Gordon Brinker placed 44^th in the 1988 Iditarod. His time was 18:07:44:07.  Gordon came to Alaska from Oregon in 1979.  He lived in Shell Lake- where the historic Iditarod Trail ran right behind his house, which prompted a natural interest in racing.  The Shell Lake musher was a surveyor for F. Robert Bell and Associates in Anchorage. Gordon ran the Jr. Iditarod in 1981, 1982, and 1983.  In 1984, he entered but scratched from Iditarod.  In 1986, he finished the race.  In 1987 he scratched because he was very sick.  “The people of Shell Lake are very enthusiastic about the Iditarod and created a “First Person to Shell Lake Award”, giving the musher an amount of money, the sum collected before the first musher arrives.  Martin Buser won this award in 1988.  He got $100.”  Resource, 1989 Iditarod Trail Annual

The first woman from England to enter Iditarod was Lesley Anne Monk.  She placed 45^th and won the Red Lantern in 1988 with a total time of 19:13:22:55. Prior to entering in the Iditarod, Leslie ran sprint races in Britain.  When she came to the United States, she worked with Harris Dunlap, a sprint racer, and in 1986-87, she worked with Harry Sutherland as a dog handler when he was training for Iditarod. “I gave up hairdressing to devote time to training registered Siberian Huskies,” she said.  Leslie’s husband, Roy, went to McGrath to welcome her at the time he thought she would arrive.  Two days later, Roy was still waiting.  He was sleeping on the floor of the checkpoint across from the HAM radio operator’s station.  People offered him more comfortable sleep arrangements but he wasn’t interested in anything different because he wanted to be right there in case she arrived in the early morning hours.  He bedded down on the floor for a third night saying, “I was supposed to be back in Anchorage yesterday.  I have no idea what’s keeping her.”  Later he found out that she’d camped in a bad storm along with several other rookies.   After Leslie reached Nome as the Red Lantern, a reporter stated that since Susan Butch won the race and Leslie was the Red Lantern, ‘women bookended this race.’ (Resource, 1989 Iditarod Trail Annual)

The 11^th annual Junior Iditarod was held in 1988.  This 150 mile race was held on February 27 and 28.  The race started at Settlers Bay and went to Yentna Station Roadhouse where the mushers took a 10 hour layover.  The 14 mushers (nine boys and 5 girls) cooked for their dogs and camped out.  Dan Flodin of Chugiak was the 1988 Champion.   The other mushers in finishing order were, Sherri Hummer, Anchorage, Laird Barron, Jade Lake, Lance Mackey, Wasilla, Jared Jones, Wasilla, Bobbi Jo Scott, Houston, Stanley Walker, Grayling, Tim Patten, Grand Marais, MN, Jason Barron, Jade lake, Jason Mackey, Wasilla, Julia Flodin, Chugiak, Aimee Bettine, Glenallen, William Ferguson, Wasilla, and Nissa Anderson, Trapper Creek.  This was the 4^th Jr. Iditarod that Dan raced.  His lead dog, Twenty Grand, was the same lead dog that his father, Steve Flodin, used when he ran Iditarod.

The 1988 Race Headquarters was the Clarion Hotel in Anchorage.   The beautiful furnishings were removed from the hospitality room and replaced with 6 conference tables.  The room was equipped with ten telephones, two record-a – phones, a copy machine dontated by The Office Place, a Macintosh Plus computer, a coffee maker donated by Quality Coffee Service, and a microwave oven brought in by one of the volunteers.  About 50 volunteers used this equipment, answering phones 17 hours a day for over two weeks.  Helen Roberts came on board at the last minute to supervise this operation.  Additional space on the 3^rd floor was donated for the HAM Operators to work and for the computer people.  The computer operators, using equipment donated by ComputerLand and Alaska MicroSystems, and software designed by students at the Nome Beltz High School and other software developed by Bill Hutchison of Anchorage, logged all the information into computers as it when it came in from the trail by radio.  Print outs of race information were used by those answering the phones so they could give correct information to those that called the phone room.  People from all over the United States called the phone room.  There were always at least 5 volunteers working the phone lines. Most of the volunteers at headquarters were from Alaska, but there were three from out of state.  ‘And what would Iditarod be without “Speedy”, who for the umpteenth year had taken leave from his duties in the British army.  It didn’t take long for his, “Can I help thee?” to become very familiar to those calling headquarters for information.  The volunteers also kept an updated chart with in and out times and checkpoint information.  This was enjoyed by the hotel guests who made repeat visits to race headquarters to keep up with the race news.  The record-a – phones were updated every hour.  Race fans enjoyed getting the recorded messages.    During the late afternoons, students from Romig Junior High School worked a special student phone line.  Many Anchorage schools assigned special projects for students to do during the race.  Gail Somerville, a teacher at Denali Elementary School was a supervisor for the students. (Resource: 1989 Iditarod Trail Annual)

