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. Virgos. based in Nome for the first twenty-nine years of his mining career, Leonhard Seppala is considered one of Alaskas first great dog mushers; He took part in the 1925 serum run to Nome. Your must-have activity guide + map while in Alaska. Seppala and Togo managed to win some local fame after winning the All Alaska Sweepstakes three years in a row. Ivanoff had to run after Seppala as he raced past, shouting, "The serum! Leonhard Seppala is the protagonist in the 2019 film Togo. Sinopse: A histria de um homem (Willem Dafoe) e sua equipe de ces puxadores de tren que transportaram remdios para a populao do Alasca, a fim de combater uma epidemia, durante a dcada de 20. However, as going around the ice meant slowing the delivery of the serum by a full day, he chose to go across. 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! Like many famous people and celebrities, Leonhard Seppala kept his personal life private. However, everyone in the Nome Kennel Club was shocked and the Nome Bank almost bankrupted when the Siberian dogs came in 3rd place. included that of Gunnar Kaasen who made the final leg with cull dogs of Seppala's Leonhard Seppala lived there and ran his dogs, year-round, for the Pioneer Mining Company out of this coastal town. Club was challenged by the Ruby Kennel Club. Both are buried in Nome, Alaska. decided to give it a try, but was appalled on his dogsled trip to Ruby trade and allow him to work as a Master blacksmith. 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. discoveries. Togo was Seppalas favorite, and the musher often depended on Togos instincts and sense of smell when his own vision failed him. resort that he was unable to pay), but at some point around this time Also along on the Serum run was the ageing Portrayed by In 1913, Seppala and his wife Constance welcome a newborn Siberian Husky puppy to their sledding dog pack in Nome, Alaska. Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Everyone knew Sepp's abilities. twenty-three of them spent with the Pioneer company. with its endless mounds of gravel to be shoveled, he was very fit. His pivotal role in the 1925 serum run was professional, but also personal. 2020 by Poland Spring Seppala Kennels. The Salisburys also write that Togo was indeed difficult and mischievous, as well as resistant to being locked up. Poland Spring event three years running. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. To a large degree, yes. His contribution to Alaska's sled dog racing history, and his pioneering work developing the Siberian Husky bloodline are also well known. . Daughter of unknown Van der Straeten and Private Wife of Leonhard Isaksen Seppl . No passable winter roads. Seppala initially followed in his father's footsteps as both a blacksmith and a fisherman. She too was at risk of being stricken with diphtheria. (Color/Silent/16mm film). Yes. In 1931 the SeppalaRicker partnership ended. Impressed, Leonhard decided to keep him. In 1900 Sepp succumbed to the lure of gold; on the 14th June he arrived . Claim at Anvil Creek. Siberia by a Russian fur trader. Snowy Owl provided all of the adult sled dogs used in the movie. Later, he began racing in the All Alaska Sweepstakes, winning a spot in the annals of sled dog racing history for three wins. ), Popular Alaska Itineraries Using In-State Airlines, Anchorage to Denali National Park Driving Map, Denali National Park Campgrounds & RV Parks. He inherited his first sled dogs through a friend, who originally intended them for the polar explorer Roald Amundsen, before his expedition was cancelled. 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. Let us simplify it for you, How much does an Alaska summer vacation cost? In 1916 the Nome Kennel The most dangerous part of this trail was the 42-mile shortcut across the sound. Seppala's direct involvement with the breed that now bears Sepp returned to Skjervy to work in his father's smithy. from Nenana more than halfway, and returned immediately by night across Norton And while the movie Seppala gets the date of Togos death right (He left us on a Thursday in December), in reality Seppala decided to put Togo to sleep, given Togos joint pain and partial blindness. Poland Spring stock, marked the founding of the second historic Seppala Siberian sleddogs, becoming a legend in his own time. Most Popular #186407. [1], This emergency delivery, also known as the "Great Race of Mercy", is commemorated annually with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.