Dee and Friend
Alot of folks don’t know that Dee Dee Jonrowe started her mushing out here in Bethel. As I watched her mush down the Yukon, chased by a much younger crowd, I thought back to those early days of the Kuskokwim 300 when Dee Dee was part of the Bethel mushing scene.
I called over to Beverly Hoffman to get a few details. Bev, Myron, Dee Dee, and a few others all caught the mushing bug around the same time. Relying on local mushing greats like Peter Jacobs, Mike Chase, and others, they got their start by pulling together whatever manner of dog they could to begin to build teams. “Some of them were Pound Puppies,” Bev related.
In any case, as time has moved forward, Bev and Myron have turned the sleds over to a younger crowd and I can only sit here in awe of Dee Dee still going strong and giving these young guys a run for their money. Pete, Jake, and Ray weren’t even a gleam in their mother’s eye when Dee Dee got going.
Good Luck Lady! We know you got your start out here!
