The Sport That Cured Cabin Fever

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

Photos courtesy Lakes Region Sled Dog Club

Imagine it is winter in Laconia around 1920. The snow is deep and temperatures have dropped. Residents are busy with the endless cycle of chopping wood, keeping the fires going, fetching water and preparing meals.

Sounds rather trying and monotonous? It might have been, but residents found ways to enliven the long winter months, and one of those ways was a real bright spot: sled dog races.

The actual year of the first sled dog races in the Lakes Region is admittedly confusing. One account, which seems accurate, states that the New England Sled Dog Club was formed in 1924 by a group of sled dog racers and enthusiasts, with famed sled dog owner and racer Arthur Walden of Wonalancet named as president. In 1925, with the headquarters for the club in Meredith, NH, a race was held in that town and also in Newport, NH.

According to historical information at www.lrsdc.org (the website of the Lakes Region Sled Dog Club), the first race was held in Laconia in 1929. But a few years before that date, a race was part of the 1926 Laconia Winter Carnival, and covered in the Laconia Democrat and later, after January 4 of 1926, in the Laconia Evening Citizen. The race followed the 1925 Nome (Alaska) Serum Run, which gained worldwide attention, making sled dog racing quite popular everywhere. Thus, the Laconia Winter Carnival the following year seemed a good place for locals to see a more modest, but exciting, sled dog race in the Lakes Region.

The 1926 race saw a Meredith team compete against Charles Lyman’s team; Mr. Lyman was very knowledgeable about sled dogs, and the Lyman family has long been involved in sled dog racing down through the generations.

Perhaps that first race, which was part of the Winter Carnival, was popular; it would seem to be so, due to the rising interest in sled dog racing. A program from the 1929 race lists the New England Champion Sled Dog Races as the title of the event, which was held on February 11 to 13, 1929 in Laconia. It was sponsored by the New England Sled Dog Club. Instrumental in starting the event was Charles Lyman. As the owner of a Laconia area barber shop, Mr. Lyman often drove his team of sled dogs to work in the winter. He loved the sport and wanted to share it with others, according to his great-granddaughter, Jennifer Hollows.

Jennifer is a club officer with the Lakes Region Sled Dog Club and is proud of her family’s long history in dog sledding in the area. The Lyman family continue to be very involved in the annual sled dog race in Laconia; Jennifer is a helpful go-to person for historical and general information about the race and the club.

“The Lakes Region Sled Dog Club meets monthly at the homes of members,” she explains. As the date of the annual World Championship Sled Dog Race nears, the club members meet more often as they prepare.

The first event (in 1929) featured a well-known sled dog racer: Leonhard Seppala, one of the famous Alaskan Serum Run mushers. Seppala won the Laconia race that year, which brought even more attention to the race outside NH.

The 1929 event certainly had enough happening to stave off cabin fever: horse racing at Lake Opechee on February 9; Circuit Dog Race on February 12 and 13; a Wood Chopping Contest on February 12 at Bank Square; and the Winnipesaukee Ski Club Carnival Ball on February 12 at the Laconia Gardens, with the famous Blue Jay Orchestra.

The races kicked off on February 11 and went for 40 miles. The route took the teams from Laconia to Meredith Center, Hog Island, New Hampton to Bristol, Hill, on to Sanbornton Square, Lochmere, Winnisquam and back to Laconia. The second day of racing, on February 12, took the teams from Laconia to Meredith Center via Lakeport and the Country Club, to Meredith, Center Harbor, the Long Island Bridge, Glendale via Lake Winnipesaukee, to Lakeport and back to Laconia. On the third and last day (February 13), the teams ran from Laconia to Belmont, Gilmanton, Gilmanton Iron Works, Alton, Alton Bay, West Alton, Glendale, Gilford, finishing in Laconia. The starting and finish of the races was in downtown Laconia at the Judge’s Stand in Bank Square. The course was around 42 to 45 miles per day; this was certainly not a quick and easy sled dog race!

For “Doc” Roland Lombard, the 1929 sled dog race was quite advantageous. It was his first big win and the prize money he garnered helped send him to veterinarian school. He won the handicap class with a half Cocker Spaniel/half Collie farm dog. Lombard paid just 75 cents for the dog and it proved to be the best investment he could have made, with the dog his lead on the team. Lombard also had one of Arthur Walden’s Chinook dogs on his team.

A Sled Dog Club Dinner with race prize awards was held at the Laconia Tavern on the evening of February 13, closing out the exciting event.

Things were off and running for sled dog racing in the Lakes Region, and it was an event people looked forward to each winter.

By 1931, the Laconia Sled Dog Club was formed, according to ww.lrsdc.org. The goal of the club was to “produce and promote sled dog racing in the ‘Lake City’ as an annual major winter sporting event.” (By 1957, former members formed the Lakes Region Sled Dog Club, which included citizens from the surrounding area; the club continues to organize the annual World Championship Sled Dog Derby each winter in Laconia.)

