Who was Dorothy Guzzi Page?

At the Willow Winter Carnival, Dorothy Guzzi Page and Joe Redington Sr. had a conversation that helped revive and reenergize the sport of mushing in Alaska. Their conversation also would lead, years later, to the 1049 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome. For her role as "mother" of the Iditarod and for all her later contributions to the race before her death in 1989 at age 68, Dorothy Page was chosen as the Honorary Musher for Iditarod 25.

A self-described history buff, Page saw her first sled dog race in 1960, shortly after moving to Alaska from New Mexico. Six years later, she was named president of the Wasilla-Knik Centennial Committee. Her primary task was to organize an event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of America's purchase of Alaska from Russia. She decided to state "a spectacular dog race to wake Alaskans up to what mushers and their dogs had done for Alaska".

The Iditarod trail seemed ideal for such an event. It was, after all, a famous route used by mushers during the Gold Rush years. It passed through both Knik and Wasilla, which would bring the race closer to home. There was only one problem, but it was a big one - no dog driver would back the idea. Then Page crossed paths with Redington at the Willow carnival. Joe Sr. future "father" of the Iditarod, loved the idea. In February 1967, an all-star field of 58 mushers competed in the 50 mile Iditarod Trail Seppala Memorial Race which was run in two 25 mile heats.

Public enthusiasm for an Iditarod Trail Race waned soon after, though the dream would be kept alive by Redington. Though hardly anyone believed it would succeed, a thousand mile race from Anchorage to Nome along the Iditarod Trail, was staged in 1973 to much second-guessing.

Now, years after that first 50-mile centennial race, the Iditarod has grown into Alaska's greatest sporting spectacle, known around the world as "The Last Great Race on Earth".

Besides her role in founding the Iditarod Race, Page later would help to form both the Iditarod Trail Committee and the Musher's Hall of Fame (in the Knik Museum). From 1973 to 1989, she wrote, edited, and published the Iditarod's annual race program, and edited the race's news magazine, the Iditarod Runner. She also was a longtime member of the Alaska Press Women.

Besides all her Iditarod work and writing, Page also found time to be active in Mat-Su Borough politics. She served four terms on the Wasilla City Council, was elected Mayor for two years (1986-1987) and also was on Wasilla's Republican Committee for many years. An active volunteer, Page served on Wasilla's library board for many years, was president of the Wasilla-Knik-Willow Creek Historical Society and worked as curator of the Wasilla and Knik Museums.

For all her many interests, Page is likely to be remembered most for her connection to the Iditarod, though she never was a musher. Dorothy died November 16, 1989. After her death the Wasilla Museum was renamed the Dorothy G. Page Museum in memory of her.  In 2016 the Museum returned to its original name and the Community Hall Building was named the Dorothy G. Page Center to honor her preservation efforts of the architectural and community history of the area.

In 2018, after a community led effort, Dorothy Guzzi Page was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame.