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Whoopin'
Thula
Fiery McCall woman put spirit
into winning dog -sled team
By LARRY GARDNER
The Idaho Statesman
MC CALL — They called her
"Whoopin' Thula."
She wasn't very big, but she was a
bundle of dynamite who raced dog-
sled teams in the '20s and '30s in
McCall.
Thula Geelan got the nickname
Whoopin' Thula from her voice as she
called out "gee" and "haw," pushing
her team of seven red Irish setters to
go right or left.
"Gee means right and haw, left,
whether you're talking to dogs or
horses," says Warren Brown, 75, a
McCall resident and former
`,'ridIrlkuthrs.
At one time Thula, who died at age
74 in 1975, was reputed to be the only
woman dog sled racer in the country,
and she played a starring role in the
Winter Carnival racers.
Her son, Warren Campbell, 65,
recalls the days when his diminutive,
auburn -haired mother spent the
winter racing dog teams around the
1PaCific Northwest,
Thula won many trophies in a sport
in which only men competed in her
era. Campbell keeps the sterling silver
cup she won three times, and his
brother, Floyd, 64,. keeps another
trophy she won for winning a dog -sled
betweenlkicCall and cacrade^"
Mission Street in San Francisco."
Campbell says Thula had a special
sled equipped with wheels that she
used for exhibitions such as the one in
San Francisco.
Campbell was 14 in 1936, the year his
mother quit racing. But he remembers
several of the last races.
"Those dogs would really go. When
you'd get them in harness, you had to
hold'em back," he says.
"We woad tie a good -sired rope to a
post. You'd get on the sled and get a
good hold. Then you jerked the slip
knot and they was done."
Thula and her male competitors
traveled a circuit that included
McCall, Sun Valley, Ashton, Lake
Tahoe, Calif., and Red Lodge, Mont.
There were 25 or 30 dog -sled teams
on the circuit in the late '20s and early
'30s, says Brown, the owner of Payette
Lakes Lumber Co.
"The Canadian guys kept coming
down here and we kept beating their
Huskies," Brown says.
In Thula's case, she won with her
team of Irish setters.
Brown was forced to be more
flexible about his racing team:
"It was every mutt I could get my
hands on. People would give me their
hunting dogs when they didn't
have anything for them to do in
the winter. I'd train them and
race them, then give them back in
the spring.
"They ran the races on the lake
here," Brown continues. "They
took horses to pack down a trail
on the lake. They pulled a big
roller and that's how they packed
the dog track."
Dog -sled racing was Thula's
passion, and a love of the outdoors
kept her active with hunting, fish-
ing and hiking into her 60s and 70s.
When she died, it was with a
fishing rod in her hands on the
banks of the Snake River in Hells
Canyon.
"She was a tough little rascal,"
recalls Warren Campbell's wife,
Beth.
Warren Campbell says "She
went deer and elk hunting every
year. I still have her gun, a 30-40
Craig."
"She was a women's libber way
before her time," Beth Campbell
says fondly.
Terl Davis/Statesman
Warren Campbell reminisces about his mother's exploits as a
dog -sled racer and outdoorswoman.
/ ! •?
Thula Geelan, standing tall'at 5-foot-2, has been called "a
women's libber way before her time."
r4p
FEBRUARY 11, 1937
BO�I§E VISITORS
Or `;(4 di'a
Fa ous man Sled Driver
Ibtends to Win at
pun Valley
if
"Of course I intend to win the
dog sled race at Sun Valley Sun-
day," was the confident statement
of Mrs, Thula Geelan of McCall,
who stopped in Boise overnight
Wednesday on her way to compete
in the 12 %-mile race. "Why else
would I be going up there?"
The crack sled dog driver, -who
has been running races in the
northwest 'since she started driving
in'1929, is entering under the spon-
sorship of Wesley Ruggles, who is
directing a picture at Sun Valley
starring Claudette Colbert.
"I had a wire from Mr. Ruggles
yesterday, saying he wanted me to
be sure and be there Thursday to
take some pictures;" explained Mrs.
Geelan, who is slight and charm-
ing. -"So my husband and I loaded
eight dogs into a trailer and start-
ed ()tit today."
Hsi husband,' E. J. Geelan, who
started his wife on her racing ea-
rth., has been ill for the past two
weeks, Mrs. Geelan explained. He
will be unable to compete in the
race, but will accompany his wife
to Ketchum if he is well enough to
leave Boise Thursday morning.
"I can't tell until I see the track
how many dogs I'll run," Mrs. Gee-
Ian. explained, "If the track ia�
heavy, I'll have to use seven. But.I
jiope it's a fast course, so I can
get by with five because I can
make mucli better timethat way."
Mrs. Geelan believes the worst
race she ever ran in' was from
.Truckee to Lake Tahoe. "We had
to drive, along the highway, and
so many cars had come in that the
snow had`been completely worn off"
part of the course. I had to run
eight .miles behind the dogs on bare
paveinent to win; that race. But I
Won it, nonetheleSs."
Mrs. Geelan will be entered at
Sun Valley against • seven other
drivers, all men. But that doesn't
worry her —She's accustomed to do
all her obmpeting against men. And
beating them, too.
Mr. and Mrs. Geelan are at the
Idanha.
M'CALL, IDAHO, GIRL IN DERBY
3
Thula Geelan, 24-year-old girl dog team driver of DicCall, Idaho, who
finished fifth in the Sierra dog derby between Truckee and Tahoe Tavern,
Calif. February 10, 11 and 12. Driving a team of Gordon and Irish setter
dogs Miss Geelan covered the 86-mile course in B hours, 33 minutes and 19
seconds.
