Bev Stroh - A Remembrance
UPSDA Website Days
Bev Stroh, the webmaster of the UPSDA website passed away in April of 2009. The website was a tribute to her dedication and love of the sport of Sled Dog Racing.
The email was dated Sun, 21 Feb.1999 at 17:45:00. "Sherry you've got to come up and see these dogs!" Bev followed up with more e-mails containing pictures of sled dog trucks and of the dogs. She had written explanations about the dog trucks, the sleds pulled by the dogs, and the dogs resting at the checkpoint at Gwinn.
Of course, I went. It was later that summer, and Bev took me to a neighboring dog camp. The dogs immediately set up a terrible ruckus; they were not used to having strangers in their midst. As we watched, a young girl arrived to feed and care for the dogs. She loosed about ten half grown pups from a cage and they began to run in big circles, never stopping and always seemed to be following one pup. Was this the leader?
Now we were hooked. In December of 1999 Bev sent copies of the rules and regulations for the race so that I could become an informed volunteer. So, in 2000, my first experience as a volunteer was at the Gwinn checkpoint as a bag checker.
In the following years my sister and I, along with Bev's husband Frank, would watch the start of the UP 200 in Marquette. One year, Bev and I drove to Harvey and watched the sled drops. We went into Chatham and stumbled around in the dark among the sleeping teams and visited the volunteers working at the checkpoint. Another time, we went to Grand Marais and saw the wonderful food prepared for the mushers with the help of their volunteers. Grand Marais has a beautiful site readied in their deep snow so the dogs can take their eight hour break. Bev and I volunteered as bag checkers, road crossing guards, and whatever volunteer activity we could handle. After our duties, it was back home and on the computer to watch the race unfold. The website lacked many details about sled dog racing. Who were these men who ran these dogs? What made a good sled dog? Why do individuals come back year after year to volunteer to help with these races? What is the history of this amazing activity between men and dogs and why is it in Marquette?
So began our search for information about the sport. Bev and I attended the musher's banquet and met and talked with mushers about their dogs and their experiences with sled dog racing. We read many books written by mushers and writers about the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest. On one of the very cold years, my sister and I stayed overnight in a lodge and hired a team of dogs and ran them ourselves by following a guide and his team. The temperatures were below zero when we began that run. My sister and I continued to be intrigued; always wanting more knowledge about this sport.
Two or three years passed, and Bev talked with Pat Torreano, president of the Board of the UPSDA, about suggestions for the website. A presentation to the board was suggested and in April of 2003 the board heard Bev's presentation. There were about fifteen people in attendance. Some were volunteers from Escanaba, Rapid River and Chatham. Bev was interrupted many times with questions and the members of the board seemed happy with the answers. Her credentials were never questioned since she was the webmaster for Northern Michigan University as well as a marketing specialist.
The actual presentation contained five pages and Bev began by thanking the board for giving her the time to make the presentation. She further explained she was not there to criticize the existing website because the current topics were fine. Her goal was to update and enhance the website.
Bev's suggestion to meet the goal could be accomplished by implementing the following activities:
- Increase the amount and type of data that already exists
- Reconfigure the navigation highlighting the three race structure
- Promote fund raising, volunteering and tourism opportunities
Two main concerns were expressed by the board. Their first concern was about updates on the progress of the race as it unfolded. Bev assured them it could be handled easily by adding technology to the checkpoints. The website would then utilize the same information used by the official timers as it came into headquarters.
The second concern was the issue of International Software Engineering because they had funded the current website for years. Bev assured the board she preferred to work with them. After the meeting, Bev contacted John Mixer at ISE to resolve the issue of a non-secured site license which was being used at that time.
So with approval of the board, Bev began working on a design for a new website. My sister and I discussed plans for the race progression, trying to find software that would make it easy. Bev made drafts of the information we wanted to present on the site: (1) Checkpoint locations, (2) Musher information, (3) Any and everything on the Dogs, (4) Race information, (5) Volunteer information, (6) Sponsors. Each of these topics was broken down into relevant data required to be meaningful to the viewer.
On a fall day, we had lunch with LuAnn Balding, a founding member of that first race group. LuAnn's vivid recollections of that first race and of the efforts and organization it took to bring it too fruition encouraged Bev and I to continue our quest to learn more about sled dog racing. Later a complete history of the first ten years of the UPSDA as written by a member of Northern Michigan University staff became a part of the website.
That small original group had the intelligent foresight to start the UP 200 in the downtown streets of Marquette. Experienced mushers have told me the start of this race is actually better than the start of the Iditarod.
In July of 2003, Pat Torreano began giving information as well as pictures to Bev and work began on the actual website. I had access to the site for the purpose of critiquing it as it began to take shape. Bev used the Cabela's Iditarod and the Sled Dog Central websites as best in practice models as she strove to create a new identity for the UP 200 website. As time went on it is interesting that Sled Dog Central actually copied to their home page information from the UP 200 website during the race.