John Patten placed 18^th in the 1988 Iditarod.  He called himself ‘The Mineral Ice Team.’ John was a manufacturer, clothing designer, and retailer.  He owned Sawtooth Mountain Sled Dog Works for three years.  Although John was a rookie in the 1988 Iditarod, he wasn’t a rookie musher.  He’d won the first John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon and had finished the All Alaska Sweepstakes race in 1983 as well as many other races.  Prior to the 1988 race, John said, “Competing in the Iditarod is the next step in a life-long love affair with wilderness-related adventures.”   After crossing the Dalzell Gorge in 1988, John said, “I got on the ice at the Dalzell Gorge and it was shaped like a big platter, sloped in the m idle with a bunch of water in it.  I guess I needed a bath.  Once I told the dogs to get rolling they took me right out.  It was a warm day, not something dangerous.  Then I came around the bend and saw this photographer up there.  And, I thought, that’s kind of a dumb place to stand.  So I tried a couple of poses and all of a sudden, we were on the ice and now I know why the photographer was there!  Then I floundered and struggled and grabbed for trees.  Now somebody wil have this picture of me and people will see it across Alaska or across the country. I’ll be the most famous bather in the country this winter.”

Robin Jacobson placed 10^th in the 1988 Iditarod.  He handled dogs for Gary Paulsen from Minnesota for the 1985 Iditarod.   His rookie year was 1987and received the Rookie of the Year Award.  (A trophy and a check for $1,500 donated by Clara and Jerry Austin of St. Michael.)  At the start of the 1988 race, Robin told a reporter that “The main thing I learned my rookie year was to not sleep a lot! I am more mentally prepared this year and I am coming back with some knowledge and skills and hope to improve my finish.”  Finishing in 10^th place, he met his goal.

Lucy Nordlum, Kotzebue, placed 13^th in the 1988 Iditarod. Lucy was the Rookie of the Year, earning the $1,500 and trophy donated b y Clara and Jerry Austin of St. Michael.   She listed her occupations as commercial fisherman.  Her husband, Roger, listed his occupations as a miner, pilot, and fisherman.  Roger had run in the 1977 Iditarod and had earned the name, “The Kotzebue Drifter.”  (Roger ran other Iditarods, too, and had served as a Board of Director for the Iditarod Trail Committee.)  Lucy began mushing in 1978.

*The images in this article come from the 1989 Iditarod Trail Annual.  Official Artists are listed as Bill Devine and Jon Van Zyle.  The majority of these tidbits come directly from the 1989 Iditarod Trail Annual – as written and as told by those involved in the 1988 – 89 Iditarod races.  Compiled by Diane Johnson.

From the 1984 Iditarod Trail Annual

Anne Patch of Homer was the administrative coordinator for the 1982 Iditarod.  She also served in that capacity in 1981 so brought a wealth of experience to the job in 1982. As administrative coordinator, Anne was in charge of the headquarters across the state, the mushers’ banquet in Anchorage, the awards ceremony in Nome, and communications, among other tasks.  Anne and Jim worked together compiling and distributing the musher’s packets, the checker’s packets, and the press packets.

Cpl. Peter “Speedy” Elstub, a member of English Army stationed in Viersen West Germany, made his first trip to Alaska in 1980 to see the end of the Iditarod race.  In 1982, he again returned to Nome.  Speedy was one of the Nome volunteers, working at headquarters during the nightshift.  Speedy kept his sleeping bag in the mini-convention center due to room shortage.  On the night the first mushers were expected to arrive, Speedy had his camera checked out, loaded with film, and had his flash bulbs ready to go.  He went to get a few hours of rest in the unheated back room of the mini.  In his good sleeping bag, he wasn’t bothered by the cold.  During the 1982 race finish, the Nome city siren didn’t work.  Speedy, who’d been told he couldn’t possibly miss the mushers arriving in Nome because of the siren, slept through the arrival of the first 7 mushers!   When he awoke from his nap, Speedy rushed out to take pictures of the 1982 finish, only to be devastated to find out what he’d missed!  Speedy had saved up his leave time, arranged to be in Nome months in advance, and had told all his buddies he’d take photos of the finish of the race, only to sleep through the most exciting part of the race.  What did he do?  He made arrangements to return to the 1983 race and secure a ‘wakeup call’ if necessary!

