| 6th | Top sculptures in Central Park |
Balto (c.1919-14 March 1933) was an Siberian Husky sled dog who led his team on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheria antitoxin was transported from Anchorage, Alaska to Nenana, Alaska by train and then to Nome by dog sled to combat an outbreak of the disease. [1] [1][2] [3] The run is commemorated by the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Balto was named after the Sámi explorer Samuel Balto.
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In January 1925, doctors realized that a potentially deadly diphtheria epidemic was poised to sweep through Nome's young people. The only serum that could stop the outbreak was in Anchorage, nearly a thousand miles (1,600 km) away. The only aircraft that could quickly deliver the medicine was taken out of winter storage, but its engine was frozen and would not start. After considering all of the alternatives, officials decided to move the medicine by sled dog. The serum was transported by train from Anchorage to Nenana, where the first musher embarked as part of a relay aimed at delivering the needed serum to Nome. More than 20 mushers took part, facing a blizzard with −23 °F temperatures and strong winds. Katie Pryor interviewed the musher after he had finished. News coverage of the race was worldwide.
On February 2, 1925, the Norwegian Gunnar Kaasen drove his team, led by Balto, into Nome. The longest and most hazardous stretch of the run was actually covered by another Norwegian, Leonhard Seppala and his dog team, led by Togo. They came from Nome towards the end of the run and picked up the serum from musher Henry Ivanoff. The serum was later passed to Kaasen.
Kaasen did not consider Balto a particularly good lead dog, but Balto proved himself on the Iditarod trail, saving his team in the Topkok River. Balto was also able to stay on the trail in near whiteout conditions; Kaasen stated he could barely see his hand in front of his face. During a blizzard, Kaasen and his team missed the last sled dog team and had to take the medicine twice as far. At Nome, everybody wanted to thank Kaasen. He suggested giving fame to Balto as well.
A story about this event was put in Seven True Dog Stories.
Togo was the star dog for Leonhard Seppala even before the great 1925 Serum Run. Instead of celebrating the triumph together as one huge team, many became jealous of the publicity Balto received, especially from President Calvin Coolidge and the press. Seppala favored Togo, but the general public loved the story behind Balto, and so they would take a far different path after the celebrations were over. Balto was not welcomed at the ceremony in New York in which Seppala and Togo received awards from the explorer Roald Amundsen.
After the mission's success, Balto and Kaasen became celebrities. A statue of Balto, sculpted by Frederick Roth, was erected in New York City's Central Park on December 17, 1925, just 10 months after Balto's arrival in Nome. Balto himself was present for the monument's unveiling.[3] The statue is located on the main path leading north from the Tisch Children's Zoo.[4] In front of the statue a low-relief slate plaque depicts Balto's sled team, and bears the following inscription:
| “ | Dedicated to the
indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six
hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through
Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in
the Winter of 1925.
|
” |
Balto was not destined to be a star in the breeding shed since he was neutered at a young age, hence he was relegated to being neglected on the vaudeville circuit with his team. While visiting Los Angeles, George Kimble, a former prize fighter turned businessman from Cleveland, was shocked to discover the dogs were unhealthy and badly treated.
Mr. Kimble worked together with the newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, to bring Balto and his team to Cleveland, Ohio. On March 19, 1927, Balto and six companions were brought to Cleveland and given a hero's welcome in a triumphant parade. The dogs were then taken to the Brookside Zoo (now the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo).
After Balto's death in 1933, his remains were mounted by a taxidermist, and donated to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.[5] In 1998 the Alaska Legislature passed HJR 62- 'Bring Back Balto' resolution. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History declined to return Balto; however, in October 1998, Balto left for a five-month stay at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art which drew record crowds.
On December 22, 1995, Universal Pictures released the animated film Balto. The film was loosely based on the events of the 1925 Serum Run.
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Balto is a 1995 animated film about a half-dog/half-wolf named Balto, who helps save the children of Nome, Alaska by leading a team of sled-dogs carrying vital medicine. The film is loosely based on the true story about the dogs who helped save the town's children from the diphtheria epidemic in the 1925 serum run to Nome.
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Balto is a Siberian Husky. Many people make a mistake and think he was part wolf or part malamute. He was born in 1923 and died 1932.
In January 1925 a bad disease spread across the town of Nome, Alaska. All of the town's medicine to cure this disease was old and had gone bad in 1923. So they had to call for medicine. First, a ship tried to bring the medicine but ice was closing into the Bering Sea, so the ship could not reach Nome. Next, people tried to bring the medicine by airplane. They could not because there was blizzard (snow storm) and the winds were too strong for the plane. So the medicine was sent by train from Anchorage, Alaska to Nenena, Alaska. Then sled dogs took turns carrying the medicine to Nome. The dog which ran the longest was Togo. Balto was the final dog. He lead the team into Nome. The medicine saved many children (Almost all of the children). Balto, the other dogs and the men who carried the medicine were given a hero's welcome. A few months later in New York City a statue of Balto (right) was placed in Central Park. It is still their today.
In January 1925, doctors realized that a potentially deadly diphtheria epidemic was poised to sweep through Nome's young people. The only serum that could stop the outbreak was in Anchorage, nearly a thousand miles (1,600 km) away. The only aircraft that could quickly deliver the medicine was taken out of winter storage, but its engine was frozen and would not start; after considering alternatives, officials decided to move the medicine by sled dog. The serum was transported by train from Anchorage to Nenana, where the first musher embarked as part of a relay aimed at delivering the needed serum to Nome. More than 20 mushers took part, facing a blizzard with −53 °F temperatures and strong winds. News coverage of the race was worldwide.
Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the Winter of 1925. Endurance · Fidelity · Intelligence ”
On December 22, 1995, Universal Pictures released the animated film Balto. The film was based on the events of the 1925 Serum Run, although there are big differences.
They also made a 2nd and 3rd movie to the original.
   | "The story of the REAL Balto" - The Story of the REAL Balto |
| | Balto in the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History - Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:BALTO |
| | Balto's True Story - The History of the 1925 Serum Run - BALTO'S TRUE STORY - Home |
| | Listen to the story of Balto online - The American Storyteller Radio Journal - Motivational Speaker | Nelson Lauver | The American Storyteller |
| | A German Fan-Project about the Movies and the Serum Run - BaltosDream.de - Eine deutsche Fan-Seite über die Balto-Filme und den Serum Run |
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