1\[• y rrep q 11,w5 .a/t ir
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A, LITTLE FEMININE PERSUASION• PROBABLY DID THE TRICK. Mrs. Thula
Geelan of McCall, Idaho, after she won the third annual Tahoe -Sierra Derby. She was
the only woman entrant in the race, which was run in two-day laps of thirty miles
each, from *Truckee, Cal., to Tahoe Tavern and return. Her total time was 5 hours
R4ce F.,„ /={ /53157 minutes 34 seconds.
• Associated Press Photo
og races across the Northwest:
Di GEELIIN
WINS TIIIUMPH
INHILL NICE
Woman Musher Defeats Field
of Men in Gruelling 15-Mile
Trek; Stover Second, With
Printz Taking Third
ACROSS THE FINISH LINE for the championship of the Truck-
ee dog -sled race in 1931 comes Mrs, T. W. Gester, now of Con-
vair's B-24 Nose Major Assembly, Who won $1,500 in that race.
Yep! She's a Champion
Dog -Sled Racing Driver!
One of the most colorful and successful dog -sled racing
drivers in the Northwest is, of ,all things, a woman, and
of all things, she works right here in Convair as a riveter
in B-24 Nose Major Assembly, Plant Two. She is Mrs.
T. W.'Gester, who has won $22,600 in prize money driving
. her dogsto victories in meets extending over four states,
including California, Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming.
Her biggest Year was in 1931,
when she was first -prize winner
`but-' oTilleIrt CAUL, snerwohi"
$650 to Will first place in a 64-
mile race. Then, successively,
she won top laurels at racing
meets at Ogden, Utah; Idaho
Falls, Idaho; Jackson, Wyo., and
McCall, Idaho, for a grand total
of $4100.
COULD TAKE IT!
team of seven Irish setters pulled Thula to victory in sled_ she consistently won prize
coney almost up to the time that
war broke out in 1941, in compe-
tition with men in these rough
and tumble events.
Mrs. Gester became interested
in dog sled racing back in 1927,
whenher husband, a dog fancier,
encouraged her to try a hand
at the thrilling sport. Hearing
of a good team for sale, she
bought it, trained the dogs and
entered racing meets.
HERE Nshe holds aloft trophy
Won at Truckee.
"Irish setters are favored in
the Northwest for sled racing,"
Mrs. Gester says. "An Irish set-
ter is one of the fastest and
most enduring dogs you can find.
They set out in a dead run, and
keep running until they are ut-
terly exhausted. You can imag-
ine how they can ta1rP it hnro..�n
some of the courses are as long
as 64 miles.
"They average about 30 miles
per hour for the first 12 or 15
miles, and then run at about 18
or 20 miles speed. I recall that
in the race at Truckee in 1931,
the dogs ran 64 miles in five
hours, 34 minutes, 54 seconds."
SHE RACES HERE
Dog sled racing is no sport for
the faint-hearted, according to
Mrs. Gester. She has been in-
jured several times, and w a s
once knocked out for two hours
in a serious spill at Truckee.
Mrs. Gester says she is "rac-
ing against time" at Convair, be-
cause she has a husband and two
sons in the service. One of her
sons nearly lost his life when the
U.S.S. Lexington was sunk.
She plans to lead a quieter life
after the war. But who knows?
When the wind and the dogs
start howling, the old urge might
be too great!
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S T O V E R W I N S T W O - D A Y D O G D E R B Y E V E N T
S i x T e a m s F i n i s h 6 0 - M i l e G r i n d F e a t u r i n g M c C a l l -
C a s c a d e C a r n i v a l
R o v S t o v e r , M c C a l l , a d d e d a n o t h e r d o g d e r b y v i c t o r y t o h i s
r e c o r d w h e n h e t o o k f i r s t p l a c e i n t h e t w o - d a y 6 0 - m i l e d e r b y
f e a t u r i n g t h e C a s c a d e - M c C a l l w i n t e r s p o r t s c a r n i v a l . T h e l a s t t h r e e
m i l e s o f t h e r a c e w a s r u n o v e r b a r e g r o u n d .
T h u l a G e e l a n , M c C a l l ' s n o t e d w o m a n d r i v e r , w a s a c l o s e s e c o n d ,
c o m p l e t i n g t h e 6 0 m i l e s i n 4 : 4 1 : 3 0 . O t h e r e n t r a n t s f i n i s h e d i n t h e
f o l l o w i n g o r d e r : G l e n R a p e , C a s c a d e , d r i v i n g t h e G e o r g e S t o n e b r a k e r
t e a m ; D e a n H a n n i , B i g S p r i n g s , f o u r t h ; D e l b e r t G r o o m , R i g b y ; a n d R e d
C r a w f o r d , C a s c a d e , d r i v i n g D r . H u r d ' s t e a m .
B i l l y L a F a y d r o p s o u t a t D o n n e l l y ( d r i v i n g t h e G e e l a n e n t r y ) , w h e n
h i s d o g s g o t o f f t h e c o u r s e u n t i l t h e o t h e r e n t r i e s h a d p a s s e d h i m .