A few highlights from the 1982 race. . . Shortly after the race began, it started to snow and it just kept snowing.  Herbie Nayokpuk, Joe Redington, Sr., Larry ‘Cowboy’ Smith, Susan Butcher, and Mitch Seavey took the wrong turn near Skwentna and changed the whole complexion of the race.  Fresh snow slowed the progress from Knik through Rainy Pass and down onto the Kuskokwim.  Babe Anderson was the first musher into McGrath for an award and was welcomed home by members of his family and other race fans. Emmit Peters was the first musher to the half-way point at Innoko River Lodge at Cripple Landing. Peters was also the first musher to Ruby, his home, where he was wined and dined by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation and the Anchorage Westward Hilton.

Sketch by Bill Devine, 1983

Rookies Stan “Hip-Hip Zuray of Tanana, Dean Osmar of Clam Gultch, and Mitch Seavey kept up with the race leaders for some time.  At the Yukon, the front pack started to move ahead.  No one could foresee the stall from the storm that was about to happen!  The wind became the main competition as heavy snow, lost trail, and slow going plagued the mushers as they traveled off the Yukon and over the hills to Unalakleet.  Gusting winds up to 70 miles an hour and fresh snow brought the race to a screeching halt.  Teams stayed 50 to 60 hours waiting for winds to die down and visibility to be better than five feet!  While waiting, some mushers in Shaktoolik passed time by playing basketball.  The mushers lost to the ‘Shaktoolik Papas’ by a score of 55 to 54.  According to Emmitt Peters, someone forgot to wake him up and he missed the game.

Herbie Nayokpuk, who had open – heart surgery in October before the start of the race, broke loose and tried to make it through the storm to Koyuk, but 24 hours later, he was back in Shaktoolik. When there was finally a break in the storm, mushers headed out on the trail to continue the race.  More snow awaited the mushers as they got to White Mountain for their mandatory stop, causing more delays.  Waiting in Nome for the finish of the race was interesting!  Some people had to change their reservations not but once, but twice!  Some played cards and cribbage, listened to Hobo Jim’s Iditarod Trail Song until they knew all the words to the song, and others walked up and down Front Street.  Fans waited, ate, drank, and visited race headquarters trying to find out information about the race.  Even race officials had to make changes in plans.  The award ceremony date had to change when no mushers had arrived! The weather had caused logistical problems for race officials because they couldn’t get HAM operators into coastal villages.  Veterinarians and race officials had trouble moving along the trail, too.  The Iditarod Air Force planes had been grounded from Ruby to Nome.  Old Man Winter had called the shots of the 1982 Iditarod as fans waited to see who would make it to Nome first!

As mushers finally reached Safety it appeared there was going to be another photo finish.  But Swenson and his famous lead dog, “Andy” crossed the finish line first, Rick’s 4^th championship race.  This was a sixteen day, four hour, forty minute, and ten second – tough going by a might tough group of competitors- finish of a race.  At the finish line, Rick said, “It was the best time I’ve had in seven races.  We got to do some camping this time, and the weather made it necessary for us to work together like we used to.”

Race Route 1983

According to the 1983 Iditarod Race Annual, Valerie Sobocienski of Nome, who along with her husband, Stan, operated the Bering Sea Saloon on Front Street, and was on hand to greet the 1982 Iditarod mushers.  She stated, “I’ve been at the finish line each year since the first race in 1973.  Our son, Colo, was a month old then and I wrapped him up good and drove the truck out to Farley’s fish camp to watch Dick Wilmarth, the 1973 Iditarod Champion, come in.  I was so excited I didn’t wait until he got to Front Street.  I went back to Farley’s camp later on when other mushers were coming.  I even gave directions to one musher on how to get to town.  His dogs were eager to finish the race, too.  They tried to get in the truck with me.”  Until he was old enough to go to the finish line by himself, Colo always accompanied his mother.  “I guess you could say he’s grown up with the Iditarod.  In 1982, the tenth annual Iditarod Trail Race, Colo watched the mushers come in by himself.  After all, it was the 10^th Iditarod and Colo was ten years old, too!

