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I made this topic for Sarah, so what year do you think togo wasborn?

Since that last topic, which has been rightfully locked, resulted in subtle flame baiting and no real intellectual discussion, this is a mistake.

The last topic was locked for being "pointless", and I had offered Sarah a repost of a subject to her. I don't think its a mistake, in my honest opinion. Other people may enjoy sharing information on this matter.

Getting back to on topic now...I actually have no clue. Sometime in the 1910's maybe?

1925 -12

1913 was the year togo was born.

Anubis wrote: "I made this topic for Sarah, so what year do you think togo was born?
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The reliable written and photographic evidence points to Togo being born in 1916 - and most likely in June or July of that year.

There are quite a few pieces of info. and references to support this. If anyone is interested in the details, I would be glad to provide them.

They said in the 1925 run he was 12 years old.

Thank you Anubis for creating this topic. I used to just be a fan of the movies, and have not but recently become interested in the historical aspect of this. I think its great that we have people on here that know so much about Balto, Togo, etc. I have tried to google information, and mostly, the information that pops up first is Wikipedia. Now, don't get me wrong, I love myself some Wiki, but everybody knows that the information comes from other people adding information. When I looked up my home town, somebody wrote that "Godzilla" was a famous person from there! Haha! So I, as should everybody else.. should know that that Wikipedia isn't always the most reliable source, and you can't always believe everything you read on the Internet! I am thankful to everybody on here that is able to provide information.

It is nice to here what people have to say, and also their sources. I am especially thankful to Sarah, who is lucky enough to have her hands on a very sought after and rare book Togo's Fireside Reflectionsthat can provide us with lots of information that we have not had. A book which is even catalogued in the "semi" rare section of the Rasmuson Library! (Despite the fact a worker from the Rasmuson Library said it was catalogued as a children's book and in the Alaska Collection. - I easy looked it up in their online catalogue and it stated that it was in the Semi-Rare section the second floor... weird.) I have looked at many of my local libraries, and they do not hold it. I will keep on looking, and perhaps I will eventually find one that has it.

Also... if anybody is questioning what I said about Togo's Fireside Reflections, here is what I found when I went to the Rasmuson Library's online catalog.

Togo's fireside reflections
Ricker, Elizabeth M.
Publisher: Lewiston Journal Printshop,
Pub date: 1928.
Pages: 50 p. :
Item info: 1 copy available at UAF - Rasmuson Library.
Holdings
UAF - Rasmuson Library
Call Number Location Material Copy
QL795.D6 R5 SEMI-RARE UAF - Level 2 - SEMI-RARE Semi-Rare Material 1

And here is the way a book is cataloged when it is actually from the Alaska Section...

The Eskimo; Arctic hunters and trappers
Bleeker, Sonia.
Publisher: Morrow,
Pub date: 1959.
Pages: 160 p.
Item info: 2 copies available at UAF - Rasmuson Library.
Holdings
UAF - Rasmuson Library
Call Number Location Material Copy
E99.E7 B658 ALASKA UAF - Level 2 - ALASKA Book 1
E99.E7 B658 ALASKA UAF - Level 2 - ALASKA Book 2

So, thank you Sarah for your input on everything historical so far. I am thankful to have heard information from you that I wouldn't otherwise been privy to hear. Does anybody else have information? I would love to hear it! I love to learn new things everyday.

Also - to Sarah - and anybody else that would like to jump in... Can you give me the top 3 books you recommend that I start reading to learn more about the historical aspect?

thetruth46 wrote: "Can you give me the top 3 books you recommend that I start reading to learn more about the historical aspect?"
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My choices are:

(1) "Alaskan Trails - Siberian Dogs" (1998) by John D. Tanner Jr.

(2) "The World of Sled Dogs" (1977) by Lorna Coppinger

(3) I'm kind of torn on this third choice, as I have a couple of books in mind. I guess I'll go with:
"Gold, Men and Dogs" (1931) by Allan A. (Scotty) Allan

Thanks Sarah! I will check out my local libraries and see if they have it. Or maybe ebay or amazon.

Togo deserves more credit, he did most of the running, Happy Birthday Togo!

Well, he and the other dogs on his team...

There was some mention in another topic about a Togo children's book by author Robert Blake. On the Amazon website there is an editorial review of this book by a public library system in Florida. It says that Togo was 8 years old at the time of the serum run. It would seem that the person who did the review got this info. from the book.

Does any member happen to have this book, and can verify whether or not the author made that statement about Togo's age?

The review is in error, and confuses something Blake said in the book about Togo at eight months of age a short time after he had come back into the care of Seppala. There is, in fact, nowhere in the book that it refers to Togo being eight years of age at the time of the serum run, and I have read through each and every page to confirm this. As an example, here is an excerpt from the page where the serum run is first mentioned, and he refers to Togo. If he would have mentioned Togo's age at all during the run, it would have been here:



It took some doing to find a copy of this book, by seeking it out in area libraries. Most libraries do have it, but it is frequently checked out as a teaching resource. And with good reason. Robert J. Blake is an excellent author and good researcher. Right now he is out of the country on a new research project, so I was unable to get him to respond to this matter directly, but I have had much direct conversation with him before, and I figured he would not have made such a claim in his book, even though he has said many times that, but for items that were confirmed by historical accounts and record, much of what occurred between Seppala, Togo and the team on the trail he created himself. It is, after all, a children's book. And there is nothing wrong with what he did within that context.

But mentioning Togo as being eight years old at the time of the serum run? No. Not on any page of that book.

I ordered the Togo book by Robert Blake from Amazon on Monday using the 2 day shipping, and it arrived today. One thing I noticed is the author's statement: "In 1918 Seppala entered Togo in his first race, the Borden Marathon." That statement is true, and it provides one of several good clues about Togo's age.

To expand on that a little bit, Leonhard Seppala came in second in this race, behind Fred Ayer. Seppala was away from Nome at the time of the 1919 Borden Cup Marathon race. Fred Ayer won the race again. When Seppala got back to Nome, the Nome Kennel Club allowed him to run the race on an individual basis, after the fact. The team with the fastest recorded time would be the winner. Ayer protested this decision, but the event went on under these conditions. Seppala, with Togo as lead dog, beat Ayer's time by about three minutes and was declared the winner.