D i s a s t e r t h r e a t e n e d t h e r a c e s h o r t l y a f t e r t h e s t a r t w h e n t h e
t e a m s e n c o u n t e r e d c a t t l e w h i c h h a d s t r a y e d o n t h e c o u r s e . D r i v e r s
w e r e f o r c e d t o e n t a n g l e t h e i r f i g h t i n g t e a m s , s o m e o f w h i c h f o r g o t
t h e r a c e a t t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e c a t t l e , b e f o r e t h e t r e k t o C a s c a d e
c o u l d b e r e s u m e d .
S t o v e r w o n t h e f i r s t l a p o f 3 0 m i l e s , C a s c a d e t o M c C a l l , i n e x c e l l e n t
t i m e c o n s i d e r i n g t h e s o f t s n o w w h i c h c o v e r e d t h e c o u r s e .
# # # # # # # #
G E H L A N T A K E S J A C K S O N D E R B Y
" T h a t m a n o v e r t h e r e i s T h u l a G e e l a n ' s h u s b a n d - - y o u k n o w T h u l a ;
s h e ' s t h e o u t s t a n d i n g w o m a n d o g r a c e r i n t h e c o u n t r y , e t c . "
B e c a u s e T e d , w h o h a i l s f r o m M c C a l l , m u s h e d h i s s t u r d y d o g t e a m
3 0 m i l e s i n t h e t w o - d a y J a c k s o n w i n t e r c a r n i v a l c l a s s i c t o w i n b y a
c l o s e m a r g i n .
O t h e r f i n i s h e r s w e r e S t o n e b r a k e r , W a r r e n C o r d i n g l y , R o y S t o v e r , a n d
J a c k N e i l , J a c k s o n .
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/
AUSTIN NEALY, Driggs, Idaho,
dog musher, will be one of those
favored to cop first place in the
dog -sled race scheduled at Mc-
Call Feb. 12-1.3. Nealy, a for-
mer champion at the American
Dog Derby In Ashton, is shown
above with one of his specially
bred Targhee hounds.
Dog Races
February 12-13
McCALL (Special) — Officials
for the McCall Dog Derby and
winter carnival are making ar- I
rangements to entertain as many
as 6000 spectators, as plans for
the February 12-13 celebration
were virtually completed Thurs-
day.
The winter sports event will be
featured by a dog -sled race fea-
turing Idaho's finest mushers, who
will traverse a six -mile course be-
tween Shore Lodge and McCall.
Such racers as Everett Heseman,
Ashton; Austin Neely, Driggs;
Charley Bornside, Victor; Lloyd
Lillie, Portland, Ore., and Maj.
.Iohn Rodman, West Yellowstone,
have entered teams.
Featuring the two-day event
will be flights by a helicopter,
snow plane races, a softball game
in which participants will wear
snow shoes, an ice chopping con-
test and a Saturday night party
in McCa,Il.
JANUARY 21, 1968
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DICK d'EASUM
Dog. Teams and Glory in a Winter Wonderland
McCall used to go to the dogs every win-
ter. Natives and visitors loved it, too, in-
cluding the dogs. Acting on the proposition
that snow might as well be put to some
beneficial use other than : the exercise of
shoveling it out of the way, the community
at Payette Lakes staged some of the finest
derbies in the country at a time when sled
races were a big thing. The annual runs
around the lake for cash prizes to frost-
bitten drivers and the enjoyment of specta-
tors who didn't know much about dogs but
liked the excitement of a frolic in the drifts
were a forerunner of the winter carnival
that will offer its 1968 attractions January
26 to 28.
WHAT SKIING and ice sculpture are to-
day, dog races were in the 1920s and early
1930s. Famous drivers and noted dogs loped
over snow and ice to personal achievement
and the pride of McCall which was head-
lined across the country as the site of an
athletic event equivalent to the super -bowl
football game of current note. McCall had
some ski doings in those years, but they
were sideshows to the main production.
Men, women and children used skis out of
necessity. •
Unless they were particularly gifted in
jumping they took a dim view of climbing
hills and sliding down at the risk of cracked
skulls just to amuse the multitude. Dog
racing, on the other hand, was high on the
hog. The driver who piloted a string of set-
ters to the money was a hero. Ripe for the
flu, but a, hero.
DOG RACING on a major scale started
about 1920, although there had been some
races before that in connection with snow
festivals to which people from Boise Valley
traveled by special train. McCall took its
cue from Ashton, where the American Dog
Derby was born in 1917. Recognizing the
fame of such men as Henry "Tud" Kent,
Bill Trude, and C. G. "Smoky" Gaston who
put Ashton on the map, and believing that
it had equal or superior talent in its midst,
McCall joined the big leagues that operated
in Manitoba, Lake Tahoe, Ogden, and Ash-
ton, It did very well.
Within a few years the golden decade of
dogging was decorated by the likes of Roy
Stover, Thula Geelan and Warren Brown
of McCall; Gil McCoy, Earl Kimball and
Fred Printz of Cascade, all Bart Starrs of
the business. They galloped off with tro-
phies not only at McCall but around the cir-
cuit.
THE FINEST season is a matter of opin-
ion. Several were memorable. For exam-
ple, the time Stover fell off his sled and
the dogs raced by themselves; the year
Brown, a boy of 13, was king of his own
hill and a challenger at Ashton; and the
winter Mrs. Geelan won the McCall derby,
the Lake Tahoe derby, and placed sixth at
Ashton.
Chronologically speaking, Warren Brown
was the first prince of the parka. It was in
1926 that he hit the top with a team led by
"Tuck," half airedale and half red setter.
After his success at McCall he thrilled the
Washington's Birthday crowd at Ashton. AI -
though he came in second he was the toast
of most fans. Hardly anybody remembers
who took first. (It was Howard Salley of
Shotgun Pass, driving for Bill Trude.)
