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Harold Woods

Harold Woods

Harold Woods was born in Rampart, Alaska in 1912 to Alfred Lyman and Annie Pitka Woods. Harold grew up living a subsistence lifestyle of hunting, fishing and trapping along the Yukon River. Dog teams were the main mode of transportation. He also worked as a dog team mail carrier betweeen Rampart and Manley Hot Springs. In 1935, he got into sled dog racing and participated in races around interior Alaska for a number of years. Although he stopped racing, he continued to breed and train dogs. Harold was first married to Lillian Folger and they had five children together. He then married Adeline Woods and had five more children. Eventually, some of Harold's children and grandchildren became dog racers, as well. Harold was also an accomplished fiddle player who regularly participated in the annual Athabaskan Old-Time Fiddle Festival in Fairbanks, Alaska. Harold Woods died in 1992 at the age of 80.
Date of Birth:
Nov 11, 1912
Date of Death:
Dec 21, 1992
Harold Woods appears in the following new Jukebox projects:
Interview Title Abstract Archive #: Oral History Project Date of Interview
Harold Woods and Richard Frank

Harold Woods and Richard Frank were interviewed on February 12, 1987 by William Schneider and Pete Bowers in Fairbanks, Alaska. In this interview, Harold and Richard talk about their experiences with the early days of sled dog racing in interior Alaska. They talk about specific races, including the Open North American Championship Sled Dog Race and the race from Fairbanks to Livengood, as well as differences between the early days and current racing. Harold also talks about breeding, raising and training sled dogs, other mushers he raced with, and being a dog team mail carrier between Rampart and Manley Hot Springs. For more information about the history of sled dog racing in Fairbanks, see an article titled "Sled Dog Racing in Fairbanks" written by Pete Bowers for the Alaska Dog Mushers Association which appeared in their 1983-1984 Race Season Program. For more about the history of the race from Fairbanks to Livengood, see an article titled "From Fairbanks to Livengood and Back" on pages 12-14 in the February/March 1988 issue of Mushing magazine.

 87-30 Dog Mushing in Alaska Feb 12, 1987