Jack Hooker, Montana, in the 1977 Iditarod Trail Annual recalled that he had a strange experience when he left Shaktoolik during the 1976 race. He’d stayed overnight there and while hooking up the dogs to leave the next morning, he saw people on their way to church for a funeral. As he mushed out of Shaktoolik, the strains of the funeral music seemed to follow him down the trail. “That music haunted me for quite a few miles,” he said. Pilot Larry Thompson flew Jack’s wife, Karen, from Nome to White Mountain to surprise Jack. When Jack arrived in White Mountain, he was so wrapped up in race details that he didn’t even recognize his wife, bundled up in an Alaska style parka. “I kept walking up to jack but he kept talking to Larry and backing away from me until I finally said, Hello Jack! I wish you could have seen the look on his face when he recognized me!” Jack was the 19th musher to arrive in Nome in 1976. (19 days, 13 hours, 33 seconds) At the awards banquet in Nome, he was introduced “as the musher from Montana who put more miles on his dog truck then he did his dogs.” He was awarded $360 in prize money. His wife, Karen, received an award, too. She was presented with an ivory Billikin, Alaska’s good luck charm.
Jerry Austin entered the 1976 Iditarod and finished in 23rd place. Although he’d had 5 years of mushing experience, this was his first race ever! Austin was well supplied with food during the race. “King and silver salmon strips from Joe Aparezuk in Kotlik, coffee, tea, bacon, homemade soups and stews, frozen in plastic bags (I think Ford Reeves ate more of these than I did.) frozen whitefish and sheefish from Pat Kameroff and Joseph Mike in Kotlik, and ‘Pop Tarts’ by the hundreds!” Austin also said, “I hate to admit it, but I ate from my dog pot quite a bit as they were eating seal and fish, too. I also had the best meal of the race from Tom Mercer’s dog pot in Rohn River. It was dark and I didn’t ask him what was in it but it was meat in a really good oily broth.”
First day cachets commemorating the Iditarod and early day mail carriers were carried by mushers in the 1976 Iditarod. The commemorative envelopes were cancelled in Anchorage, packed in plastic bags, and distributed to the mushers for the sled ride to Nome, where they were back stamped. They later sold for 50 cents each at post offices throughout the nation. When mushers received their package of ‘mail’ it was to symbolize ‘in the old days’ when most of the mail in interior Alaska traveled by dog team. (Nome Kennel Club Project)
Howard Farley of Nome, raced in the 1973 Iditarod. “Mostly I just cruised along, enjoying the scenery, meeting people, and making plans to improve the 1974 race.” The cold weather wasn’t a problem for Farley. His wife Julie had made him and Eskimo style parka and two pairs of mukluks. One pair was made of reindeer and the other sealskin. This clothing “is the best thing to wear on the trail,” he said. “A parka is more comfortable than anything else. It’s loose, but warm. There’s no buttons, zippers, or buckles to fool with. The hood of my parka was lined with a Wolverine ruff. In case I needed them I had a pair of sealskin pants with me. I used the reindeer mucus in dry areas and the sealskin in wet areas. I didn’t have any trouble with cold or wet feet during the race.”
In the 1976 Iditarod Race Annual, Dick Mackey said, “The big thing with dog mushing – most people don’t understand it. They can follow a golf match OK on TV, but dog mushing is a little more complicated. People want to see everything that’s going on, and there’s no way they can do that until they film the Iditarod on live TV.”
“Essence of the Iditarod written by Bill Vaudrin, The Iditarod appeals to everything in me. There are some parts you’ll never lose about waking up in your sled in the morning hundreds of miles out on the trail. With eight or ten of your favorite dogs staked out around you in the snow for company: Rousing yourself up to start a fire, and passing your eyes over all the incredible country stretched out to the horizon in every direction…maybe you pick out a pale green mountain in the distance, and warm your insides with the assurance that before you camp again, you’ll be on the other side of it, looking b ack. And all the country in between – the hills and trees and rivers and valleys – well, all that country will be yours. It will belong to you in a way that no one could ever annul or diminish, because you will have staked the only claim to it that the land itself recognizes: you will have penetrated to the heart of it – and it will become a part of you. Forever.
Col. Vaughan’s lead dog in the 1975 Iditarod was “Rabbit”. Vaughan said that “only an unusual dog can accommodate the high speed of sprint races and then go on into a long distance race like Iditarod. Rabbit is an unusual dog. He never gets tangles and always responds to “Yak!” Rabbit, a male Alaskan Husky, was born in New York.
Mitch Brazin (from St. Michael, Alaska) was an Iditarod rookie in the 1989 Iditarod. He finished the race in 23rd place in 13 days 10 hours, 5 minutes, and 54 seconds. Mitch was pleased with how his leaders, Sandra and Joy, and the rest of the team did during the race.
Stan Zuray of Tanana placed 9th in the 1982 Iditarod with a total time of 16:06:44:00. He had a following of enthusiastic fans and a sign on his sled that read, “Hip, Hip, Zuray!” He was the ‘Rookie of the Year’ and received $1,500 and a trophy.
In the 1983 Iditarod Trail Annual, Musher Representative on the Board of Directors, John Wood gave advice to rookie mushers, “Keep in an upbeat frame of mind. One will be on the trail two weeks or more, and will be without sleep for extended periods of time and have very little sleep the rest of the time. One might be uncomfortable or downright miserable. It may be easy to slip into a funky or downcast mood. Don’t do it! Set your sights on an attainable goal and work towards it, whether it’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ award or just to complete the race. Remember, your ability to complete the race hinges directly on your ability to properly manage and care for your dog team.”
John also said in the 1983 Trail Annual, “I have ventured forth on the ‘Last Great Race’ three times, 1978, 1979, and 1982. I have passed beneath the hallowed burl arch that marks the finish of the Iditarod Trail race three times. The total prize money I have earned is ZILCH! I have unparalleled record of mediocrity. But if one asks me if I plan to run the Iditarod again, I won’t just say “yes”, I’ll say “hell yes!” because to me, the Iditarod exemplifies adventure, excitement, competition, and camaraderie which is uniquely Alaskan. No other event or activity can compare. So if one is looking for a bit of old Alaska, is enterprising, athletic and an outdoors person searching for new adventures, do yourself a favor, get into sled dog racing. Then it will get under your skin and you’ll be hooked, just like me. And before you know what’s happened, you’ll be out mushing the Iditarod Trail to Nome, too.”
Glenn Findlay, of Australia, was a rookie in 1982. After the race he stated, “The Iditarod is a link with the past, a truly different experience. Except for the wind storm near Shaktoolik, it was much like I pictured it would be after talking to Joe Redington Sr. I think I made good friends in Alaska. I especially appreciate what Joe Redington did for me. The people at the checkpoints were great, too. They treated me just fine and provided good food to supplement mine.”
Compiled by Diane Johnson
* Resource: Iditarod Trail Annual publications.