STOVER WON many races around the
country. He was a seasonedveteran as win-
ner of the Lake Tahoe and other derbies
when, early in March, 1930, his team took
off without him at McCall. At the start
of several laps around the lake for a total
of 25 miles, Stover bounced off the sled.
Without his weight and in spite of his
shouts, the dogs went on. Stover took a
shortcut .to intercept the runaways across
the lake --- if they got than far. They did.
Not only did they stay on the course but
they passed one team before Stover re-
sumed command. With Stover again in the
caboose the dogs won second place. Delbert
Groom of Rigby was first. Mrs. Geelan was
third. Officials stewed about disqualifying
Stover but there was no doubt that the dogs
earned their prize.
THE 1931 RACE was another rouser.
Weather was miserable. The course was
described as "15 miles of slush." It was
slow going for man and beast and put a
platoon of champions to a grinding test.
Among the entrants were Stover, fresh from
winning the Ashton derby; Thula Geelan,
winner of the Lake Tahoe derby; Printz,
consistently in the money; Ted Geelan,
husband of Thula, and several others of
renown. ,In spite of high temperature and
a dab of rain that threatened to cancel the
contest,,;drivers agreed to do their stuff.
Conditions would be tough for men and
dogs. They would be nearly intolerable for
a woman. Mrs. Geelan had better drop out.
Ha. She could take it, she said, if the rest
of them could. She lined out her string and
sailed into the slop. Visibility was poor for
racers and watchers. The track was a man
killer and a dog sapper. But not a woman
killer. Mrs. Geelan trotted home first,:near-
ly a mile ahead of Stover who abandoned
his remote -control tactics of the previous
year and stayed with his sled. Printz was
third. Ted Geelan was fifth.
"GREATEST THRILL of my racing ca-
reer," said Mrs. Geelan. She said she was
even happier than she had been when she
won the richer Lake Tahoe derby a couple
of weeks earlier. On that occasion she was
spurred on in a snowstorm along 30 miles
in each of two laps during two days by a
handkerchief pinned to her mackinaw. The
handkerchief was a gift of Whistlin' Lyd
Hutchinson. She presented it to Thula sev-
eral months before Lyd died. Whistlin' _Lyd
was a noted dog driver and proprietor of a
cafe at Ashton where racing legends were
born. Luck of the handkerchief prevailed
again at McCall, plus the stamina of eight
setters and the woman behind them.
As added attractions to the Thula Geelan
victory in 1931, McCall had pony races,
skijoring, and ski jumping with horses pull-
ing skiers over the jump — or almost over
it when they didn't get fouled up in the ap-
paratus. There were also bobsled races, dog
races for singles and doubles, and a raft of
unscheduled dog fights. By the time the
crowd stopped patting Mrs. Geelan on the
back, though, a skijorer or a dog fight more
or less made little difference to the general
celebration.
Dog sled races feature Fights, fun
By MARK CRANE
The Idaho Statesman
MCCALL — Lynn Sorensen stood balanced on the rear
of a wood -frame dog sled, shouting encouragement to
her team of five Irish setters, as they streaked across
the snow near the McCall airport.
Moments later, Sorensen's team crossed the finish
line, completing a five -mile run. Someone asked if her
time had been fast enough to win.
"I really don't care," she replied. "It's just nice to be
here. This is the first time I've been around people since
November."
Sorensen, 25, and her husband, Jerry, 26, live in the
mountains 30 miles north of McCall, in a home they built
themselves. Lynn 'said they raise much of their own
meat and vegetables, and spend their spare time reading
and doing art work.
Winter is nine months long in that country the roads
close in September and don't open again till May or June
— and until Jerry bought a snowmobile two weeks ago,
the dog team was the Sorensens' only means of winter
transportation. Lynn uses the team to make the 13-mile
trip to Warren to pick up the couple's mail. The dogs are
.w also used to tow supplies and to transport visitors to and
i \ from the Sorensens' cabin.
� The Sorensens were two of about a dozen "mushers"
who showed up at McCall on Saturday for opening day of
McCall Dog Sled Days. Some 70 fans were at the airport
to cheer. Officials said they hoped to make dog races an
annual event. It was the first official dog sled race in the
city since 1929.
To get to the races, Lynn had to drive her team
through the woods to McCall. Jerry followed on the
snowmobile.
"My relationship with "these dogs is special," Lynn
said. "It has to be. If I fall off the sled out in the moun-
tains, and it's 40 below, I'll die if they run off and leave
me. Caspar takes care of me. If anything happens he
stops and makes sure I'm all right."
The dog sled races featured mushers clinging to a few
scraps of lumber as they slashed across the snow at high
speed. Except for vocal commands, the mushers had no
control over their teams. If the dogs chose to go charg-
ing.;across the airstrip, and some did, the mushers could
do little but stand on the brake and shout unprintable
words.
When McCall schoolteacher and musher Terry Dorris
shouted her team across the starting line, everything
went well for the first 20 yards. Then all four dogs
stopped running and started fighting. It happened so fast
it looked like it had been choreographed. Dorris aban-
doned the sled and dived head first into the pack. It was
like diving into a buzz saw. For a few seconds there was
nothing showing but flying fur and snow and Dorris' two
boots sticking up.
It took four men 10 minutes to breakup the fight.
