| Summary: | The Norwegian dog-musher Leonard Seppala participated in a myriad of races in Alaska and later in the Lower Forty-Eight and was active in the Nome Kennel Club from its inception in 1908. Working with Russians and Canadians, Seppala was also involved in the breeding of sled dogs and the attempt to maintain the traits of the original Siberian Huskies. However, it is the legendary serum run to Nome for which Seppala is best known. The town of Nome, Alaska was experiencing a diphtheria epidemic in the winter of 1925 and had dog sledding as the only form of transportation available. Seppala and other mushers relayed the serum to Nome from Nenana in 129.5 hours. After the famous serum run, Seppala toured the U.S. and participated in dog sled races in the lower forty-eight for several years. Seppala stayed in Nome and worked in the mining industry for many years until his retirement in 1946 when he and his wife moved to the Ballard neighborhood in Seattle. This photo of Leonard Seppala shows him with two of the dogs that made the famous serum run: Togo, the dark animal on the right, was the leader of that team and was named after Heihachiro Togo, the Japanese Admiral during the Russo-Japanese War;Fritz, the light-colored dog, was also a member of the team. Seppala arrived in Seattle in November 1926 aboard the ship Alameda and crossed the country with his Siberian Huskies, eventually getting to Maine where he established a kennel. Handwritten on image: Seppala. Caption information sources: Nome Kennel Club History web site; Leonard Seppala: the musher legend from Norway web site.Lance Jensen email communication, 2006 Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): April 13, 1927. Original article with photo published in Seattle P-I Nov. 3, 1926, page 3. 1 glass negative: b&w; 4 x 5 in.
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