Kaasen, Gunnar

Early life

Gunnar Eisten Kaasen was born on March 11, 1882 in the town of Quenangen in the Troms county in the family of Hans Henrik Pedersen Kaasen and Anna Lovisa Olsdatter Hocky. In 1903, the 21-year-old Gunnar went to Alaska as a gold miner at Cape Nome , where the city ​​of the same name was located. Kaasen, being a musher, gained fame in Nome, as the only connection between the city and the outside world was dog sledding , on which mail and food could be transported. For the events of 1925, Gunnar Kaasen was married to Anna Sofya Kaasen (née Danielson) and collaborated with another local musher, Leonarda Sepallah .

Great Race of Mercy

In January 1925, it was discovered that the children of the local Indians were suffering from diphtheria. Subsequently, other children in Nome became infected from this disease, laying the foundation for an epidemic. Among the sick children was the 8-year-old daughter of Kaasen. Meanwhile, the necessary medicine, anti-diphtheria serum with antitoxin , was absent in the city. The closest place to find the remains of the medicine was Anchorage . Attempts to deliver antitoxin from there were unsuccessful due to the lack of a railway between cities and bad weather for airplanes. All hopes remained on the dog team, and it was decided to deliver the serum to Nenana, and from there - in turn to the participants in the team sled race. In total, twenty people took part in the relay. Gunnar Kaasen was the last of them, the leader of his team was the 6-year-old dog Balto . At 5:30 a.m. local time on February 2, 1925, Gunnar delivered the necessary medicine to Nome.

Gunnar, like the other 19 relay participants, received a reward in the form of money and medals, but unlike other Kaasen, he became a celebrity. Gunnar was even offered a role in the short film “ Balto's Race to Nome, ” dedicated to the race, and was given $ 1,000. On December 17, 1925, Gunnar attended the opening ceremony of the monument in honor of Balto. One of the members of the expedition, Leonardo Sepalla, as well as the owner of Balto, who had traveled the longest and most dangerous path with Togo's 12-year-old dog, called Kaasen a “upstart”. The annual dog sled race , dedicated to the events of 1925, recognizes Sepalla as the winner of the race.

Life after the race

At the end of February 1925, with the permission of Sepalla, Gunnar took Balto and other dogs from his harness for the purpose of conducting a tour of the country. Traveling around the USA with dogs, Kaasen and Balto became famous all over the world. Returning from the tour, Gunnar sold Balto and the rest of the dogs to Sam Houston. Kaasen lived the rest of his life calmly, settling in Everett in 1952. Gunnar Eisten Kaasen died of cancer at the age of 78 and was buried in a local memorial park next to his wife Anna.

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  Gunnar with Balto

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  Gunnar on a tour of America

• Samuel Balto
• Balto (cartoon)

In a foreign language

• Gunnar E. Kaasen
• Samuel balto

• Balto's True Story
• Gunnar Kaasen and Balto
• Onkelen reddet en hel by fra å dø
• The Arctic Guide: Wildlife of the Far North