link.