The Sorensens were the only mushers who used Irish
setters. The rest used Alaskan and Siberian huskies. The
sled dogs didn't have the glossy -coated, well-fed look of
house pets. They were hungry -looking and they howled
endlessly. Many of them had old battle scars, and before
the day ended some of them had collected fresh wounds.
"For sled racing you don't care what a dog looks like,
or if he's registered and has a pedigree," said Stirling
Campbell, a social worker and amateur musher from
Moscow, who placed first in Saturday's three -dog com-
petition. "You want dogs that are athletes. A big, over-
fed dog can't run."
Campbell said most of his dogs were the descendants
of mongrel, Alaskan village dogs. Dorris said she found
her lead dog in the city pound.
"These dogs are skinny, and it looks like hard work for
them to pull that sled," said Pat Daniels, a professional
musher from Pocatello, who won first place in Satur-
day's five -dog competition. "But they're happy. Certain
breeds — the Alaskans, the Siberians, the setters are
born to run. You don't have to whip them. They run be-
cause they want to. The unhappy dogs are the ones that
get left home and don't get to run."
McCall's dog -sled races will continue today.
Terry Dorris watches the race
"e�" `� a. . ;�={h'>�`���� , . _va: '�.'•c� .,.E +'2w^
•
Musher Darrell Stewart balances on the back of his dog sled as his team streaks across the snow near the McCall airport
PAGE B--4--THE STAR-NEWS--WEDNESDAY, MAR. 9, 1983
Poker Run to test luck
Registrations for Saturday's MAP (McCall
Area Promotions) Snowmobile Poker Run have
already come in from Washington, Oregon and
Idaho, Byron Whalen, in charge of publicity for
the event, said Monday.
Poker Run organizers expect 300-500
snowmobilers to try their hand at winning the
$1,000 grand prize, Whalen said.
The Poker Run is not a race. Anyone can win
as long as they can ride a snowmobile on 40
miles of groomed trail, Whalen said. Then luck
takes over.
The event is sponsored by MAP and the Mc-
Call Area Chamber of Commerce.
The $1,000 grand prize will go to the person
ending the course with the best poker hand.
There will be seven checkpoints along the
route. Each rider will get one card at each stop
and can use the top five cards for their hand.
The 40-mile snowmobile course will start and
end at the Sheep Bridge, located southwest of
McCall Airport near the old city dump off Mis-
sion Street.
A $3 donation per person is being asked to
help finance future promotions.
Anyone wanting more information can call
634-7145.
Tradition lives in Dog Sled Days
When Warren Brown was a
boy, he thought he'd be a
musher when he grew up.
"There isn't much else that
I like, unless it's helping dad
with the lumbering in the sum-
mertime," a newspaper
quoted the longtime McCall
resident as saying in 1926
when he, at 13, "nosed out" a
seasoned musher to win the
third annual McCall Dog Der-
by.
That same year, Brown
gained national attention
when he placed second in
Ashton's American Dog Derby
and bested three crack Cana-
dian teams to do it.
It was a 1924 dog sled race
among youngsters in McCall
that served as the nucleus that
developed into McCall's an-
nual Winter Carnival.
As most local residents
know, Brown did not grow up
to be a musher. What he did
was invest his $300 winnings in
McCall and $600 from the
Ashton race in savings bonds.
The money later financed
his college education at the
University of Idaho. He was
then to become successful in
various areas, including as
head of Brown Tie and
Lumber Company and a state
senator.
The annual event was
forgotten through the events
that led to the Depression and
World War II. Then three
years ago, a small group of
McCall and Donnelly -area
people generated enough in-
terest to get the activity going
again.
Thus is the background for
this weekend's Dog Sled Days
races in McCall.
The High Valley Mushers
are sponsoring Dog Sled Days.
Racing will start at 9 a.m. at
McCall Airport Saturday and
and is - expected to
continue until 2 p.m. or 3 p.m.
each day.
The three -dog, five -dog and
seven -dog races, sanctioned
by the International Sled Dog
Racing Association, will be
both days with combined
times determining the win-
ners.
Spectator admission will be
$1 for adults and 50 cents for
children. Dorris said the big
teams should start racing
about 10:30 a.m. each day.
fir( ra-//„p //2/92
Lifelong McCall resident
Warren Brown honored
in Dog Sled Racing
Dog sled racing is not new to McCall's Winter Carnival. In fact,
this years races will feature a race named for Warren Brown, who at
age 13 won First Place in the "American Dog Derby" held during
McCall's very first Winter Carnival in 1924.
The fact that the 13 year old Warren had to compete against adults,
and at times, 20 to 30 other sleds, didn't keep him from going on to
place second that same year in the Ashton, Idaho race.
Dog Sled racing came naturally to Warren. His father, Carl, deliv-
ered the mail from McCall to Warren by dog sled from 1910 to 1920.
This year will mark the return of this event to our Winter Carnival
and apparently it has not lost any of its popularity. To date, 12 four -
dog teams and 4 six -dog teams have entered the two races which will
yield $500 purses each.
Event Chair, Diana Healy, stated "We have no idea how many
teams we will end up with in the "Novice Class", we are extremely
pleased with the responses to date."
Healy went on to say that the children are really looking forward
to the "Kids Mutt Race' and that parents and children alike are excit-
ed about the "Celebrity Race" (Governor Andrus, for one), all of which
will take place for FREE in and around_ the River Front Park Site across
from the Smokejumpers Base.
Kids can bring their dog and sled or saucer or whatever and par-
ents can feel assured that their safety will be well attended to by the
volunteer efforts of local veterinarians who will make sure the dogs
and sleds are properly attached.
