Sledding book hitching a ride
Michelel LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Mar 30/01) - Mushers competing in the Canadian Championship Dog Derby this weekend will be carrying an extra 750 grams in their sleds.
About 40 commemorative copies of the just-released historical book Trapline to Finish Line will travel the Yellowknife course from beginning to end, two to a sled.
Incidentally, the sleds the mushers use now are nothing at all like the toboggans used in the early days of the race. That's just one of the facts a reader will discover in Trapline to Finish Line.
"The world of dog mushing, and indeed the entire social fabric of the Northwest Territories, has changed dramatically in one generation," writes author and photographer Fran Hurcomb in her introduction.
"In many ways, the Canadian Championship Dog Derby has reflected these changes..."
Hurcomb, a long-time Yellowknifer, seems the perfect author for this magnificent 80-page history of the race that continues to enthral lovers of the sport.
Her enthusiasm for the subject is evident. She has participated as an official though not as a musher, even as she's had her own dog team.
It's a subject dear to her heart.
"That's why I did it. It wasn't to become rich and famous," Hurcomb says, laughing.
Soon after beginning the project about a year ago the author realized that not much existed in the way of written records.
"Especially the early years. And a lot of people who were in the race are dead," she says.
Indeed, the book is dedicated to two racing legends: Ray Beck and Danny McQueen.
"There's very little record of local life. Especially bush history, like Dene and Metis trappers. There's just very little about them. And the dog derby was really, really important. It was huge."
So Hurcomb listened. And listened. And listened some more. She sat with old-timers and heard the stories people still carried with them of the days of yore. She talked to at least 100 people.
"Dog mushers, people who were around, people who were related to people who were in it."
Hurcomb even got a response from a man in British Columbia after she'd posted a query on the Internet.
"'Yeah,' he said, 'I was there in '74 and '78, and I wrote it up for a newsletter, the B.C. Musher,'" relates Hurcomb.
And she hunted down photos. Not an easy task for those early years.
"Because the newspaper burned down in the '70s they lost all their early photos. So trying to find old photos was really hard," she says.
Nevertheless, perseverance paid off and Hurcomb found photographs in personal collections and at the NWT Archives.
By deadline time Hurcomb had gathered at least 200 photographs, though only 100 made the cut. She explains that the book, budgeted at 40 pages, grew to 80, with plenty of material for more.
Trapline to Finish Line is separated into four chapters: The Northern Sled Dog, The Early Years, Changing Times and Strictly for Sport. And while the main text tells the story, inserts give specific information on such things as care of dogs, the track, and equipment.
Throughout, the book is lavishly illustrated with great photography.
Trapline to Finish Line should be available at Caribou Carnival. If you don't get a copy there, various locations in Yellowknife carry it, including the Yellowknife Book Cellar.