In the 1983 Iditarod Race Annual, Al Crane, President of ITC in 1982 said, “We’ve come a long way, folks.  I say ‘we’ because I mean just that!  No single soul is totally responsible for our success, because the Iditarod is bigger than any individual or group, its mushers, or its board.  It’s a cause, a service, and a belief.  It’s Alaska and a dream that just for a moment takes everyone involved into a time and space together, all the factions, criticisms and praises are laid aside while the whole presentation troops through Alaska’s frontier from Anchorage to Nome.”

In the 1983 Iditarod Trail Annual, Bob Sept, then President of the ITC said, “For the past one million years, man has lived with dogs at his side.  For three weeks in March, man will once again return with his dogs to an existence that goes back into that past.  Nowhere can this reliance between man and dog be better experienced than by participating in the Iditarod Trail race.  The sled dogs are what the race is all about.  They have hearts that rarely say quit.  So, too, are the hearts of families and friends who support Iditarod mushers.  My heart goes out to each and every Iditarod sled dog, musher, and his or her family as this 1983 race is run.”

In 1885, ‘The High Plains Drifter’, Steve Cowper, was an Iditarod volunteer at Rabbit Lake. (Steve Cowper went on to become Governor of Alaska.) In the 1987 Iditarod Trail Annual, Cowper stated that his experience as checker at Rabbit Lake was a great experience. “It was a chance to turn back the hands of the clock to a bygone era. Roughing it in an old tent and spending hours cutting wood to feed the ever burning fire, were reminders of Alaska’s yesteryear.” Cowper stated he believed that the sport of dog mushing could only grow in stature and worldwide recognition.

*These snippets from Iditarod’s past are a part of our Iditarod archives, preserved in the Iditarod Trail Annuals.  Please keep in mind, we’re bringing these to you ‘as they were written’ back then, historically correct according to the publications, but not always 100% accurate in what might be politically correct to say today.  An example, Cpl. Peter “Speedy” Elstub, a member of English Army- would have been a member of the ‘British’ Army, not the English Army, but we’re bringing you information from these archives.

Compiled by Diane Johnson, Education Director

Remembering 40 Years of Iditarod. . .  From our archives….

Conrad Saussele placed 29th int the 1988 Iditarod.  In the 1989 Iditarod Trail Annual, Conrad said, “There are beautiful things, glaciers up there, and bridges of ice.  The Farewell burn looks like a moon landscape.  What do you think about? (Conrad repeated this question from a reporter.) You think about whatever you like to think, without noise or interference.”  Upon reaching Nome in 1988, Conrad stated that he was proud of his dogs who had traveled “all those little steps” to bring him to Nome.

Finishing in 12th place in Iditarod 1988, Jan Masek, who was from Rustic Wilderness in Willow, stated to a KNOM reporter and the crowd in Nome, that he’d seen a man driving a snowmachine towing a horse on it.  No one really believed him until word reached Nome that a Golovin resident who herds reindeer by horse had been transporting the horse back to Golovin.  Masek said, “I was sure glad to hear that.  I was almost convinced I was seeing things.”

In 1976, Iditarod Trail Race Headquarters in Anchorage was at the Westward Hotel. Bill Devine of Anchorage was in charge of race headquarters which opened during the Fur Rendezvous and open through the end of the race. Headquarters was staffed by volunteers. A few of those volunteering that year were: Mary Barcot, Lois Brunk, Lorelie Eby, Monica Trammel, Gail DeLeo, Dorothy Page, Ada Weihart, and Dorothy Pegau. It’s time to salute the volunteers of the past and the present as we look forward working with those who are volunteering for this, the 40th running of the race!