Sponsorship by Kal Kan/Sabala Bros. & Company has made it pos-
sible to not only offer this spectacle for free but to provide the great
$500 purses plus $1,000 worth of pet food.
Race schedule is as follows:
6 dog teams 1 p.m. (7 miles)
4 dog teams - 2 p.m. (4 miles)
Novice teams - 3 p.m. (1 mile)
Mutt races - 4 p.m. (various lengths)
Celebrity races - 4:30 p.m. (various lengths)
r /) 4 ///-;/ 171
Sled races harken to past
Sled dog racing is not new to
McCall's Winter Carnival. In fact,
this year's races will feature a race
named for Warren Brown who, at age
13, won first place in the "American
Dog Derby" held during McCall's
very first Winter Camival in 1924.
The fact that the 13-year-old Brown
had to compete against adults, and at
times, 20 to 30 other sleds, didn't
keep him from going on to place sec-
ond that same year in the Ashton,
Idaho, race.
Sled dog racing came naturally to
Brown. His father, Carl, delivered the
mail from McCall to Warren by dog
sled from 1910 to 1920.
This year will mark the return of
this event to the Winter Carnival and
apparently it has not lost any of its
popularity. To date,12 four -dog teams
and four six -dog teams have entered
the two races which will yield $500
purses each.
The races will begin at 1 p.m. Sun-
day, Jan. 23, at the city's riverfront
land site across Mission Street from
McCall Smokejumper Base. Admis-
sion for spectators is free.
"We have no idea how many teams
we will end up with in the `Novice
Class,' " event Chair Diana Healy said.
"We are extremely pleased with the
responses to date."
Healy said the children are looking
forward to the "Kids Mutt Race" and
that parents and children alike are ex-
cited about the "Celebrity Race" (Gov.
Cecil Andrus, for one).
Spectators will appreciate that the
first mile of track will be highly visible
and that there are many great places
from which they can watch the events.
Kids can bring their dog and sled or
saucer or whatever and parents can
feel assured that their safety will be
well attended to by the volunteer ef-
forts of local veterinarians who will
make sure the dogs and sleds are prop-
erly attached.
Sponsorship by Kal Kan/Sabala
Bros. & Company has made it possible
to not only offer this spectacle for free
but to provide the $500 purses plus
$1000 worth of pet food.
Race Schedule
• Six dog teams, 1 p.m., seven
miles.
• Four dog teams, 2 p.m., four
miles.
• Novice Teams, 3 p.m., one mile.
• Mutt Races, 4 p.m., various
lengths.
• Celebrity Races, 4:30 p.m., vari-
ous lengths.
7A7) /Gt(C_ % S�a-/Ps/77G)?
Sled dog race
returns to
winter festival
By Becky Paull
The Idaho Statesman
MCCALL — Jane Updegrove,
outwardly, wore the same smile
she had all morning.
Bright, chipper, belying the
nerves that were welling inside as
she prepared for her first sled dog
race on an overcast Sunday af-
ternoon.
Sure, she'd worked with her hus-
band, Jim, training the six dogs
that would be harnessed to her
sled. They'd traversed the rugged
Seven Devils country outside their
Riggins home. She'd been at the
controls as they cruised the cen-
tral Idaho town with the Upde-
grove ATV in tow.
Racing was different.
The afternoon grin was stilted.
As the dogs were put in their
places — leads Peachy and Tiny in
front, points Bingo and Sparky in
the middle, and wheels Blackie
and Minnie at the rear — Upde-
grove's apprehension mounted.
"I didn't sleep much last night,"
admitted Updegrove, a 44-year-old
teacher of math and science at
Salmon River High School in
Riggins.
"I may come in last today but I
want to finish my first race."
As her team — lunging and yip-
ping in anticipation of the race —
was led to the starting line, Upde-
grove rode the brake to keep them
in check.
Then, the yipping stoppea.
The dogs were released. With
snow flying from the sled's run-
ners, the team bolted down a
short, curving hill into McCall's
Riverside Park.
At one -minute intervals, Up-
degrove's five rivals were re-
leased behind her onto the six -
mile track. Their teams,
straining at their traces, made
similar bounds down the track.
With the last of the revved up
teams off, the parking lot fell
still.
The Updegrove truck, com-
plete with the sled attached to
the roof and a custom bed of dog
kennels, was one of a dozen sim-
ilarly equipped vehicles in the
parking lot during Sunday's
opening weekend of the McCall
Winter Carnival.
Their appearance marks the
rebirth of sled dog racing as part
of the annual winter festival re-
Paq� �� o� 2..,91:31n.
Katherine Jones/The Idaho Statesman
Jane Updegrove waits to make her
start in the .McCall Winter Carnival
Sled Dog Races.
nowned for its snow sculptures.
Event chairwoman Diana
Healy said the last races were in
1982 at the McCall Airport. Sun-
day's featured six -miler was part
of an afternoon full of racing for
everyone. Also included were a
four -mile course, a one -miler for
novices and a couple 100-yard
sprints for kids and celebrities.
It's one of few sled dog races
in Idaho. Next weekend there is
an event at Priest Lake in
Northern Idaho. Other than
that, racers log many a mile into
Washington, Montana and Ore-
gon to compete.
Sunday's event attracted
mushers from as far as Sisters,
Ore., and Newport, Wash.
"This was supposed to be an
exhibition," said Healy, a dog
trainer from Cascade. "It turned
into a race."
And what a race it was.
