MIDDLETON | In the spirit of the Iditarod, the annual Alaskan dog sled race, two sleds raced locally on a recent Friday afternoon. The competition was close, and the excitement was infectious. But there were a few minor differences.
Instead of 1,151 miles of snowy Alaskan scenery, theses sleds skipped across the muddy terrain behind the Howe-Manning School. Instead of professional mushers, the two teams were led by teachers from the school. And instead of trained dogs, fourth-graders pulled the sleds.
The students were eager participants. When volunteers were needed to pull the sleds, the five classes of children needed to be held back like fans at a rock concert.
Friday's races were the culmination of the Howe-Manning students' study of the Iditarod, as the event leapt from the pages of newspapers and Web sites and into their schoolyard.
Running the program were Eileen and Gregg Vitello of Northern Exposure Outfitters, a company that trains sled dogs, teaches mushing and outfits competitors. They spoke to the students in the gym earlier in the day, and after lunch, the husband and wife team brought five of their finest racing dogs, mostly Alaskan huskies, to the school's field for a hands-on lesson for the kids.
"It's really fun because we've been learning about the Iditarod, and now we get to see the dogs," said fourth-grader Nicole Davis.
Greeted by gasps of awe, Maze, Amur, Trio, Summit and Moose were bursting with energy as they led Gregg Vitello down the hill from the company's truck and onto the field. Each dog pulled its leash taut as the five panted and pawed closer to their adoring fans. But once tied to their lines, the dogs calmed down quickly, and each student got a chance to pat the pooches and rig up their racing gear.
"It was fun to harness the dogs," said student Alexandra Malarczyk.
A few students returned with muddy paw prints on their jackets and pants, but most were happy to accept the love from the dogs in exchange for the extra load of laundry for their parents.
The overwhelming consensus about the animals?
"They're cute!" screeched a chorus of fourth-grade girls.
"They're very smart," observed student Kimberly Blundell.
But another fact about the animals couldn't escape them.
"Their breath smells bad," said fourth-grader Taylor Toumayan.
After each child met the dogs, the students got a firsthand lesson about the hard work their new furry friends put into their career as sled-pullers. It was a lesson in teamwork, as the students were forced to listen to the teacher who mushed their sled. If one "dog" fell in the mud, the entire team had to wait before continuing the race.
The field behind the school was soggy and spongy, after a spring thaw that settled upon the region had melted what was left of the snow. But all that muddy turf made the day's event all the more fun for the students. They pulled with all their might, as their classmates cheered them on from the sidelines.
Deborah Carbone, Middleton PTO's vice president of student programs at Howe-Manning, found the Vitellos and their crowd-pleasing program online, and got the idea to bring the students' study of the Iditarod to life.
"They study it every year, for the past 10 years or so," said PTO co-President Mia Cloonan, "and they've always asked the PTO to find something."
Cloonan, as well as the teachers and volunteers at the event, were pleased with how perfectly the program was run and with the lessons the students took away from it.
"It's been great for the kids just to see these dogs, and how sweet they are," she said. "And teamwork, (the Vitellos) really highlight that. They were so good."
After studying the Iditarod race from afar and getting a little taste of the grueling event, many of the fourth-graders felt inspired to someday race a team of dogs in the competition.
"It sounds hard, but it sounds fun," said Holly Callahan.
Race facts
The Iditarod race commemorates the sled dog handlers and their dogs who rushed serum to Nome, Alaska, during a diphtheria epidemic in 1925, saving hundreds of lives. This year's winner was musher Lance Mackey, who finished the race on Tuesday, March 13.
Fourth-graders from Howe-Manning School in Middleton pet Amur, an Alaskan huskie, during a hands-on lesson from Eileen and Greg Vitello of Northern Exposure Outfitters in Brookfield.Linsey Wuepper/(Click for larger image)
