While only black and white photos exist of Togo when he was alive, Leonhard Seppala had him custom mounted after his death at age 16. at lead, again setting a new trail record for this three-day 75-mile event. This was possibly filmed in Chatanika, Alaska. However, Seppala was not always so Big. But in 1899, when a friend of Leonhard Seppala returned to Norway, rich from the goldfields of Alaska, the lure of wealth and adventure was just too much for the twenty-two-year-old smithy to overcome and before long he was on his way to the new world. The real-life Leonhard Seppala Dallas Seavey. Seppala continued to import, breed, and train Eventually Sepp got his chance to go prospecting for the company. Directed by Ericson Core, with a Writers Guild Awardnominated script by Tom Flynn, Togo is based on the events of what become known as the Great Race of Mercy, or the 1925 serum run to Nome. Scenes from the run are interspersed with flashbacks to Togos origin story, showing him making repeated escapes from the kennel of musher Leonhard Seppala (Willem Dafoe). Leonhard Seppala The odds were set at 100 to 1 against these Siberian runts. Leonhard Seppala, or " Sepp," as he was called by his friends, received his first team of Siberian Husky imports from his employer to be trained in 1913, a few years after the first import by Goosak and the subsequent import of Siberians by Charles "Fox" Maule Ramsey. Leonhard Seppala is considered one of Alaskas first great dog mushers; He took part in the 1925 serum run to Nome. Balto was given a statue in New York City's Central Park later that year and Hollywood immediately turned Balto's journey into a movie titled, No. Leonhard Seppala was born in Norway. The trail between Nulato and Nome was one of Alaskas most hazardous, with most of it running along the windswept, blizzard-prone coast of Norton Sound, known to Alaskans as the ice factory, write the authors of The Cruelest Miles. In Seppalas account, as summarized in The Cruelest Miles, the tow rope connecting Togo and the rest of the team on the floe snapped, and the end of the rope fell into the water. A Dog-Puncher on the Yukon. In 1925 when a diphtheria outbreak caught everyone off guard, Seppala was approached to take Togo and his sled dogs out towards Nenana and back to Nome with a serum. Feature films Leonhard Seppala was born on the 14th of September, 1877. Seppala and his team are crossing the sound when they find themselves stranded on an ice floe, separated from shore by a narrow but formidable strip of sea. [4][9] When Seppala was two years old, his family moved within Troms county to nearby Skjervy municipality on the island of Skjervya. Leonhard "Sepp" Seppala (/lnrd spl/; September 14, 1877 January 28, 1967) was a Norwegian-American sled dog breeder, trainer and musher who with his dogs played a pivotal role in the 1925 serum run to Nome,[1] and participated in the 1932 Winter Olympics. Like in the film, Seppala almost missed musher Henry Ivanoff, who had been in Shaktoolik in case Seppala didn't arrive. Explorer. The ice on Norton Sound was in constant motion due to currents from the sea and the incessant wind. Siberian sleddogs, becoming a legend in his own time. Seppala felt that there was nothing he could do about the newborn, but reluctantly was forced to keep him. When Amundsen cancelled his trip a few weeks after the puppies arrived in Nome, Lindeberg gave them to Seppala. Sepp states that the Serum Drive was Togo's last long run, and that To his surprise, the dog turned out to be a fast runner and Seppala happily decided to make him a lead dog and name him Togo after admiral Tg Heihachir. . Please visit the About section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help today. The real Togo spent a few weeks at his new home before he jumped through the glass of a shut window and ran several miles back to Leonhard's kennel. Car, train, or group tour. conditions to bring the serum back. One competitor described his communion with dogs as unnatural control or hypnotism.. Inspiration This membrane (visible below over a patient's tonsils) covers healthy tissues in the throat, nose, tonsils and voice box, causing a croup-like cough, as well as severe difficulty breathing and swallowing. Seppala also won the All Alaska Sweepstakes in 1916 and 1917, before the race was canceled until 1983. Seppala, Togo and the team traveled through tough, snowy terrain encountering numerous diffculties. that he had left behind; none of the other teams made more than 53 miles of Amundsen was the man who beat Robert Falcon Scott to the Antarctic in 1911 - and for whom in 1914, Seppala had trained a team of dogs for a North Pole expedition. Leonhard Seppala is considered one of Alaska's first great mushers, and like all who took part in the 1925 serum run from Seward to Nome, he's a local hero. He was by many reasonable accounts, the greatest musher of all time! [1]:68, Seppala made the decision to compete in his first race, the 1914 All Alaska Sweepstakes, at the last minute. Later, he began racing in the All Alaska Sweepstakes, winning a spot in the annals of sled dog racing history for three wins. And Togo has many behavioral issues: Hes magnetically drawn to Seppala, such that he successfully defies any of Seppalas attempts to pen him up or give him up for adoption. their rights, and Sepp, as a Pioneer employee, was involved in a number Seppala's worst competition during this entire period was the Quebec driver Emile around 1899. Leonhard Seppala Was born 14 Sep 1877 in Skibotn, Troms, Norway. Seppala's wife nursed him and took great care of him, even at the opposition of Seppala. He then bought a house near Seattle, where many other Norwegians Seppala probably would have continued to dominate the Sweepstakes race had it not been put to an abrupt end, with many sled dogs being deported to Europe. Lindeberg, his friend and supervisor at Pioneer Mining Company, had brought the puppies from Siberia as a gift for the explorer Roald Amundsen, whom he hoped would use them for his upcoming expedition to the North Pole. Sepp raced with these young Siberian dogs the very next year in the All Alaska Sweepstakes Race but had to scratch due to a blinding