Monday's Musher

Susan H. Butcher

Dec 26, 1954 - Aug 5, 2006

In anticipation of my up-coming trip to the Iditarod in March, I've decided to feature a different musher each Monday. I'll share some interesting information concerning featured mushers' professional and personal lives.

With so many impressive mushers to choose from you might think it was difficult to make my first choice.
But I had no doubt; I must pay tribute to my favorite musher of all time: Susan Butcher.

Susan Howlet Butcher was an animal lover, a business woman, a wife and a mother. Susan was the reason I became interested in the Iditarod and dog sledding many years ago.

Each year I taught a Winter unit in my classroom. As part of the unit my class would watch and discuss Reading Rainbow episode #805, "Snowy Day: Stories and Poems", featuring Susan. I remember being surprised to learn that Susan was born in Massachusetts (East Coast girl, like me), a year younger than I, and she moved to the Wrangell Mountains area of Alaska, at the age of 20, to pursue her love of the wilderness and animals.

The more I learned about Susan, the more I admired, respected, and envied her. Her love for the dogs convinced me that dog-sledding was not a cruel or inhumane sport. Her devotion was obvious and I sensed that she would never do anything to jeopardize her dogs' safety or well-being. She truly considered them as family members.

Butcher won the Iditarod four times in five years, so often that "Iditarod," as well as the sport of mushing, became synonymous with her name. Her success led to the saying, “Alaska: where men are men and women win the Iditarod".

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said, "No one exemplifies the spirit of Iditarod more than Susan Butcher. She was a great role model for so many Alaskans, including me. I greatly admire her perseverance, dedication and competitiveness.”




On December 2, 2005 Susan Butcher was diagnosed with leukeacute myelogenous mia, which manifested as a blood disorder three years earlier. She underwent chemotherapy at the University of Washington, and received a bone marrow transplant on May 17, 2006 after the cancer went into remission. According to her husband David Monson, "someone said this might be a tough disease, but this leukemia hasn't met Susan Butcher yet."[1] Butcher died on August 5, 2006 after fighting graft-versus-host disease and learning that the cancer had returned. She is survived by her two daughters, Tekla and Chisana, and her husband, attorney and musher David Monson. On March 1, 2008, Susan Butcher was honored by the State of Alaska when, just prior to the start of the 2008 Iditarod, Gov. Sarah Palin signed a bill establishing the first Saturday of every March as Susan Butcher Day. The day coincides with the traditional start of the Iditarod each year. Observing the special day, the bill noted, provides opportunity for people to “remember the life of Susan Butcher, an inspiration to Alaskans and to millions around the world.” (wikipedia)

My only regret is that I didn't get to the Iditarod sooner...
http://www.susanbutcher.com/

I would love to hear your memories of Susan...Please share in comments. (it's easy and pls post your location, thx)

Any guesses on next week's featured musher? I bet Ms. Janet knows...