HISTORY This Week The Dogs Who Saved Nome, Alaska
Jan 26, 2026
Pam Flowers, sled-dog musher and children’s author, and Bob Thomas, historian and husky expert, revisit the 1925 serum run to Nome. They recount the desperate relay across brutal Arctic terrain. Stories highlight Togo and Leonhard Seppala’s perilous leadership, the stormy Norton Sound crossing, and how dog teams triumphed when every minute mattered.
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Nome's Deadly Isolation
- Nome was isolated each winter and depended entirely on dog teams or ships for supplies.
- In 1925 the town's remoteness made a diphtheria outbreak catastrophic without external help.
Shannon Starts The First Leg
- Wild Bill Shannon received a 20-pound serum package wrapped in fur at Nenana and launched into the darkness.
- He began the first leg by sled, because dog teams were the only reliable winter transport.
Why Dogs Beat Planes
- Officials chose dog teams over airplanes because dogs were reliable in extreme cold and storms.
- The relay plan multiplied drivers to shave days off delivery time across 674 miles.
