Page 36 - Travel Guide Fly Alaska Winter Edition

iditarod dog sled race

a FronT row seaT To THe LasT GreaT race

In January 1925, a diphtheria by ship, plane, or train. where an extraordinary
outbreak threatened to wipe Quarantine was imposed, decision was made. A relay of
out the town of Nome, Alaska, yet people continued to die. dog sled teams would carry
home to just 1,500 people. The Without the serum, the disease the serum 674 miles along
town’s life-saving serum had threatened not just Nome, but the historic Iditarod supply
expired the summer before. communities across Alaska. and mail route. The odds were
More had been ordered, but A supply of antitoxin was grim. In extreme cold, the
winter arrived early and hard. located nearly 1,000 miles serum would last only six days.
The port of Nome froze solid, away in Anchorage. It was Under normal conditions, the
making the town unreachable rushed by train to Nenana, journey took about 25.

Photo by Rebecca Coolidge
34 ® WINTER EDITION