Roger Atoruk: Interview Outline: Section 10 Photo of Kiana Dog Mushers Club Tape Reference Number: H2002-09-07 Roger Atoruk talks with Bill Schneider, Hazel Apok, and Eileen Devinney in Kiana, Alaska on February 27, 2002

Roger Atoruk: This picture is of dog mushers, Dog Mushers Club officers there. We used to have a Dog Mushers Club.

Officers of the Kiana Dog Mushers Club in the 1960s [Photo courtesy of Roger Atoruk]

Hazel Apok: About what -- what years?

Roger Atoruk: About what year? Maybe in the '60s. In the '60s.

Hazel Apok: Uh-hum.

Roger Atoruk: And I'll say the names of the dog mushers. I think the president was Merrill Morena. That year. This one here, that's Merrill Morena. And this one here is Calvin Westlake, my first cousin. And this one is Jack Casanoff. This one is Henry Jackson. Theodore Westlake. Larry Westlake -- no, this one is Gene Geffe. Gene Geffe. And this one is Merrill Morena. I think he must have been the president of the club, dog mushers club. And that's Larry Westlake. And that's me, myself. This one's Ray Blastervold. This is Don -- Donald Smith. That's the Dog Mushers Club. We used to have a big dog race here in Kiana. People from Noorvik.

Bill Schneider: Uh-hum.

Roger Atoruk: From Noorvik, Selawik (map), and Kotzebue, they used to come to Kiana (map) for -- for that dog race. There used to be a men's race, men's race and a woman's race during Christmas week. There used to be a lot of activities.

Bill Schneider: Do you still do that?

Roger Atoruk: No. There's no more dog teams in Kiana. Not even one. Not even one dog team in Kiana. Only snow machines.

Eileen Devinney: Who was the last person to have a dog team here?

Roger Atoruk: Who was the last one? Maybe Baldwin. Jimmy Baldwin maybe. David Smith have dogs all right, but he doesn't run them now. He doesn't run them for dog teams, just having them for pet.

Hazel Apok: My -- my family had two big lots. My brother Donald had, like, 22 dogs.

Roger Atoruk: Yeah.

Hazel Apok: My papa and mom and my -- we had like 20 dogs. But we had two different lots.

Roger Atoruk: Yeah. Need to have good dogs. Good, big, strong dogs. Hauling dogs.

Bill Schneider: I think that some of the racers from around here raced in Fairbanks, too, in the early days.

Roger Atoruk: Yeah, they do. These two brothers here, Calvin and -- Calvin and Theodore and Larry Westlake, they used to have dog racing dogs -- racing dogs. I think they raced both in Fairbanks and in Anchorage. They knew -- they knew Orville Lake real well.

Hazel Apok: Wilbur Sampson used to go.

Roger Atoruk: Yeah, Wilbur Sampson used to race, too.

Hazel Apok: He's from Noorvik.

Roger Atoruk: Wilbur Sampson and his father, Stephen Sampson, used to race in Fairbanks. Dan Snyder.

Hazel Apok: How about Ray Jackson?

Roger Atoruk: I don't think he ever -- I don't think he raced with us.

Hazel Apok: But he used to come here.

Roger Atoruk: Yeah, he used to come here, yeah.

Hazel Apok: You hear stories about Ray Jackson and his day.

Roger Atoruk: Yeah. Yeah.

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