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Tue, January 28, 2025

Nome Serum Run 100th Anniversary Events


EXTRA! EXTRA! In 1925, a life-saving relay involving 20 mushers and more than 150 sled dogs carried diphtheria antitoxin 674 miles from Nenana to Nome, battling harsh weather conditions to stop a deadly epidemic in isolated Nome. Gunnar Kaasen’s team, with Balto in lead, delivered the serum to Dr. Curtis Welch at 5:30am on February 2, 1925, to conclude the Serum Run or Great Race of Mercury. Celebrate the 100th anniversary of these amazing historic events!


MUSEUM TALKS
Presented at Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum & via Zoom. Questions? Call Cheryl 907-443-6630

Diphtheria and the Serum Run: The Medical Side of the Story January 26, 3pm
Physician assistant Dawn Sawyer shares history of diphtheria and treatments before 1925. Diphtheria causes a sometimes deadly throat infection. It had killed thousands of children in the early 1900s, thus Nome’s response in 1925 was both rational and necessary. (Zoom link: www.tinyurl.com/MuseumTalks)

The Original Race to Nome January 27, 7pm
Join National Park Service Ranger Tori Crawford as she explores the timeline of the 1925 race to Nome, highlighting key figures and decisions that saved the town from catastrophe. (Zoom link: www.tinyurl.com/MuseumTalks)

The Serum Run: The Players January 28, 7pm
Dawyn Sawyer reviews mushers involved in the 1925 relay of serum to diphtheria-threatened Nome. Controversies about the players make for a fascinating and interesting conversation. (Zoom link: www.tinyurl.com/MuseumTalks)

Historical Context for the Serum Run
Each of these three presenters will be about 20 minutes long and part of the same evening—January 29, 7pm (Zoom link: www.tinyurl.com/MuseumTalks)

  • The Role of the Federal Government in the Nome Serum Run Will Schneider
    Will Schneider, professor emeritus of anthropology with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, will describe how the mail trail system, the telegraph, and the railroad were critical infrastructure that made the Serum Run possible.
  • A Most Hazardous Undertaking: Airplanes and the Nome Diphtheria Crisis of 1925 Leanna Prax Williams
    Ph.D. candidate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Leanna Prax Williams, will discuss the state of aviation in Alaska in 1925 as it connects to the Nome diphtheria outbreak. Gain context about aviation in Alaska at the time, revisit the debate over using airplanes to deliver the urgently-needed antitoxin, and discuss the shift to the air age that would soon follow.
  • Health Care in Early Nome Carol Gales
    What was healthcare like in Nome up through the diphtheria epidemic of 1925? Who operated hospitals, and who were they for? Carol Gates will draw on newspaper clippings, memoirs, and other documents to trace healthcare in early Nome.

The 2020 Serum Run Trail Expedition & the Iditarod National Historic Trail February 1, 3pm
Learn about the 2020 Serum Run Trail Expedition through photos and stories shared by participants Stephanie Johnson and Kirsten Bey. (Zoom link: www.tinyurl.com/MuseumTalks; A 25-minute film about the Iditarod National Historic Trail will follow at the museum, not available via Zoom).