Debbie Jayo, a veteran mush-
_
from Orangeville, said Sun-
day's curvy course was made
more testy with icy conditions.
Especially since the dogs reach
speeds of 20 mph.
"This is going to be fast,"
Jayo promised. "It's curvy in
some places so there might be
some thrills."
Make that spills.
More than one, Updegrove in-
cluded, was upended somewhere
along the line.
Jim Updegrove, a 56-year-old
English teacher, former marath-
oner and the one who gave Jane
the sled dog bug, eyed the trail
as he waited for his wife's famil-
iar red balaclava to come bob-
bing down the road.
She wasn't the first musher
home.
Her spill, coupled with an ad-
mitted aversion to speed, al-
lowed eventual winner Cherie
Dumaw to take over the lead.
Yet as her dogs, now with
heaving sides and dragging
tongues replacing their earlier
exuberance, trotted toward the
finish, Updegrove reveled in the
competition.
" `This is my first race! This is
my first race!' " she shouted as
she made her way through the
dozens of spectators lining the
finish chute.
As she tended to the dogs, the
worried grin was replaced by
one of jubilation.
"I'll tell you what," she said,
her face enveloped in a smile,
"that was hairy."
)
Sled dog racing results
Six dogs (6 miles)
1. Cherie Dumaw (Newport,
Wash.) 23 minutes, 4.98 seconds; 2.
Matt Campbell (Moscow) 26:20.37;
3: Jane Updegrove (Riggins)
28:38.91; 4. Gerald Robinson (New
Plymouth) 28:42.17; 5. John Marz-
luff (Kuria) 31:46.73; 6. Tom Bras-
seur (Ontario, Ore.) 35:30.19.
Four dogs (4 miles)
1. Will Wanlass (Sisters, Ore.)
13:20.32; 2. Debbie Jayo (Grange-
ville) 15:48.56; 3. Cherie Dumaw
(Newport, Wash.) 16:11.13; 4. Matt
Campbell (Moscow) 16:30.37; 5.
Stuart Jayo (Grangeville) 19:57.17;
6. Gail Jayo (Grangeville) 20:49.47;
7. Linda Burke (Boise) 21:31.56.
Sled dogs
not limited
to huskies
By Becky Paull
The Idaho Statesman
Sled dogs come in all shapes
and sizes.
Most of the dogs at Sunday's
McCall Winter Carnival were
Alaskan or Siberian huskies.
But Cascade dog trainer and re-
cent racing aficionado Diana
Healy, is working with three
Rottweilers — more noted for
their guard dog attributes.
She said they've adapted well.
Sled dogs raced at McCall
from 1924 until 1982. Healy, who
is known throughout the region
for training dogs, was tabbed to
reintroduce the event on an ex-
hibition basis this year.
Instead, a race was born.
"The interest is definitely
there," said Healy, who named
Sunday's races to honor Warren
Brown — a longtime McCall res-
ident and winner of the 1924
race as a 13-year-old.
Jim Updegrove, who opted out
of Sunday's race in lieu of a 70-
miler in North Idaho next week -
rap 4z.of zPeyos
end, said his heart went out to
sled dogs after reading Jack
London's "Call of the Wild."
That was six years ago. He
and his wife, Jane, have built
their kennel to 16 dogs and stay
in shape with them. He esti-
mates they spend $3,000 a year
on their dogs.
Jim has an advantage. He
makes his own Sleds and Jane
stitches the bag that attaches to
the sled as well as booties for
the 16 dogs in their Riggins
kennel.
While Jane prefers a team of
comparatively docile dogs — al-
though it's hard to consider her
lunging band of six anything
but, Jim prefers living on the
edge.
"You're usually sliding on the
outer edge of extinction," says
Jim, the mere thought causing a
smile to break over his creased,
bearded face that is largely en-
veloped in a cozy balaclava hat.
Besides the thrill of racing,
there's a communion with
nature.
"Just being one with the dogs
and nature," said Updegrove of
his now six -year -old addiction.
"I just feel like I'm part of it."
It's unlikely anything, he
says, can beat a moonlight ride
through the Seven Devils moun-
tains that loom over Riggins.
"It's just really neat," he says.
Katherine Jones/The Idaho Statesman
Jane Updegrove and her six -dog team climb the last hill toward the finish line in the McCall Winter Carnival
Sled Dog Races. Her personal goal was to finish the race, but she did one better: She took third.
4,4„s,-4s,"an _
McCall races going to the dogs
By Becky Paull
The Idaho Statesman
They'll be yapping and running and
howling all over McCall Saturday morning
for the second annual Warren Brown Sled
Dog Races, sponsored by Kal Kan and
Sabala Brothers and Co.
Race organizers Diane and Pat Healy of
Cascade had 17 entries Sunday afternoon,
but they expect this year's race to attract
more than last year's inaugural 20 teams.
"They loved it," Diane Healy said of the
response from last year's mushers. "It was
challenging. It was a tough track."
Entries will be accepted until just before
race time (9 a.m.) Saturday. Fees are $30 for
eight -dog teams, $25 for six -dog teams, $20
for four -dog teams and $15 for novice teams.
Distances generally are one mile per dog.
For example, the eight -dog teams go eight
miles. The difference is for the novices,
who'll test their skills over a 11/2-mile loop.
The day's festivities conclude with a. chil-
dren's race (open to any kid with a sled or
inner tube and a dog willing to pull it) and
a celebrity race. Both are free and will start
immediately after the racing (approximate-
ly 12:30 p.m.)
