HUMAN

Name: Josie Owen
Age: 49
Residence: Anchorage, Alaska

Occupation: We own Alaska Air Transit  

Years involved with Iditarod: It was around 2014 when I first came to Nikolai and got involved

Current Location: Nikolai, Alaska

Date of Photo: March 11, 2020
Temperature: -30F/Outdoors

What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?

So I believe it was like 2014 or 2015, and I was invited by John and Marty Runkle of Nikolai to come up. And I knew a lot of people in the community because of our air taxi. And it was just super great to have the invitation. And I remember getting to sleep in the warming tent, just kind of waiting for mushers to come in. And it was super fun. Had a great time.

What is your Why?..Why are you here today and involved in Iditarod?

So I’m here today and involved with Iditarod because we have a lot of friends and people along the trail, and in particular in this upper Kuskokwim regions, so between Nikolai, McGrath, and Takotna. And for me it just feels nice to be able to come… kind of get away from the office, and come out and be here with the people. And actually on this trip, this Iditarod, I have my brother and his two kids with, my nieces, so it’s really special that they could come up from Idaho and be a part of this. And it was special for me to be able to share just the uniqueness. Because Nikolai is one of the warmest villages I know, and the people have been super. Everybody’s been gracious and kind to my family and, obviously, to us for years. So it’s very special.

Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences?

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences, and there are many, but I think of one in particular where Oline Petruska, she is a friend of ours here in Nikolai, and she made some beaver mitts. And the first musher into Nikolai got those mitts, and that happened to be Ryan Redington that year. And we didn’t really script this at all. Oline and I were like, “Oh, let’s make sure you give the mitts.” And then Sammy John Senior, another elder in the village, joined us. In between both Oline and Sammy John, they know the old language and they were able to greet Ryan in that language and present the mitts. And it was just a really precious moment because I think it spoke to Ryan, and it just spoke to everybody. It’s like it was their culture, and they’re sharing it in their own way, and it was just great. It was awesome. Awesome day. Awesome moment.

What do you know for sure?:

So what I know for sure in life is that life is just moments, and to grasp those. And I think Iditarod allows people a lot of opportunity to grasp moments. It’s just being open, and having the time to just be present and take it in because there’s just so many wonderful people, the mushers … And I say people, there’s also the animals, too. And I see that. We walk around and enjoy these moments, and looking in the dog’s eyes and seeing what characters they are, different personalities. But yeah, I would say really it’s just about being present and taking in moments because those are what our memories are built on.