R: Our program today is about the eightieth, anniversary of the Anchorage-to-Nome dog sled race. Mr Parks, can you tell us something about the history of the race?
P: The first race wasn't a competition, but it was a race against time. Eighty years ago, it was front-page news all over the world, but outside Alaska most people have now forgotten how twenty brave people and their dogs saved hundreds of people from death.
R: What happened?
P: Nome was only a small city of about 1,430 souls. One day, in the winter of 1925, Dr Curtis Welch discovered that some children had a terrible disease for which he had no medicine. The nearest hospital lay 1,000 miles away.
R: Thank you. We have here with us Miss Welch, who is a granddaughter of Dr Welch. Miss Welch, can you tell us something more?
W: On January 21, a man came to my grandfather asking him for help. His children were very sick. The mother thought they had the flu, because their throats had become red and painful. Their temperatures were very high, and their breathing shallow. The following day they died.
R: What sickness was it?
W: A few days later he discovered that several children were sick. They all had diphtheria, a disease that spreads very fast. If untreated, it would produce a powerful poison that would kill the patient. Dr Welch had enough vaccine for perhaps five people. The only way to prevent a catastrophe wag to get more as quickly as possible.
R: Where could they get it?
P: There was widespread relief when it was discovered that a hospital in Anchorage had a good supply of 300,000 units. But the question was how to deliver it to Nome fast.
R: Was that a problem?
W: In 1925, nothing got to Nome quickly. The sea was frozen, while the only two planes had been stored.
R: So, what was to be done?
P: The only way would be a relay of dog teams over the 674 miles between Nenana and Nome. Twenty drivers would carry the vaccine in a relay race. The Arctic winter is very cold, but these were all tough men. Each team covered a distance of 18 to 53 miles. Every minute counted. It was thought that the trip could take up to 13 days to complete.
R: How was the vaccine brought to Nenana?
W: The doctor in Anchorage wrapped the medicine in a quilt and tied it up. A train took the packet from Anchorage to Nenana.
R: So the real race against time started frown Nenana, right?
P: Yes. We could only pray that the medicine would arrive on time. Eighteen drivers rode day and night for five days through snow storms and the temperature was more than 30 degrees below zero. The last driver faced a terrible storm, but he knew that lives were at stake. Reaching the end of his trip, he found the next driver asleep. Time would be lost waking him. Twenty-one miles away people were dying, so he kept going.
R: Did he get there on time?
P: He did, but when the team arrived before dawn, there was no one to greet them -- almost the whole town was sleeping. But relief soon spread through Nome like the golden rays of the dawn itself. The dogs were so tired that they could not even bark. The children of Nome were saved !
W: Yes! The drivers had covered almost 700 miles in a little more than 127 hours. But the real heroes should not be forgotten. In December that year a bronze sculpture of a dog was placed in New York City's Central Park: a memorial to all who risked their lives to save those of others. |