King of the Iditarod

Tara & Jeff King

Our family had planned on going camping this past weekend until my husband called me from work one day and said, "We can't go camping in two weeks. Jeff King is going to be at the new Cabelas store in Richfield!" Since we live in Wisconsin and don't plan on making it to Alaska any time soon, this was an incredible opportunity to meet a premier musher. I've been honored to meet many mushers in the U.P., and have been thrilled to meet Libby Riddles, Dick Mackey, and Doug Swingley. But meeting Jeff King was really special. As a four-time champ, and the reigning Iditarod champ, this was awesome! We drove an hour and a half to the new Cabelas store, north of Milwaukee (heck, even that was exciting!). Jeff was right in the front of the store signing autographs, chatting with his fans, and posing for pictures. He signed my Iditarod Monopoly game (nobody better beat me at my game now!), and signed a poster for my husband and me. Apparently running for office, he also asked if he could sign a poster for my little sister. Our DAUGHTER, Emmaline, loved it! After shaking his hand, I promised I would make it to Alaska someday to see him in his element. Of course, I'm sure I'm going to win the Cabelas drawing for the trip to the 2007 Iditarod, so I'll see him then! Incidentally, it was a cold, windy weekend, so camping wouldn't have been too much fun anyway!

Meeting Wisconsin's Mushers

This year, Wisconsin was fortunate enough to have four mushers run and complete the Iditarod. Glenn Lockwood, Bryan Mills, Ron Cortte, and Chad Schouweiler made us proud. Thanks to some information posted by a member of the Idita-Support e-mail group I am part of, I was able to meet these four incredible men, plus Ben Stamm, another Wisconsin musher who ran in the Iditarod in previous years.

How I was able to see them is the interesting story! My husband sings with the Appleton MacDowell Male Chorus, and travels throughout the state with them each spring. This weekend they had concerts scheduled in Three Lakes, WI, and Tomahawk, WI. Our plan was to go up with our little girl, hang out at the hotel, and go see the concert in Tomahawk today. One hour before we left yesterday, I checked my e-mail (because the Iditarod has made me addicted to the Internet). There, in my inbox, was a message from this fellow Idita-Supporter telling us that the mushers were going to be speaking in Tomahawk on Sunday. A little further research revealed that they were speaking about a mile from where my husband was singing. Unfortunately, if I attended the concert, I wouldn't be able to hear the entire Iditarod presentation. After a friend kindly reminded me that I could take our daughter to a different concert and attend this awesome opportunity instead, (duh, why didn't I think of that) we went and really enjoyed ourselves.

First, a man who traveld from Tomahawk to Alaska to follow the local mushers shared a wonderful slideshow and video presentation, which included video of our hometown heroes at both the Anchorage and Nome banquets. Then each of the mushers spoke. They didn't share so much about the actual race as they did about how they got into sled dogs and how this passion has affected each of their lives. They really shared some powerful philosophical life lessons.

After they spoke, we were able to meet the five mushers who were all wonderful, and gave me autographs and photo ops. I was particularly thrilled to meet Glenn Lockwood because I made booties for him this year. I even got to see his Red Lantern award up close. You know, I'm a huge Green Bay Packers fan, and am madly in love with Brett Favre (don't worry, my husband knows), but I would take this opportunity over meeting any of the Packers, including Brett Favre. That's how much I love this crazy thing they call the Iditarod.

And after the excitement was done, we still got to hear the second half of the concert, but we missed my husband's solo. That's OK. I can hear him anytime.

Wisconsin's Iditarod Mushers

Tara with Glenn Lockwood

Glenn's Red Lantern Award











Ben Stamm with Emmaline










Dr. Ron Cortte










Chad Schouweiler









Bryan Mills

The Beginning of a Fanatic

When people see me in my jacket with the Iditarod patches sewn all over, I am often asked how I became interested in the Iditarod. Being an avid reader of mysteries, I found myself reading Sue Henry's Murder on the Iditarod Trail about eight years ago. I found it interesting and wondered if there was such a thing as this "Iditarod." I checked it out on the Internet, and sure enough, it was real! I did some research and introduced it in the most bare-bones way to my sixth graders. It was my first year of teaching, so frankly I was putting more effort into simply learning how to teach than in putting together an elaborate Iditarod unit! But I did tell my kids about it, and I posted the standings everyday, but that was about the extent of it. In fact I didn't even know when the winner came in! Another teacher told me that Jeff King had won. Since then, I have developed a major cross-curricula Iditarod unit, which my students loved. I've hungrily searched for news and coverage of this race, and admit I am an Idita-nut! Presently I am a stay-at-home mom who misses teaching about this fascinating topic very much, but rest assured, this year when Jeff King won the Iditarod, nobody had to tell me because I was in front of my computer at 4:00 in the morning watching on the webcam!