In August, contacts were made to many of the volunteers doing the actual work of managing the sled dog race. I have copies of information along with job descriptions from Mary and Jim Cassidy. Other volunteers who sent information included: Michelle Rodman from Harvey, Frank Warren, Deb Sobleski, Jim Major, and the NMU Rugby Team and Josh Cross. Jan Holbrook contributed a detailed description of headquarters operations. This spectacular event could not be staged without a tremendous number of volunteers. Many come back year after year as do those who are first time participants. The website featured many stories from these individuals and recognized their contributions as they are critical to the success of the race.
Bev incorporated the rules and regulations for the race on the website and made it possible to register for the race on line. This after the website had become a secured site.
In September, 2004, the new software "Mushsoft" was created. The software was similar to that being used by the Iditarod and had the same originator. Now we could get away from the unhandy use of spreadsheets. The checkpoints became an integral part of displaying racing activity immediately. Viewers watch at all hours of the day and night so we manned the website twenty four hours each day of the races.
A very exciting process was unfolding as we began getting direct information from some of the mushers. They became family to us as we got to know and meet them. Bev and I have had the opportunity to conduct many personal interest stories such as the interview with Tom Benson the year he was on crutches and Matt Johnson ran his dogs. Tom introduced me to what can only be known as a dog whisperer. These people understand the dog and actually communicate with them. They run dogs because they know the dog wants to run or maybe he doesn't so how does one handle that. All good mushers put the health and welfare of the dog first just as a parent does with a child. This theory surfaced again and again through interviews with dog people. It was most apparent at a magical mid-summer picnic in Traverse City during interviews with Charlie Boulding of Iditarod fame and Cecil Houghton, the elder statesman and father of sled dog racing in Michigan. These true dog people enhanced and confirmed this theory.
Old sponsors remain and new ones appear at times. One of the most interesting was a huge communication conglomerate that provided a large sum for the race. They sent a Vice President and asked that he ride a sled at the start of the UP 200. This gentleman was from Texas and had never seen snow. He was excited to do this ride, however our musher miscalculated the turn at the bottom of the hill on Front Street and the VP ended up in a snow bank. Oh well, we kept the sponsor.
The race in 2005 featured the new software and the website was beginning to reflect more musher and dog information. The goals that had originally been proposed to the board were becoming reality. When I began research on the past winners of the UP 200 for the 2009 race, I found that most sled dog websites lack much detail. Almost anyone can make a website but to do one that is comprehensive and meets certain goals required professionalism. Bev accomplished that through hours of hard work.
I just reread the UPSDA history and am amazed at how the sport of sled dog racing has evolved through the years. What began with hundreds attending the original start now sees thousands at Marquette and Gwinn. There was a time when one would have to visit the checkpoints and look at the blackboards to see how a musher was progressing in the race. Now technology has overtaken sled dog racing. We can follow the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest without leaving our computers. Bev brought that ability to the UPSDA. The website was read by people as far away as Japan and Europe. Now many area people can follow the race without braving the cold. In addition many students from Northern University wrote great feature articles thereby increasing their knowledge of sled dog racing and the knowledge of those who read the features. Who can forget that awesome addition of the streaming video taken as the race unfolded.
Bev worked tirelessly to create a website that complied with the UPSDA Mission statement: To promote the sled dog sport, educate the public about sled dog activities and sponsor a continuous, mid-distance sled dog race in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
I will forever be grateful to the UPSDA for allowing Bev and me to work this website. Selfishly it gave me a chance to spend quality time with my little sister, something we neglected to do in the past. There will never be another Bev Stroh. She was truly devastated when she lost the ability to continue her career in the Air Force due to a severe health condition but that only slowed her briefly. Her battle with her health continued for the rest of her life however her true grit and resolve surfaced and she moved forward in the time she had left. She attained many more accomplishments and made a huge difference in the lives of many who knew and loved her.
I am closing this with a direct quote from Bev. It was given during her presentation to the board in April of 2003. The last line exemplifies Bev's life philosophy.
"Two months ago on a frigid night in February I found myself standing by the side of a road somewhere over in Alger County at 1:00 a.m. It was 25 degrees below zero.
My sister from Ohio and I had spent the day driving trying to follow the progress of the mushers. We also spent a good deal of time agonizing over what gear and accoutrements we would adorn ourselves with for our part that evening at the checkpoint.
We found a group of people at the checkpoint when we arrived; they had 'prepped' the trail by lining it with brightly glowing luminaries. As we stood around a snowy bonfire on that cold still night we learned they were a family who had adopted that particular road crossing. It had become an annual reunion for them complete with family members traveling in to help.
The told us about the events that happened during the eight hour shift before ours, complete with details on the mushers who had passed through, even the dog team that came through without a musher.
Someone quizzed one of them asking "Why would you want to do this year after year?" It became very quiet suddenly, and with a slow smile the answer was... 'its fun'.
And you know what? (pause) It was."
Respectfully submitted,
Sherry