[14]. IN 1913 SEPPALA'S EMPLOYER Jafet Lindeberg, a mining company operator, Scotty. Disney Wiki is a FANDOM Movies Community. Seppala had to decide whether to risk Norton Sound in high winds in the dark, when he could not see or hear potential warning signs from the ice. The serum was now only 78 miles (126km) from Nome. [1]:7071, Seppala's racing career took off the following year, at the 1915 All Alaska Sweepstakes. 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. Seppala became the crucial figure in the delivery by dogsled of a their rights, and Sepp, as a Pioneer employee, was involved in a number We consulted cousins Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisburys deeply researched book about the serum race, The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic, along with what few other sources we could find, to break it all down below. However, Seppala does not care and instead is more concerned for Togo's health. Many of the 150 dogs who took part in the 1925 Serum Run to Nome lost their lives, mainly due to exposure. (Recovered from my old site: written apr. The Port is iced in for miles and miles. But Seppala was not through yet. . After a town meeting, the phone rang at Seppala's home and the dogs in the yard began to howl. Lake Placid, NY, in 1932, which was Seppala's last race in the East. racing teams were fielded, dominated the 1910 third All-Alaska Sweepstakes, There were some brave pilots in Anchorage that wanted to fly in the serum to Nome but no one had ever been successful traveling such a distance under such conditions. The Togo true story reveals that as a young puppy Togo required excessive care from Leonhard Seppala's wife Constance. The safer alternative was twice as far. Without the antitoxin, estimated mortality rates stood anywhere from 75% to 99.99%, practically a killing blow to Nome. Whos the richest Dog Musher in the world? 2-5 day small ship explorations. Seppala won the race, and afterward Undaunted by the massive storm heading their way and against his wife Constance's ( Julianne Nicholson) better judgement, veteran musher Seppala will push Togo and his entire dog sled team to. Seppala and his team mushed five times farther than any other team during that effort. with a former driver of Chinooks, Mrs. Elizabeth Ricker. Leonhard Seppala and his wife Constance play with a litter of puppies on the porch of their home. He writes: WHILE SEPPALA WAS IN ALASKA the sport of dogsled racing was developed [17] In 2019, Disney released a movie based on Seppala's feats in the 1925 serum run to Nome, titled Togo and starring Willem Dafoe as Seppala. Leonhard Seppala's experience and fame as a champion dog musher are why he was chosen to drive a sled dog team in the Serum Run. In 1914, he competed in the All Alaska Sweepstakes, a sled dog race. Brother of Asle Seppl; Sigurd Waldemar Seppl and Felisie Antonethe Marie Seppl. three-day 123-mile event with "Bonzo" at single lead. You, he said, are no Leonhard Seppala.. It ranged from rough hills of smashed-together ice to slippery "glare ice" polished by the wind, where it was difficult for the dogs to get a foothold. Explorer. In Disneys telling, Togos beginnings are an underdog story. Death "He and his wife lived in Seattle until his death at the age of eighty nine. The world had been drawn into its first World War. Togo is the story of Leonhard Seppala (played by Willem Dafoe) and his wife Constance (played by Julianne Nicholson), a couple living in Nome, Alaska who raise and train sled dogs. at lead, again setting a new trail record for this three-day 75-mile event. However, they could only afford a short rest, and set out again at 2 am. [18], Leonhard Seppala after the 1925 serum run, Role in the "Great Race of Mercy" of 1925, Last edited on 25 December 2022, at 22:30, "Alaska Airlines To Serve As Iditarod's Official Airline Sponsor", "The High North Tour 2021: "I Went to School to Learn Kven", "Leonhard Seppala, Alaska, State Archives (Juneau), Naturalization Records, 1900-1972", Photo: Winners of the Eighth All Alaska Sweepstakes from Alaska's Digital Archives, "2008 All Alaska Sweepstakes Media Guide", "The Siberian Husky: A Brief History of the Breed in America", "Alaska Airlines continues long-standing support of Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leonhard_Seppala&oldid=1129527357, This page was last edited on 25 December 2022, at 22:30. This did not detour him, however, for he won the Sweepstakes the following three consecutive years. 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. Eventually Sepp got his chance to go prospecting for the company. 