Balto, the famous sled dog who is credited with leading the lifesaving serum run to Nome, Alaska in 1925, still stands proudly in the newly refurbished Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
In the 100 years since a diphtheria outbreak threatened to ravage the town of Nome, the dog has found his forever home in Cleveland as a permanent part of the museum’s collection.
Today, Balto continues to inspire as part of a popular distance learning program by the museum to teach communities about the importance of vaccines and teamwork, says Renata Brown, Director of School and Family Learning at CMNH.
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In mid-January 1925, Nome doctor Curtis Welch diagnosed the first official case of diphtheria in 3-year-old Billy Barnett, who died the next day. By the end of January there were 20 confirmed cases and 50 more at risk.
Diphtheria is a respiratory bacterial infection that is especially dangerous for children under the age of 5. “The virus was really deadly to non-vaccinated kids and at that point the vaccine had only been available for two years,” says Brown. “This serum was the only thing that would save them.”
With ports closed for winter and air travel made impossible because of open cockpits and the harsh winter conditions in the Alaskan interior, state leaders met to search for a solution to retrieve the needed antitoxin.
The Alaskan Board of Health voted unanimously on a dogsled relay to acquire the serum. The huskies and their trainers began preparing for a perilous trek through the Alaskan interior experiencing 20-year low temperatures of minus 50, winds of 25 mph and snow drifts up to 10 feet.
On Jan. 27, teams of sled dogs led by Norwegian trainers Leonhard Seppala and Gunnar Kassen, along with other relaying mushers, would set out on a 630-mile round trip through the harsh winter conditions to retrieve the serum.
Balto became an unlikely hero. With a small stocky build and dark black coat, Balto was considered second rate by Seppala compared to the rest of his litter. But, his strength in pulling large freight and cargo at a mining company proved that his peculiar body type left him stronger and steadier than his fellow huskies.
(Courtesy Cleveland Memory Project via Wikimedia Commons)
On Feb. 1, in the last stretch of the run, the team led by Kassen traveled through the night across drifts and river overflow of the Topkok Mountain. Balto led the team through conditions so poor that Kassen reported he could not always see the dogs harnessed closest to the sled.
Balto and his team arrived in Nome early in the morning on Feb. 2 and the antitoxin was thawed and ready for use by midday.
Balto soon became a canine celebrity after Kassen gave him all of the credit in an interview with Juneau Empire. The husky became a folklore hero with fantastical stories sprouting up around the country about him.
Kassen and Balto began traveling around the country in the vaudeville circuit and years later Balto and his teammates were sold to Sam Houston, the owner of a traveling circus.
In 1927, a Cleveland businessman named George Kimble caught word that Balto and his teammates were being held at a sideshow attraction in Los Angeles, California.
“They were in pretty awful condition,” says Brown. “They were malnourished and, in our language today, more than likely being abused.”
Kimble offered to buy the dogs from Houston but he demanded $2,000 for the pack, equivalent to about $36,000 in today's money, and Kimble couldn’t afford the sum. So, Kimble put down a downpayment of $100 with a promise to raise the rest of the money in ten days.
Kimble, along with businessmen and elected officials from Cleveland and the help of The Plain Dealer, assembled the Cleveland Balto Committee.
The fundraising campaign was launched on March 1, 1927 with The Plain Dealer publishing tallies of donations.
“The city just completely rallied,” says Brown. “There are stories of school children saving their pennies and pictures of jars at schools that say ‘Balto Fund.’”
The money was raised in time thanks to contributions from local Cleveland shops, hotels, kennel clubs, institutions and citizens. Balto and his six teammates were transported to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, at that time the Brookside Zoo, where they would live out the rest of their days in peace.
When Balto passed away in 1933, his remains were acquired by CMNH and he was taxidermied by a staff member. He has been on display since.
One hundred years later, the story of Balto and his teammates continues to serve as a reminder of how perseverance can beat the odds and how the spirit of generosity in the Cleveland community still endures today. “We have lots of people who will make the trip to the museum just to see Balto,” says Brown.
(Photo by Lainey Novak)
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