In 1934 the Laconia Evening Citizen featured the popular event on the front page; the race was held February 10 and 11 of that year. Every year, the race is dependent upon snowfall and now and then the race date must be postponed or cancelled if there is not enough snow to race the teams.

Teams prepare for the race as soon as there is ample snow; the season typically begins on January 1 if there is a good snow total. Races take place around New England most Saturdays and Sundays sponsored often by the New England Sled Dog Club. This leads up to the big show: the races in Laconia in every February.

By the time World War II came around, the sport was extremely popular and people came from far and wide for the Laconia races. Hotels and motels were full and downtown Laconia was booming with visitors/spectators and racers. But after 1939, sled dogs and their masters were enlisted into service to fight in the war. (When this author read that dogs were enlisted into service, it seemed perplexing, but local historian Warren Huse confirmed that sled dogs were very useful for reaching snowy areas in Europe during the war years.) Some mushers became valuable members of the U.S. Army’s Search and Rescue teams, using their skills with sled dogs to reach places where trucks and other vehicles could not go.

However, no one forgot the popularity of the sled dog races in Laconia and by around 1957 the event was revived. By 1960, the event saw about 29 teams competing, and it was around this time that more women started to race sled dogs.

(No mention of female mushers would be complete without recognizing Florence Clark of Clark’s Trained Bears in the Lincoln, NH area. In April of 1932, Florence drove her sled dog team up Mount Washington, no small accomplishment at a place where weather conditions can be severe. She wanted to prove to herself she could do it, and the sled she used is now at the Clark Museum at Clark’s Trading Post.)

At the February 1967 event, Mrs. Marie Lyman of Gilford was honorary race judge, being called “Laconia’s First Lady of Sled Dog Racing.” Marie was the wife Charles Lyman, the longtime sled dog racer who was so instrumental in getting the races started in the 1920s.  Marie also was a sled dog enthusiast and it was said she always stood waiting at the finish line for the last team to come in, no matter how long it took, showing her sportsmanship and dedication to the races. Her children and grandchildren, through the years, have become sled dog enthusiasts and competed in many races. The Lyman family are key members of the Lakes Region Sled Dog Club, the group that works to produce and promote sled dog racing in Laconia.

A female musher of note is Lakes Regioner Deborah Molburg, who has an impressive history of racing. In 1969, she claimed two fourth places wins and a second-place finish in the Laconia race. She went on, according to “A History of Dog Sledding in New England” by Bruce D. Heald, PhD, to win the Canadian International Championship in 1976. She also won first place in the Laconia Sled Dog Derby in 1979, making her the first woman to ever take the title.

Along with the excitement of the actual races, the event has featured an awards dinner and a popular Musher Queen Contest. (How did a young woman gain the title of Musher Queen? A contest was held and the winner determined by the girl who raised the most money. The Lakes Region Sled Dog Club sponsored the event and recruited six to 20 girls between the ages of 15 and 25 to compete by selling buttons, key chains, raffle tickets and programs for the annual sled dog race event. The winner was crowned Musher Queen at the annual Musher’s Ball, held at such locations as in February of 1977 at Pheasant Ridge Country Club in Gilford.)

Local businesses were enthusiastic about the races, and in 1975, sponsors included Lemay’s Garage, the Laconia Spa, the Citizen Publishing Company, WEMJ and O’Shea’s Department Store. The races were promoted by WEMJ, with announcers interviewing mushers and broadcasting on site.

Those who have seen old postcards and historical photos of the race at Laconia’s downtown Main Street may assume the race starts and ends there as it did in the old days. However, the race now starts and ends at Old North Main Street in Laconia. The Laconia Country Club, at 607 Elm Street in Laconia, will be the gathering place during this year’s race weekend (February 14 to 16, weather permitting), where spectators and competitors can find food, sled dog merchandise and of course, the beloved sled dogs!

When the annual race started in the 1920s, the organizers could not have guessed how the popularity of the wintertime event would grow and grow, bringing mushers and dog sled teams and spectators from all over the country. Before the races came into being, Lakes Regioners got through the long winters as best they could. But once such famous sled dog owners/racers as Leonhard Seppala and Chinook dog breeder/sled dog racer Arthur Walden came to town, winter doldrums in Laconia were a thing of the past.

This year’s World Championship Sled Dog Derby is scheduled for February 14 to 16 in Laconia. Jennifer Hollows says the race sees about 15 teams for the 15-mile open class and 15 to 25 teams for the six-dog class. The start and finish for the race is at the corner of Old North Main Street and Parade Road. For information and updates on the event, please visit www.lrsdc.org.

(Special thanks to Jennifer Hollows and Warren Huse, who provided historical information for this story.)