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. One of the most terrifying moments in the movie is the second crossing of the Norton Sound, on the way back toward Nome with the serum. First Name Leonhard. As a puppy, he is a runt with little more than a fighting spirit and the endorsement of Seppala's wife, Constance (Julianne Nicholson). Everyone knew Sepps abilities. stricken city. Constance Seppala (wife) Seppala later married Constance, another foreigner who had come to America. It remains unclear Previously unexposed children as well as adults were at risk of dying from the infection. He immediately began the trek back across Norton Sound without pausing to rest.The conditions on the return trip were even worse. In researching the Togo true story, we learned that in real life Leonhard and his wife Constance had a daughter named Sigrid, who was eight years old at the time of the 1925 Serum Run to Nome. Dead tissue then builds up in the throat or nose, forming a thick, gray coating dubbed a "pseudomembrane". He expressed pleasure in the rhythmic patter of the dogs' feet and the feeling of the sled gliding along the snow. The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, and Hulu in March, The Audition So Insulting That It Inspired a Classic Hollywood Satire, actually Togos great-grandson, 14 generations removed,. It was 50 F in Fairbanks. for the gold fields, even offering to lend him money for his passage. Anadyr River were imported by a wealthy young Scot, Charles 'Fox' Maule Ramsay, However, many of his dogs' paw pads had been shredded and claws broken by the ice-encrusted snow as they clawed their way back to the top of the hill. Leonhard Seppala Was born 14 Sep 1877 in Skibotn, Troms, Norway. a warm reception from the Alaskan people. Bookmark this page and come back often for updates. The ride back proves to be just as difficult when Seppala is forced to have Togo pull him and his team from a block of ice over the Norton Sound. fast teams; none of the Nome mushers wanted to accept the challenge. on the S.S. Ohio in the city of Nome, where Lindeberg had his Pioneer Indeed, it arrived there the next day, Monday, February 2, at approximately 5:30 A.M., and was thawed and ready for use by 11 am. His eight-year-old daughter Sigrid was in Nome, in danger of contracting diphtheria herself. Husband of Constance M Seppala. "20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs 674 miles (1,085 km) in five and a half days." The 2019 Disney film costars Nicholson as Constance Seppala, wife of dog sledder Leonhard Seppala (played by Willem Dafoe) who brought life-saving diphtheria medication across Alaska in 1925. Have you taken a DNA test? and then in the Fairbanks gold fields until his departure from Alaska in He and his wife lived in Seattle until his death at the age of 89. Sepp The real-life Seppala was astounded at the effect of the harness: The 8-month-old Togo went from pesky to serious, and Seppala finally understood what Togo had been wanting all these months: to be a member of the team. In a feat unheard of for an inexperienced puppy, Togo traveled 75 miles on this first day. females and puppies, about fifteen dogs in all. The Story of Leonhard Seppala Genealogy profile for Constance M Seppala. Dog musher who was one of the men tapped to deliver a vital shipment of diptheria serum over ice-bound roads. Whos the richest Dog Musher in the world. Alaska Airlines has established the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award. They asked him to begin traveling toward Nenana. For some years in Seattle in his retirement he had a In 1961, Seppala revisited Fairbanks and other places in Alaska at the invitation of American journalist Lowell Thomas, enjoying a warm reception from the Alaskan people. [13], A diphtheria outbreak struck Seppala's town of Nome, Alaska in the winter of 1925. His journey through white-out storms and twice across the unforgiving Norton Sound was by far the most perilous leg of the run. Likes I guess you could say Nome was willing to put all their hope into one basket, Seppalas sled basket. Yes. Alaska Airlines has established the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award. Balto became famous, but the unsung hero was Leonhard Seppala's Siberian Husky, Togo. 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. He was a musher. [1]:64[2][3][4], Seppala was born in the Lyngen, Troms og Finnmark, Northern Norway. However, the town's supply was not only insufficient but also of presumably low efficacy, being past its expiry date. People who are born with Mercury as the ruling planet have communication skills, intellect and cleverness.

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