From the 1976 Iditarod Trail Annual, Bill Vaudrin is quoted as having written, “Then, late in the afternoon, I saw what I don’t expect to see twice in my lifetime if I outlast my grandchildren.  Even though it was windy, the sun had been showing pretty strong most of the day.  There was a steady stream of blowing show about two feet deep over the entire face of the mountain.  I was traversing, and over all the hills.  It swirled and eddied and shifted, but never varied much in either its depth or cloud-like consistency.  The last thing before it started settling down behind the mountains for the night, the cold yellow rays of the sun started striking sideways through that moving, breathing cover of blowing snow, lighting it up, giving it a glowing, translucent quality.  Within minutes the whole countryside was swimming in a swirling, shimmering, lemon-colored fluorescent sea.  My chest just ached, it was so beautiful.”

Bill also said, “My honest feeling is that anyone who can get in shape and put a team together capable of making the run to Nome owes it to himself to join the rest of us who are already in on the secret all the old-timers knew:  that there isn’t any better way to see the country.”

Bill Vaudrin passed away following a tragic car accident on January 26, in 1976.  He had participated in the 1974 and 1975 Iditarods.  He was an educator and a dog musher.  Bill had served as President of the Inupiat University of the Arctic.  (in Point Barrow)  Bill had a master’s degree in creative writing and literatue from the University of Oregon.  He was a published author, “Tanaina Tales from Alaska.”

During the 1976 Iditarod, John Stern and Mark Smith were the “Cheechako Checkers” at the Sulatna Crossing checkpoint, 45 miles south of Ruby.  John and Mark volunteered for this checkpoint because there was no cabin at that location and they wanted to get the ‘real feel of the Iditarod Race.”  Iditarod pilot Larry Thompson dropped the two checkers off in a meadow near where they were to set up the checkpoint.  John and Mark put up an 8 ft. ten and used a wood burning Yukon stove for heat. They stored their grub and set up housekeeping.  John and Mark also tramped a runway in the snow so Larry Thompson could land at the checkpoint.  “At first it was so quiet we couldn’t get used to it.  It was a different world.  We just left all the cares and worries of civilization behind.  But when the mushers started coming through, we worked hard,” said John.  The men took turns cooking and offering mushers something to eat. They cooked hundreds of hotcakes, served stew, bread, split pea soup, and candy for dessert.  They stayed until the last two mushers, Jon Van Zyle and Dennis Corrington checked through.  “They were having lots of fun taking pictures.  It didn’t bother them that they were the last mushers on the trail.  It didn’t bother us either.  Because by then we kind of liked living in the wilderness.”

In 1976, Jamie ‘Bud’ Smyth was the 4^th musher to Nome, crossing the finish line at 1:38 PM on March 25 with a total elapsed time of 19 days, 4 hours, 2 minutes, and 52 seconds.  As Bud was mushing down Front Street, an ‘unidentified youngster who was about 5 years of age wanted to ride on Bud’s sled.  Smyth stopped his team, put the youngster on his sled, and mushed down the street with spectators lining both sides of the street and cheering.  After Bud checked in at the Nugget Inn, the mother of the very excited youngster who’d had his first ride on a sled pulled by dogs, rushed into the lobby of the hotel and invited Bud, his wife, Sharon, and the family for dinner at her home.  “Anyone who is so thoughtful that they take time to make a youngster happy deserves a home cooked meal,” the mother said.’ * Resource, 1977 Iditarod Trail Annual.

Compiled by Diane Johnson

The 2012 Iditarod is the 4oth running of the Last Great Race®.   Remembering 40 years of Iditarod… is our new feature series, designed to bring you bits of history and memories from the past 40 years.

We’ll share these memories on our Facebook page as snippets of history remembered and gather the stories together as articles for this website.

Remembering 40 Years of Iditarod. .  .

The Original Iditarod Trail Committee members were: Al Hibbard, Big Lake, Ed Carney, Wasilla, Vi Redington and Joe Redington, Sr., Knik, and Dorothy Page, Wasilla. The committee was expanded to include Jack Hale and Bob Fleming, both of Anchorage.

In the 1976 Iditarod Trail Annual, Dick Mackey is quoted as saying, “When I tell people that the Iditarod can be unbelievable tough and yet enjoyable, they look at me like I have rocks in my head.”

Bill Vaudrin, 1976 Iditarod Trail Annual stated,  “The Iditarod appeals to everything in me.. There’s 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 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 back. And all the country in between – the hills and the trees and the rivers and the 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 become a part of it- and it will have become a part of you.  Forever.”