blizzard. supply of antiserum via an otherwise impassable route between Nenana and the He and his 10 dog team + Togo, the Lead and the HERO ran 264 miles. Despite the differences in the Disney version of the storysuch as the blizzard at the beginningthe fictionalized aspects are not an exaggeration of the dangers involved. Everyone looking on was quite amused when a Russian fur trader by the name of William Goosak pulled into the starting shoot with some half-sized bushy-tailed rat dogs he had imported from Siberia. [1], With Norton Sound behind them, Seppala and his team now faced the final challenge of the trailclimbing an 8-mile (13km) ridge formation that led to the summit of Little McKinley. Beyond the possibility of getting caught in a storm or a dog injuring its paw on a shard of ice, it was also likely that the ice of the Norton Sound could break up and carry the team out to sea. They called a team of 20 mushers, including Leonhard Seppala. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. Whos the richest Dog Musher in the world? Snowy Owl provided all of the adult sled dogs used in the movie. it would have broken the Bank of Nome.) Togo jumped into the water, clambered back out, wrapped the rope around his body, and pulled. but quite athletic. ), Popular Alaska Itineraries Using In-State Airlines, Anchorage to Denali National Park Driving Map, Denali National Park Campgrounds & RV Parks. Your must-have activity guide + map while in Alaska. 2-5 day small ship explorations. Nome, Alaska In the movie, Togo gets his first break by busting loose and harassing Seppalas harnessed team until Seppala finally gives him a chance run with the big dogs. Seppala apparently After a town meeting, the phone rang at Seppalas home and the dogs in the yard began to howl. Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Many of the 150 dogs who took part in the 1925 Serum Run to Nome lost their lives, mainly due to exposure. His family Seppala described him as an infant prodigy and a natural-born leader.. He was the oldest-born child of father Isak Isaksson Seppl (of Swedish descent) and Anne Henriksdatter (of Finnish Norwegian Kven descent). However, it was too late to inform Seppala that he would be meeting the relay closer to Nome than had originally been planned. Shortly after arriving in Alaska, Seppalas boss gave him the opportunity to take a dog team out prospecting. Togo was Seppalas favorite, and the musher often depended on Togos instincts and sense of smell when his own vision failed him. It was also the longest by roughly 200 miles. If the story of Seppala ended here we would probably not be thinking of him now, nor trying to preserve the breed he worked so hard to establish. While most drivers considered 30 miles (48km) a long run, Seppala travelled between 50 miles (80km) and 100 miles (160km) most days. However, the town's supply was not only insufficient but also of presumably low efficacy, being past its expiry date. The only way in, then and now, after the snow flies, is by plane. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, The 9 Best Northern Lights Viewing Spots Near Anchorage, How to Travel to Alaska in January and February, The Best Large Family & Group Vacations in Alaska, How to Get from Anchorage to Your Cruise Port in Whittier or Seward (or the reverse! racing teams were fielded, dominated the 1910 third All-Alaska Sweepstakes, the tour was completed and his dogs safely settled in Poland Spring, he Most Popular #186407. Poland Spring against Arthur Walden, breeder of 'Chinook' dogs and author of The following summer a shipload of Virgos. [1], Seppala set out from Nome on January 28several days before he was due to meet the relay coming to Nulato. Maynard is all in favor of getting the diphtheria antitoxin flown in by airplane, weather notwithstanding. Diphtheria is a bacterial infection caused by exposure to the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae, often by way of direct contact or through droplets in the air (sneezing or coughing). Seppala had dogsled racing psychology down pat as well. until he completed his "masterpiece" in December 1898, the project Leonhard Seppala and his sled dog team led by Togo spent three days traveling 170 miles from Nome to Shaktoolik to pick up the diphtheria serum on January 31, 1925. In 1961 Sepp and his wife revisited Fairbanks and other places in It had happened to others. Seppala saw the musher stopped on the trail and having trouble with his dogs, but did not intend to stop and be delayed. The only practical way to deliver more serum to Nome in the middle of the coldest winter in 20 years was by dog sled. The Ramsay import dogs, from which three Leave a message for others who see this profile. Dog Mushers. [8] Leonhard is considered to have been Kven. Early on, it was believed that the individual attention led to his rowdiness and mischievous behavior. for the gold fields, even offering to lend him money for his passage. He then had to learn mining from the ground up, starting Leonhard is a "musher" (AKA a dogsled driver) and Togo is his lead dog. After 3 days and 170 miles (270km), he came in sight of another relay musher, Henry Ivanoff, but did not realise it. Seppala and his team again traversed the exposed open ice of Norton Sound, which was breaking up. under way, Sepp writes: IN 1925 THE CITY OF NOME was threatened by a midwinter diphtheria epidemic. Leonhard Seppala and his sled dog team, led by Togo, were major participants in the Serum Run, having traveled the longest distance of any team. In reality, the winds were in a rare state of calm, and Seppala had a crowd to cheer on the beginning of his journey to Nulatohalfway to Nome, but still a six-day journey encompassing a total of 630 miles. After a town meeting, the phone rang at Seppala's home and the dogs in the yard began to howl. Coldest winter in 20 years was by dog sled phineas and Ferb the movie the newborn, reluctantly!, wrapped the rope around his body, and the team traveled through tough, snowy terrain numerous... In-State Airlines, Anchorage to Denali National Park Campgrounds & RV Parks diphtheria epidemic who been! 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