North Star Sled Dog Club, Inc. records
Scope and Contents
The collection contains: rules and regulations; membership and mushers; contracts; board meeting minutes; financial information; correspondence; 1978 St. Paul Winter Carnival finances; races and race schedules; essays on ISDRA sanctioning, Timing, The History of Racing, Winter is for the Dogs, Trails in the Future, Interval Training, Mush (Rolling Stone article March 1984); newspaper clippings 1973–1983; publications:
Alaskan Gangline January 1983–1986 October
Husky Fever 1980 April–1981 October
International Sled Dog Racing 1972 (vol. 2 no. 2) summer-1981 (vol. 11 no. 2) November
Association Newsletter
Paw Prints 1975 October–1979 November
Sled Dog Action 1985 November–1986 September
Team & Trail 1972 August–1990 February
Dates
- circa 1960-1990
Creator
- North Star Sled Dog Club, Inc. (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use in the Kathryn A. Martin Library, Archives and Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
The North Star Sled Dog Club, Inc. was founded in the early 1960s by an enterprising group of avid mushers, spearheaded by Mabell Hill, who is often referred to as the "Godmother of Minnesota Mushing." In those early days most Minnesota mushers had teams of Siberian huskies, and many of their weekends were spent at Hill's farm in rural St. Paul. In 1963 this elite group helped stage the first St. Paul Winter Carnival sled dog races. The object and purpose of the North Star Sled Club is to promote the sport of sled dog racing and the welfare of the sled dog, and to familiarize the public with the work of the sled dog.
North Star was formally incorporated by Minnesota state statutes in 1965 with Don Gale as its first president. Since then it has grown from a membership of around 20 to almost 200.
North Star Sled Dog Club (NSSDC) sanctions several sled dog races during the winter months in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Manitoba and Ontario in Canada. During the summer months they promote the local Dryland events, including the Byllesby Dryland Classic.
NSSDC is a member of the International Sled Dog Racing Association (ISDRA) and Mushing USA, the United States governing body of sled dog sports. ISDRA is an international organization which serves to promote sled dog racing and the welfare of sled dogs.
NSSDC holds at least three meetings a year: in April, July, and October. The July meeting is usually in conjunction with the annual summer seminar, and the October meeting is held at a northern Minnesota home where training trails are available so that members can also participate in a training session and luncheon prior to the meeting. Other special meetings are occasionally called at the request of the executive committee.
NSSDC has accomplished many projects over the years. Most recently, it developed a program for kennel certification, called CHAMP (Canine Health and Maintenance Program).
NSSDC has two standing committees: the RGO Committee (Race Giving Organization Committee), which works with the various organizations that are hosting races; and the Junior Committee.
NSSDC also has several ad hoc committees, currently including the history, race giving manual, and championship program committees.
The serial “The TUGLINE” was begun in 1969 with Joyce Lillie as its first editor, the TUGLINE is the official newspaper of the North Star Sled Dog Club. It is published six times a year and is issued in January, March, June, August, October, and December. Originally done on a mimeograph machine, it is now designed on computer and serves to keep members informed about mushing news and views.
Extent
3.00 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection contains: rules and regulations; membership and mushers; contracts; board meeting minutes; financial information; correspondence; 1978 St. Paul Winter Carnival finances; races and race schedules; essays on ISDRA sanctioning, Timing, The History of Racing, Winter is for the Dogs, Trails in the Future, Interval Training, Mush (Rolling Stone article March 1984); newspaper clippings 1973–1983; and publications.
Physical Location
This collection is located at the University of Minnesota Duluth Archives. For more information about this collection or to make an appointment, contact us at libarchives@d.umn.edu or 218-726-8526.
General
This collection is part of the Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections, which are housed in the University of Minnesota Duluth Archives at the Kathryn A. Martin Library.
- Animals Subject Source: Local sources
- Associations, institutions, etc. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Business Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Clubs Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Essays Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Families Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Hill, Mabell
- Letters Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Minutes Subject Source: Local sources
- Mushers Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Newsletters Subject Source: Local sources
- Newspaper clippings Subject Source: Local sources
- Programs Subject Source: Local sources
- Publications Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Recreation Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Siberian husky Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Sled dog racing Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Sled dogs Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Sled dogs--Canada Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Sled dogs--United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- St. Paul Winter Carnival Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Guide to the North Star Sled Dog Club, Inc. records
- Author
- Finding Aid Authors: P. Maus.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Collecting Area Details
Contact The University of Minnesota Duluth Archives and Special Collections Collecting Area
Kathryn A. Martin Library
University of Minnesota Duluth
416 Library Drive
Duluth MN 55812-3001
(218) 726-8526
libarchives@d.umn.edu