• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Menu
Community Library Logo
Search
  • Search the CATALOG for books and more
  • Search the CALENDAR for programs and events
  • Search the WEBSITE for general information
  • I Want To
    • Use My Library Account
    • Get a Library Card
    • Reserve a Room
    • Find Books and More
    • Renew or Place a Hold
    • Request an Item
    • Digital Collections
    • Computers and Printing
    • Ask a Librarian
  • Visit
  • Use the Library
    • Books, eBooks, and More
    • Children’s and Young Adult Library
    • Research and Learn
    • Center for Regional History
    • Computers and Printing
    • Reserve a Room
    • Library Policies
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Programs and Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Program Archive
    • Regional History Museum/Exhibits
    • Children’s and Young Adult Library
    • Ernest Hemingway Seminar
    • Sun Valley Early Literacy Summit
    • To Taste Life Twice Seminar
  • Hemingway
    • Hemingway House and Preserve
    • Writer-in-Residence Program
    • Ernest Hemingway Seminar
  • Our Story
    • Staff and Board of Trustees
    • Library Blog
    • Newsletters and Reports
    • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
    • Gold Mine Stores
Give and Support
  • The Community Library
  • Gold Mine Stores
  • Center for Regional History
    • Regional History Museum/Exhibits
    • Hemingway in Idaho
    • Regional History Reading Room
    • Historic Photographs
The Community Library Association
  • The Community Library
  • Gold Mine Stores
  • Center for Regional History
  • Get a library card
  • I want to
    I Want To
    • Use My Library Account
    • Reserve a Room
    • Find Books and More
    More
    • Renew or Place a Hold
    • Request an Item
    • Use Our Digital Collections
    • Use a Computer/Print/Scan
    • Ask a Librarian
Community Library Logo
  • I Want To
    • Use My Library Account
    • Get a Library Card
    • Reserve a Room
    • Find Books and More
    • Renew or Place a Hold
    • Request an Item
    • Digital Collections
    • Computers and Printing
    • Ask a Librarian
  • Visit
  • Use the Library
    • Books, eBooks, and More
    • Children’s and Young Adult Library
    • Research and Learn
    • Center for Regional History
    • Computers and Printing
    • Reserve a Room
    • Library Policies
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Programs and Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Program Archive
    • Regional History Museum/Exhibits
    • Children’s and Young Adult Library
    • Ernest Hemingway Seminar
    • Sun Valley Early Literacy Summit
    • To Taste Life Twice Seminar
  • Hemingway
    • Hemingway House and Preserve
    • Writer-in-Residence Program
    • Ernest Hemingway Seminar
  • Our Story
    • Staff and Board of Trustees
    • Library Blog
    • Newsletters and Reports
    • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
    • Gold Mine Stores
Search
  • Search the CATALOG for books and more
  • Search the CALENDAR for programs and events
  • Search the WEBSITE for general information
Give & Support

Rear View: The Glamour of Sun Valley Snow Dogs

By Olivia Terry

F 04610, Union Pacific Photo Collection, Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History.

In this image from the Union Pacific Photo Collection, an Alaskan Husky enjoys a moment of rest on a dog sled in a snowy setting in front of Sun Valley’s Opera House. The dog’s stoic pose only hints at the glamorous life of Sun Valley’s sled dogs of days gone by.

In the early days of the Lodge, guests could cozy up under furs and take a dog sled tour through the golf course or a longer, fifteen mile trip through the Wood River Valley.

When Claudette Colbert visited Sun Valley to film I Met Him in Paris in 1937, she and her mother were photographed with Sandy Brooks, the resort’s dog musher, for publicity.

But the dogs of the Sun Valley Kennels lived equally glitzy lives as the celebrities they pulled behind them. Sun Valley Kennels raised and trained dogs to form three complete teams of Alaskan and Siberian Huskies. An article appearing in the January 1952 edition of The Valley Sun shares that the three teams were led by Spike, Yukon, and Jack. They were frequently flown all across the country, appearing in films like Road To Utopia (1946) and Woman of the North Country (1952) in Los Angeles. The dogs also flew to New York City to appear in front of a live studio audience on the Ken Murray Television Show.

The dogs were trained  rigorously to be able to individually pull seventy-five pounds and were fed two-to-three pounds of meat daily. Teams of nine or eleven dogs were formed, depending on the freshness of snow. Guests could count on the dogs to be extremely disciplined, but equally personable and friendly, adding to the magic of the Sun Valley Winter-Wonderland.

Filed Under: Library Blog

Primary Sidebar

  • Staff and Board of Trustees
    • Board of Trustees Meeting Schedule
  • Library Blog
  • Newsletters and Reports
  • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
  • Gold Mine Stores
    • Gold Mine Donation Guidelines
    • Gold Mine Shopping Guide/FAQ
Comlib

Support the Library

The Community Library’s free resources and services reflect the generosity of community members like you!
Donate
Gold Mine Stores
Volunteer

The Community Library

Location

415 Spruce Ave. North
PO Box 2168
Ketchum, ID 83340

Hours

Sunday
closed
Monday
10:00am - 6:00pm
Tuesday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Wednesday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Thursday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Friday
10:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday
10:00am - 6:00pm

Contact

208.726.3493
info@comlib.org

About us

  • Our Story
  • Staff and Board
  • Give & Support
  • Volunteer

Site Map

  • Home
  • Visit The Community Library Association
  • Events
  • Programs and Exhibits
  • Use the Library
  • Catalog
Got a question? Ask Us

THE COMMUNITY LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

  • The Community Library
  • The Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History
  • The Gold Mine Stores

MAILING ADDRESS

PO Box 2168
Ketchum, ID 83340
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
2023 © The Community Library Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved | The Community Library is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization | Federal Tax ID 82-0290944