HUMAN

Name: John Williams

Age: 56

Residence: Talkeetna, Alaska

Occupation: I’m a caretaker here. Lodge assistant. I work in tourism. I’m a guide in the summer.

Years involved with Iditarod: This is my 15th year at Winterlake. So 15 years here at the checkpoint.

Iditarod Roles: To facilitate the race. To make the checkpoint work smoothly and to have our guests interact with the race in a positive manner.

Current Location: Winterlake Lodge at the Finger Lake checkpoint.

Date of Photo: March 6, 2022

Temperature: 25 F Outdoors 

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

I first got involved with the Iditarod when I came to work at Winterlake Lodge in 2007 and became a part of the checkpoint and the work that goes on here in the Lodge. Before I came here to work at Winterlake Lodge, I am a native of New Jersey and Alaska and the myths of Alaska and the legends loom large in my imagination from the first book I read at six years old, the Jack London stories, the Gold Rush stories and then seeing Colonel Norman Vaughn mush a team in Reagan’s inauguration in 1980, when I was just 15 years old.

What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?

I am here today and involved with Iditarod because I’m still a member of the Winterlake staff. And I love the work that I do here and I love the lifestyle in Alaska and the backcountry and the bush. To me it’s the best way to live.

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

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was the year that DeeDee Jonrowe accidentally went into the woodlot, where I had been cutting trees and took what must have been a rather crazy ride through there. And then came back up the trail and finding her back at the checkpoint, laughing, smiling with the totally undefeated spirit is something that still inspires me today.

What do you know for sure?

What I know for sure in life is love is all that matters and good will always conquer evil.