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Dorothy G. Page
Iditarod Trail Committee founder Dorothy G. Page, 68, a Wasilla resident, died
Nov. 16 at home of natural causes. A visitation will be held from noon to 3
p.m. Sunday at Kehl's Palmer Mortuary. A funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Monday
at the First Presbyterian Church of Wasilla with Dr. Joseph Bettridge
officiating.
Mrs. Page was born
Jan. 23, 1921, in Bessemer, Mich. She graduated from high school in Minneapolis
in 1939 and moved to Albuquerque, N.M., and then to Los Alamos, N.M. She worked
at the Los Alamos Hospital in the medical records section as chief telephone
operator. In 1950, Mrs. Page went into business in Pojoaque, N.M., where she
operated Dorothy's Cafe. She and her husband opened the Camel Rock Trading Post
in New Mexico until they left for Alaska in 1960. In 1965, while chairwoman of
the Centennial Committee in Wasilla, she came up with the idea of reopening the
Iditarod Trail and having a long-distance sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome.
Since 1966, she had been writing for local newspapers. For many years, she had a
weekly column. She then changed to feature articles and historical writing. She
was a longtime member of the Alaska Press Women's Association.
Active in politics
since coming to the MatSu Borough, she served four terms on the Wasilla City
Council from October 1976 to July 1986. She was mayor of Wasilla in 1986 and
1987, and had been the Republican Committee Woman in Wasilla since 1968. She
also helped incorporate the city of Wasilla.
Mrs. Page was one of
the founders of the Wasilla and Knik museums and the Musher's Hall of Fame. She
was president of the Wasilla-Knik-Willow Creek Historical Society and for many
years had been curator of the museums. She had been active in improving the
exhibits at both museums since 1965.
Mrs. Page also served
on the library board in Wasilla for 20 years. In 1984, she was the recipient of
the Governor's Volunteer Award. In December 1986, the MatSu Borough Assembly
passed a resolution recognizing Mrs. Page for distinguished service to the
community and awarded her a volunteer recognition award.
She was a lifetime
member of the Board of Directors of the Iditarod Trail Committee Inc. and was
serving as its treasurer and a member of the executive committee. Mrs. Page had
written, edited and published the Iditarod Trail Annual since 1973, many of
which have won state and national awards. She was also editor of the Iditarod
Runner.
She is survived by her
husband, Vondolee, of Wasilla; her stepdaughter, Marie Ann, of Wellington, Nev.;
her sister, Mary Grabowski, of Minneapolis; her brother, Arcole Guzzi, of
Minneapolis; two nephews and one niece. Burial will follow the service at the
Aurora Cemetery in Wasilla.
Source:
Anchorage Daily News November 18, 1989
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