First off, I have to apoligize for the lack of my “end game” in regards to finishing up Iditarod Coverage. I’d like to work on a big post here in the next day or so that will recap the final finishes into Nome. Our family has been moving into a new home for the last week or so and life was pretty crazy there… However I’m now in Anchorage waiting to catch my flight to Nome and am really excited about having nothing to do for the next week, except to cover the All Alaska Sweepstakes.

This is going to be a very exciting race with many Iditarod veterans running, along with a handful of local Nome mushers who might have an upper hand in knowing this territory better. This is the 100th anniversary of the first AAS, the race that many believe gave birth to competitive dog mushing. We will be pre-hashing the race once we get into Nome later today, and will start filling you in on what is going on in Nome. I’ll attempt to bring you photos, audio, and possibaly some video as we document this historic race.

I’ll be blogging here on Iditablog.com, and I’ll mirror my posts on my temporary site: alaskasweepstakesblog.com the new site will be used just for this race, and will be linked from the All Alaska Sweepstakes homepage.

Throughout today, I’ll post a few All Alaska Sweepstakes “Fun Facts” as posted on a local Nome email list, here is the first:

Front Street, in front of the Board of Trade Saloon, is the starting
line for the big centennial running of the All Alaska Sweepstakes at 10
a.m. THIS WEDNESDAY, March 26.

Why there?

- The Nome Kennel Club was formed in fall 1907, during a meeting of a
few friends at the Board of Trade Saloon. Their goal: to create a
long-distance sled dog race over every type of terrain to test man and
dog alike. This became the All Alaska Sweepstakes, first run in April 1908.

- Here’s how Gay & Laney Salisbury, in their book “The Cruelest Miles”
(pp. 23-24) describe the Front Street scene back in the early days of
the race (1908-1917):

“Bunting and brightly colored pennants representing the colors of each
team hung across the street, and the gold and yellow flags of the Kennel
Club snapped in the breeze at the starting line at Barracks Square.
Storekeepers hung signs reading GONE TO THE DOGS on their doorknobs, and
the gamblers and spectators were out in force. At race time, they would
crowd close to the line and invariably delay the start. Bartenders
dressed in white waistcoats left their jobs to catch a glimpse, and
those who could not squeeze through the crowds climbed up the telephone
poles and onto rooftops for a better view.

“As the race began, the crowds rushed to the saloons. The Board of Trade
became race headquarters and was usually the most crowded. Here, the
names of the drivers were listed on a large rectangular chalkboard
across the room from the mahogany bar, next to paintings of nude drunken
revelers.

“As the drivers passed each telegraph station on the course, the
‘Information Kid’ would record the changing positions and times and the
gamblers would press up close to decipher his scrawl. The books stayed
open nearly until the end of the four-day race, the odds shifting as
quickly as the gamblers could buy drinks. It was chaos: one spectator
said it was less like gambling and ‘more like dealing on the stock
exchange.’”

Now remember … this centennial race is a commemoration, not a
re-enactment! The mushers aren’t using turn-of-the-century gear, and
Nomites don’t have to spend four days at the bar. Race headquarters in
2008 is at the Mini Convention Center … a somewhat different scene!

Posted by admin on Monday, March 24th, 2008 at 10:14 am.