Did you know that about 500 people were on hand to see the 32 mushers at the 1976 ‘ End of the Trail Banquet in Nome on March 29 of that year? Before the awards presentation began, they ate a dinner of baked ham with pineapple sauce, baked potatoes, salad, and jello dessert. This banquet was held at the National Guard Armory in Nome. Al and Jo Crane were in charge of the banquet arrangements. Ralph DeVilbiss provided the potatoes for the banquet. The ‘Nome Mother’s Club’ set the tables. The ‘Beta Sigma Phi’ group made the salads. The ‘Nome Homemakers’ filled the sour cream cups. Helen Fagerstrom made the jello. Bertha Adsuma helped bake the ham.

Here’s what Iditarod Champion Joe May had to say about the banquet, “That was the first real meal some of us had had in three weeks. Harry Sutherland and I did the last 400 miles of the race on 3 linear feet of caribou sausage and a box of frozen blueberry pop tarts. I think we were never the same again.

The 1982 Iditarod Race Headquarters was located at the Anchorage Sheraton and opened Friday, March 5 and closed Sunday, March 28. Headquarters was open from 7 AM to 11 PM. A total of 34 volunteers put in over 1, 300 hours of work. 5 People worked more than 75 hours each. 19 of the volunteers had volunteered the previous year. 15 were new volunteers.

Did you know that…. in 1982, the mushers stranded in Shaktoolik due to weather conditions “were playing a game of basketball with the Shaktoolik Papas and, because they didn’t have basketball trunks or tennis shoes along, were playing in their longjohns and stocking feet.” This according to Jim Brown, Photographer for the 1982 race. Anyone care to share more about this? Were you there? Does anyone have any pictures of this?

Joe May tells us, “I was there, asleep behind the couch at Lynn and Hannah Takak’s house. I think Jerry Austin organized the game. Terry Adkins and Herbie stayed at Takak’s also. Was the year Herbie stalled out halfway to Koyuk in a storm and almost ended his career.”

According to the 1983 Race Annual, Joanne Potts stated, “We had six outside phone line and direct lines to both the downstairs sales desk and the HAM headquarters on Government Hill as well as the house phone.  We tried to keep four people answering phones all the time and one person on the computer all day.  We had six outside phone line and direct lines to both the downstairs sales desk and HAM headquarters on Government Hill as well as the house phone.”

In the 1983 Trail Annual, Joe Redington, Sr. shared his famous recipe for Honey Balls- a snack he gave to his dogs. 60 lbs of pure Montana honey that has never been heated, 250 lbs of lean ground beef, 5 gallons of Safflower or corn oil, 2 gallons of wheat germ oil, 10 lbs of brewers yeast, 10 lbs of multiple vitamins, 3- 10 lb cans of whole powder eggs.

Jim ‘Sourdough’ Strong of Hope, placed 26th in the 1982 Iditarod. According to his wife, the nickname, ‘Sourdough’ came from Jim’s ability to make Alaskan sourdough biscuits and hotcakes.

Reflecting on his victory, Joe May said, “Many of us drive the race to prove something either to ourselves or to the world. My satisfaction is personal and complete. That I won is incidental and not essential to that satisfaction. The certain knowledge of having done justice to the dogs and myself under difficult conditions is certainly, for me, the sweetest prize.”

Joe May recently stated on our Iditarod Facebook page, “Yes, a lot of the humor of the early races has been lost to the seriousness of winning i.e. the musher who carried half a frozen pig in his sled for dog food or the one who stopped in the burn for a day to hunt ptarmigan or the guy who carried a chainsaw to cut firewood. It’s more of a race than a survival contest now and some might call that progress..different appreciations. The cold feet and frozen fingers are all but forgotten and what remains are the good memories. 30 or 40 years will do that. Time is kind that way.”

Help us celebrate and honor the past 40 years of Iditarod.  Check us out on Facebook and watch for the Remembering 40 Years of Iditarod factoids. Next month, we’ll bring you another Remembering 40 Years article containing those memories and additional information.

We’d like your help!  Be a part of sharing 40 years of Iditarod, by sharing your experiences, memories, or photos.  Send us an email and we’ll share your thoughts on the website and on our Facebook page.  OR visit our Facebook and share your memories on the Facebook page! It’s time to celebrate the 40th running of Iditarod together, as the Iditarod family!

By Diane Johnson, Iditarod Education Department