Fairbanks, AK - When the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race first began more than 30 years ago, the organization needed a checkpoint in Central, so they approached Jim Crabb. “We always gave the dog mushers a free steak dinner when they came in," says Crabb.
He used to own Crabb’s Corner, now known as the Central Corner Store. For more than 20 years, he hosted the Yukon Quest checkpoint there with help from his wife Sandy. The Crabbs have since sold the store, but this year, they’ve decided to help out the race organization once again.
Jim Crabb and his wife Sandy moved up to Alaska more than 40 years ago, and even though Sandy now lives at the Denali Center, a long-term care facility in Fairbanks, she still says she’s from Central. “It’s always been in our heart” she says.
Sandy Crabb suffered a stroke a few years back. It affected her speech and mobility, but she’s still sharp as a tack. She says before she and her husband came north, she didn’t know anything about dog mushing, but she’s been following the race since it began 31 years ago. “Every year we do." What does she like about the race? "Just the excitement of the race,” she says.
Husband Jim was a miner. Eventually, he went in with a friend on a deal to buy the store in Central. Sandy says she wasn’t keen on the idea at first, but Jim says the two have plenty of memories. “Oh there’s lots of stories,” he laughs.
Like the year musher and 1995 Yukon Quest Champion Frank Turner got lost on Eagle Summit. Crabb says by the time Turner showed up at the central corner store, he was soaked and cold, so he stripped down to his bright red long underwear. “Frank ran around for two days! Two days he was there.” he says.
The Crabbs share stories about bar stool races, cooking late into the night for mushers and the endless number of dogs that slept in the yard outside the store. It’s memories like those that got the Crabbs thinking about the race again this year. So, Jim Crabb paid a visit to the Yukon Quest office. That’s where he found out the race was running low on blankets to keep them warm. He made use of his connection between the Denali Center and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. The hospital donated a pile of old blankets and Jim and Sandy convinced fellow Denali Center Resident Margaret Dial to break out her sewing machine. “I just like doing it. I like sewing!" exclaims Dial. "I make quilts for myself and it’s easy. I had my machine here.”
Dial cut the blankets in half and sewed them back together. The green and white blankets are more like giant pillowcases. The have an opening large enough to stuff in some straw. Jim Crabb says they’ll make comfy beds for tired sled dogs. “These ones here are for the dogs in remote areas that’ll be picked up by an airplane," explains Crabb. "So they could be there for a few days because of the weather, so they’ll have something warm.”
Texas native Birdie Gray helped decorate the blankets with markers and pens when the sewing was finished. “It’s just one of the blankets," she says as she describes some of the handiwork. "Somebody drew pictures and stuff like that and everybody signed it and everybody that signed it added a little something.”
Ruth Pomeroy helps organize activities for the residents at the Denali Center. She says she’s constantly looking for projects like this to help improve quality of life. "We have a lot of different things going around here," says Pomeroy, "but this something that is very purposeful. The Crabbs are bringing their history into Denali Center and making it a part of our culture and our community right now.”
Residents and employees alike got involved with the project.
Pomeroy says with the weather as warm as it is, the Denali Center may also transport residents to this year’s race start. Margaret Dial says she’d like to see the dog teams, but she’s not one for mushing herself.
“I can’t stand, so they don’t have sleds to fit a wheel chair," she laughs. Then she backtracks. Barring her wheel chair, she says she'd be willing to give the sport a shot.
"A short distance, nothing long," she says. She says "No!" to 1000 miles.