This year's races were moved to an open
field across Mission Street in pursuit of a
more consistent track. The trail is groomed
much like a cross-country ski trail.
Healy recommends taking the shuttle
from Shaver's, although there is limited
parking on Mission Street.
For further information, you can call the
Healys at 3824745.
7-kp Lo;/9 Vn (ey acIvvc rr
The sled-doggin' days of winter
Dee Ogden, an Idaho City musher, brought his six -dog team home in third place in Saturday's 27-mile mid -
distance race that started and ended near Cascade. The race was part of the McCall Winter Carnival events
scheduled. More on page 7
7/Bae0
j Faye 6 f .z �qf'
ompanionship is one draw of dog
sledding
Idahoans enjoy regional l versions eight dogs.
She now owns two sleds and
of famed Iditarod in Ashton, McCall ulto b out there next to oa
Dog
sledding on snow-cov-
ered Idaho terrain? You bet.
From weight pulling compe-
titions to skijoring; from sprint
races to 29-mile mid -distance
events, sledding activities are
alive and well.
Regional races are held in
McCall and Ashton; Sumpter,
Ore.; and Heber, Utah. And of
course, there is always the 500-
mile Iditarod in Alaska.
Dog sledding has a lengthy
history in the northern parts of
the world.
Dogs were originally used to
travel, hunt and trap. They also
played an important role in
providing protection and com-
panionship.
Our neighbors to the north,
the Canadian Police, used to
patrol on dog sleds.
Formal competitions eventu-
ally emerged, with the first dog-
sled race identified as the All
Alaska Sweep Stakes in 1908.
The racecourse covered 408
miles.
Ashton is famous for staging
the first dog -sled race held in
the lower 48 states back in
1917.
Susie Dillon of Meridian has
been raising Siberian huskies
and racing for the past seven
years.
"Boy, once you get into it,
you want more dogs and more
sleds," Dillon said.
She first learned to skijorn, a
little-known outdoor pursuit
where a skier on cross-country
skis is towed by a dog or dogs.
It is like water skiing on cross -
creek or river. It is all white,
and you can see elk and wild
turkeys. The dogs love it, and I
am out there with my best
friends, the dogs," Dillon said.
Her dog team trains in Octo-
ber with three -wheel carts on
dirt roads in the desert. By ear-
ly December, the team hauls
Christmas trees. Sledding com-
petitions occupy the winter.
Dog -show competitions round
out the year.
Chatka, Dillon's lead dog,
took second in the Sled Dog
Class and third in the Open
Confirmation Class at the Na-
tional Siberian Husky Club of
America's National Specialty
Show in Portland in 1999.
Dillon has lots of company. •
Her neighbors — Nikki Sartin,
a sophomore at Bishop Kelly
High School, and her mother,
Wendy — run dog -sled teams.
The Sartins and Dillon often
combine their dogs to create a
shared team.
"I think it is fun and good ex -
country skis on the snow.
erase for the dogs," Nikki
Sartin said.
Many types of dogs partici-
pate in dog -sled teams. Tradi-
tional Arctic breeds such as the
Alaskan malamutes, Siberian
huskies and Samoyeds are
commonly used.
But other breeds, such as
Dalmatians, Irish setters and
foxhounds, also pull sleds. The
quickest and most popular is
the Alaskan husky.
Size is a limiting factor, with
many dogs weighing less than
50 pounds and averaging 24
inches at the shoulder.
A lean physique is valued for
the athletic challenges the sled
dogs face.
Speed, muscular strength
and stamina are required.
During a race, dogs can burn
up to 10,000 calories. Fats and
proteins keep these amazing
animals, who are bred and
trained to run, going strong.
A dog's personality also
Photos courtesy of Susie Dillon
Idaho's Iditarod: Several regional events, such as this race in McCall, offer Idahoans a chance to participate in dog -sled races.
. `-hr/GIB/(D
% /077/,70r--,0
/39� Paq s
plays an important role. un-
vers favor dogs that are gentle
and even-tempered, for there
are a lot of training and compe-
tition pressures on both the
dogs and driver.
Some of the dogs emerge as
leaders, others as support dogs.
Putting together a great dog
team can be as challenging as
finding the right chemistry for
an ice hockey team or basket-
ball team.
Teammates on a dog sled
team include: the lead dog, who
directs the other dogs and con-
trols the speed; the swing dogs,
who makes sure corners do not
get cut; the team dogs, who pull
and follow; the wheel dog, who
provides the power; and the
musher, who drives the sled.
Check out the 2001 Warren
Brown Sled Dog Association's
Annual Sled Dog Races in Cas-
cade, Feb. 10 and 11.
You can get a close look at
the dogs and mushers compet-
ing in a variety of races.
Spectators may hear the
mushers using words to direct
the dog team including "gee" to
turn right, "haw" to turn left,
"hike" to go, "easy" to slow
down and "whoa" to stop.
Events include sprint compe-
titions with teams of four, six,
and eight dogs sprinting 4, 6
and 8 miles.
Skijoring races will run for
1 1 miles. There will be events
for kids such as the Mutt and
Kid Race and the 11/2-mile Ju-
nior Race.
The longest contest will be
the 29 mile race, which is classi-
fied as a mid-distanrP P\lPt1+
Enjoying the company: "It is fun, peaceful and beautiful to be
out there next to a creek or river. It is all white, and you can see
elk and wild turkeys. The dogs love it, and I am out there with
my best friends, the dogs," Susie Dillon said.