Headquarters*Wasilla Alaska
It is a National Historic Trail, so designated by the Congress of the United States. From Seward on the South Central Coast to Nome on the Bering Sea. It is a highway, a mail route, & a gold avenue from the interior, part of it became a lifeline for Diptheria Serum to be carried to Nome during the epidemic of 1925.
It is now a trappers trail, a recreation trail, still a lifeline for some villages, & the avenue for the most challenging & demanding long distance sled dog race in the world.
"The Iditarod," 1049 miles Anchorage to Nome through Alaska wilderness, over mountain passes, down frozen rivers & along the wind swept sea coast, truly the majesty & mystery that is "The Last Greta Race On Earth."
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Born in Oklahoma, February 1, 1917 Died in Alaska, June 24, 1999
Joe was an accomplished man: homesteader, big-game guide, bush pilot, commercial fisherman, boat builder, fish-plant manager, & mountain climber. But most of all, he was a man who loved dogs & dog mushing.
After service in the Army during World War II, Joe came to Alaska in 1948 to homestead. Here he established Knik Kennels. Until 1966, he & his dog team performed search & rescue reclamation work for the army. In 1979, Joe mushed a dog team to the summit of Mount McKinley & showed the world what dogs could do.
Joe's interest in the old mail route known as the Iditarod Trail led to its declaration as a National Historic Trail. He was the driving force behind the creation of the first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1973 & fought to keep the event alive through its most difficult years. Thanks to his tenacity, the Iditarod had evolved into a thriving, world=renowned event that continues to this day. He will always be remembered as the Father of the Iditarod.
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Dedicated to the Indomitable Spirit of the sled dog of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
"The Last Great Race On Earth"
Dedicated the First Saturday of March, 2012
Historic Replica of Balto Donated by
Kim Raymond
Monument Base Donated by
Horizon Lines
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Joe Redington Sr, the Father of the Iditarod, as the Army's eyes in the sky, conducted aerial survey work in his airplane. Joe enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1940 & was part of General McArthur's special Assault Troops in the Pacific Theater during World War 11 before coming to Alaska & working with the U.S. Air Force. Lt. Paul Dunn became the first civilian volunteer by beginning the mission as an Army officer & ending with an expired commission.
Since those early days of the race, generations of military volunteers have followed in the footsteps of the likes of Joe Redington Sr. & Lt. Paul Dunn. They have taken to the skies loading & unloading thousands of tons of supplies & have transported the race's two & four-legged athletes along the trail.
...there are mushers in this field today who have proudly sworn to protect & defend the freedoms that every man, woman, & child in our nation have the privilege to exercise on this day. There are volunteers veterans who will be manning outposts all along this trail in operations, communications, on tiny airstrips & as race veterinarians.
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Beloved "Mother of the Iditarod"
January 23, 1921-November 16, 1989
How the Race Began:
It began in the 1960's with the dreams & efforts of Dorothy Page ( a history Buff) & Joe Redington, Sr. (a veteran dog musher). The objective was to draw attention to the Iditarod Trail & bring it's acceptance into the National Historic Trails System, along with reviving dog mushing & the spirit of Alaska's past.
The trail was re-opened, with the help of Aurora Dog Mushers Association in 1967 & 1969 when 100 mile races were ran from Knik. Then in 1973 the first race from Anchorage to Nome was completed (1150 plus miles) &, finally, in the late 1978 the Iditarod Trail System was accepted into the National Trail System.
Iditarod was her idea
Bill Sherwoni 3/2/83
A hem, attention class. Its time for our first Alaskan sports history quiz. Subject: the Iditarod, Alaska's long distance sled-dog race from Anchorage to Nome.
Questions No. 1: Who are the parents of the Iditarod?
The first half of this answer should be easy. Joe Redington is known far & wide as the Father of the Iditarod. But what most people don't know is that the so-called Last Great Race also has a mom.
The little-known Mother of the Iditarod is Dorothy Page. In, fact, mom came before pop. Page, a history buff who lives in Wasilla, was the one who originally came up with the idea of having a race along the Iditarod trail.
Page believed it would be nice to "pay a tribute to the musher who opened up Alaska, who were the main source of transportation in the interior during the sate's early years."
The Iditarod Trail came to mind for two reasons. First, it was a rather famous route used by mushers to bring supplies to several of Alaska's gold-mining communities such as Iditarod & Nome. Second, the trail passed through Knik, which was close to home.
Only one problem, however. Page couldn't convince anyone else that such a race would be a good idea-until she met Redington, who loved the idea & earned his Fatherhood by helping Page's idea become a reality.
*the trail 3/8/83
The Iditarod Trail originally was brushed out in the winter of 1910 & '11. One party left from Nome & went through the gold rush town of Iditarod.
Another group started at the Kern Creek railroad south of Anchorage. The two parties met on the north side of the Alaska Range near Rainy Pass, connecting Nome, through Iditarod with tidewater at Seward.
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