Save a Forgotten Hero

In 1925, the small Alaskan town of Nome was struck by a diptheria epidemic. Diptheria is a disease that highly contagious, it is spread by breathing the air of someone who has the disease. Common symptoms include fatigue, a fever, a mild sore throat and a problem swallowing. Severe case the person will develop a swollen neck caused by the swelling of the lymph nodes. If the disease is left unchecked the person infected will die. The first case of diptheria was diagnosed by Dr. Welch on Janurary 25th, 1925. Before that many cases were misdiagnosed as tonsilitis, as a result three children died. The child diagnosed with diptheria was named Bill Barnet.  Dr. Welch had in his possession 8,000 units of expired anti-toxin vaccination. Bill later died and soon another child a seven year old girl named Bessie Stanley was diagnosed with diptheria in it's late stages. Dr. Welch tried in vain to inject the girl with the expired anti-toxin and she died shortly thereafter.
The hospital was placed under quarantine and Dr. Welch announced he needed one million units of anti-toxin to cure those infected with the disease. With two more people dying from the disease Dr. Welch found he had at least twenty confirmed cases of diptheria with another fifty at risk.

At a town meeting it was proposed that the anti-toxin be flown into Nome using World War One era byplanes. But because these planes used water-cooled engines and were put away for the winter they were deemed unreliable. It was then decided to use dog sled teams to transport the medicine. About 300,000 units were in Anchorage and they were transported by rail to the town of Nenana. There the medicine was handed over to the first musher named "Wild" Bill Shannon who traveled 52 miles to the town of Tolovana. Leonard Seppala the most famous musher of Alaska with his team lead by Togo transported the medicine 91 miles to Golovin. There it was taken by Charlies Olson who traveled 25 miles and handed it over to the final musher named Gunnar Kaasen. Kaasen's team was lead by Balto a dog owned by Seppala who regarded the dog as nothing special but Kaasen thought otherwise.
Kaasen traveled the final 53 miles to Nome. As he arrived in Nome Kaasen collapsed saying one thing which was, "Damn fine dog" in reference to Balto.
Balto became an instant celebrity. In an age in which technology was a dominate force in peoples lives it wasn't the engine of an airplane that delievered the medicine to Nome. Instead it was the pounding hearts and the warm bodies of the sled dogs that carried the medicine 630 miles to Nome. Balto toured the United States and even went to New York City where a statue of him was unveiled. Kaasen relucantly returned to Alaska after Seppala had told him to. Balto and the other dogs were left with a vaudeville circus in Los Angeles where they were left in squalid conditions and even abused.
It was that way until a Ohio business man named George Kimble visited the vaudeville circus and found these dog hero's living in miserable conditions. He made an offer to the man who own the circus but would only accept $ 2,000.00 dollars from Kimble. Kimble went back to Ohio and created a fund in order to purchase the dogs. Soon money flowed in from school children and many other people. Kimble was able to purchase the dogs and they arrived in Cleveland with a hero's welcome. They were placed at the Brookside Zoo now known as the Cleveland Metropark Zoo where they lived out the remainder of their days. Balto was euthanized in 1933 from a combination of being partially deaf and blind and suffering from arthritis in his legs.
After he died his body was stuffed and mounted. It was placed on permenant display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History where it now sits today.
Balto now sits in a remote corner of the museum, his fur faded from black to a mahogany brown due to it being in the sunlight for all these years. When I visited the museum this is how I found him. In a remote corner of the museum almost added as an afterthought, the part of the museum his glass case is located in overlooks a duck pond that is located in the outdoor live animal exhibit. Because of this location Balto is in direct sunlight which according to the museum he is suppose to be in a low-light environment. Also directly across from him sits a large glass display case with intense electric lights shining on Balto. Given that these things could hurt Balto's remains even further I became very upset.
Next to Balto's glass case sits a small TV that shows footage of Balto arriving in Nome and his trips to New York City and Cleveland with the last parts of the video dedicated to Leonard Seppala and Togo. The video itself is around four minutes and doesn't give much information on the role Balto played in the Serum Run or even how he became famous.
Because of Balto's remote location in the museum and the very little information on him. Most of the visitors I witnessed walked right by Balto and never even gave him a second look.
Now the museum has a very good seasonal exhibit to mark the occasion of the Serum Run where they display Balto along other artifacts that pertain to the event. But on any other time Balto is placed in a remote corner of the museum with only this small video presentation that gives little information of the story of Balto. If it wasn't for the name placard in the case Balto would be just another stuffed animal in the museums collection.
This is a disgrace, Balto deserves much better treatment given the many lives he save so long ago. He deserves the dignity and respect that we afford to human ones whether they are soldiers or presidents. He should be relegated to a mere side-show attraction in the museum where very few people visit him and those that do are familiar with the story.
Whether they learned it about it from the 1995 movie starring Kevin Bacon, Bridget Fonda and Bob Hoskins or whether they read about it in a book. All are deeply contected to the story of Balto and the Serum Run.

What I request of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History is as follows:

1. That the seasonal exhibit that features Balto and the story become the permanent exhibit viewed by the general public year round. This is to ensure that the public is educated about Balto's story and to do it justice.
2. As stated above that Balto be placed away from any intense sources of light so that this keeps his pelt from fading further.
3. That Balto be placed in his new exhibit and not in some remote corner of the museum.

These things will help ensure the respect Balto deserves as a hero and that future generations will learn about the story of Balto and the Serum Run and come to admire Balto as I and many others have. Please help save Balto from becoming a forgotten hero in this nations history.
My name is Jacob Woodward, recently I visited your museum on July 28th, 2010 with my family. While I enjoyed the various exhibits you have in your collection including those that have dinosaur fossils. I was sad to see the Bato placed in a remote corner of the museum with very little detailing his story and that of the Serum Run. I was distressed to find that his fur had faded from the years of being in constant sunlight and the rather disgraceful video presentation next to him. The video itself while interesting held very little informtation on the Serum Run or Balto's role in it. From what I have learned is that your museum does do a rather nice exhibit on the Serum Run every year on the anniversary.
I wondered why this exhibit wasn't the one I found, I have been in contact with many others who are just as upset as I am,
I have loved Balto ever since I learned the story from the motion picture released in 1995, since then I have become a member of a Balto fan site and spend alot of time on it. I hope that the display in the museum is greatly improved in order to ensure that Balto's deeds are honored like so many other hero's.

thank you for taking the time to read my letter.
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