Jonathan Hayes is a marine veteran, minister, middle school teacher, and a complete dog-man. Living with his family in Maine, he has been working to preserve the line of Seppala Siberian huskies that have had ties to the area ever since Leonard Seppala, himself, brought Togo to Maine. Seppala was a renowned dog musher from Nome, Alaska who ran the longest leg of the 1925 Serum Run with his equally famous dog, Togo in lead. The serum he was carrying was to help stop a Diphtheria outbreak from devastating the coastal town of Nome. Years after his integral role in the 1925 Serum Run, Togo retired from running and lived with Elizabeth Ricker in the town of Poland Springs, Maine until he passed away on December 5, 1929. To learn more about Leonard Seppala, and other interesting stories about the life saving Serum Run, be sure to read the Eye on the Trail posts at https://iditarod.com.
Currently, Jonathan runs the Poland Spring Seppala Kennel, which works to continue the bloodlines of this canine hero. This kennel was originally established by Seppala (and Togo), and was the first Siberian Kennel in the Lower 48 states. According to his website, “For the past 20 years, we have been honored to carry on this Maine legacy by breeding, training, and racing with the direct descendants of that original team, with our CKC registered Seppala Siberian Sled Dogs.” He is even part of a team trying to get the Seppala Siberian to become the state dog of Maine. This proposal is currently working its way through the Maine state legislature.
In a few days time, on January 27th at 10:00AM (Alaska time), Hayes will be leading a team of 16 of these Seppala Siberians on an epic journey across the state of Alaska to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Serum Run. He is planning on making his “Centennial Seppala Expedition” available to all who are interested by providing daily updates from the trail.
In an effort to keep things as historically accurate as possible, his departure date is the same date the serum arrived by train to the town of Nenana in 1925. There will even be a reenactment involving the Alaska Railroad, which will be delivering a ceremonial package of serum to the Mayor of Nenana. He in turn will hand the package to Jonathan to make a ceremonial run down the streets of the town. This will be part of a weekend long celebration in Nenana that includes dinner, a slideshow, a presentation of the history and stories surrounding the Serum Run, and a celebration on Friday, Jan. 24th. The serum handoff will happen the following day when attendees will also have time to talk with Hayes and meet his team – both canine and human.
The celebration also pays tribute to “Wild” Bill Shannon, who also played an important role in the historic Serum Run. In 1925, he was the first musher to receive the serum at the train depot in Nenana before he led his team on the first leg of the relay to deliver the life saving diphtheria medicine to Nome. In lead, was his best dog “Blackie”. The town flyer for this event honors its former town resident, Shannon, as his picture and his best lead dog are adorned in the image that is used. Jonathan also has a dog, who closely resembles Blackie, who he plans to put in lead for this event. Again, showing the lengths being taken to make this expedition historically accurate.
As a teacher, Hayes intends to do presentations at some of the village schools and town halls about his adventure along the way. There will be an updated map of his current location posted on his website as well. To keep students from afar involved in his journey, he will be providing daily video updates from the trail as to his progress and experiences. Making this possible, videographer Caleb Gingras is accompanying his team to help document the entire expedition. Lastly, Hayes will also be joined by Jamie Nichols and Jeff Kelly on snow machines to help break trail for his dogteam. It truly takes a team effort to make this centennial expedition happen, and he has a great team assembled.

Photo Credit: Caleb Gingras
Follow along with his journey using the map and check into his updates at:
Also, be sure to check out the painting that Iditarod Artist, Jon Van Zyle has done to support Jonathan on his adventure, and grab a copy for yourself if you are interested!

Jon Van Zyle original artwork for the Centennial Seppala Expedition