On Friday all the third graders from Myers Wilkins gathered at Grant Field for a dogless sled race to celebrate this year’s John Beargrease Marathon. They had been learning about John Beargrease and the race in his honor all week long.
Each class had 4 teams that consisted of a musher and three dogs. There were check points set up around the field. At each stop the musher had to finish certain tasks before moving on. These tasks included building a fake fire, feeding your dogs (M and M’s), watering your dogs (squirts from a water bottle), resting and bandaging. Negotiating the band aids turned out to be one of the hardest tasks in the cold. After each task was done the musher returned to the sled and the dogs ran on. The kids even learned the commands – ready, gee, haw, and whoa.
The field was icy and the wind brisk on Friday but there was an energy and a warmth that was incredible. The kids pulled together, and everyone cheered on every single team. The kindergartners came to watch and cheer too. Kudos to the incredible teachers at Myers Wilkins for pulling this off with a special thanks to Ms. Dols.
The students also learned the story of John Beargrease and his brothers, sons of an Anishinaabe Chief. The family lived on the shores of what is now Beaver Bay. For 20 years (1879 – 1899) John delivered mail up and down the shore from Duluth to Grand Portage. In the Summer mail came by boat, but in winter he used a toboggan pulled by 4 dogs. He would travel 30 – 40 miles a day on the rugged foot trails through the snow.
In 1910 John went out in a storm to rescue another mail carrier who could not make it to shore due to the wind and the waves. They both made it back to Grand Portage, but John died a short time later from tuberculosis.
In learning about John Beargrease and the marathon in his honor, the kids learned the importance of working together and having empathy for others. Their actions on Friday stood in stark contrast to what we witnessed in the Oval office that same day. The berating that President Zelensky endured at the hands of Trump and Vance was hard to watch.
How do we respond to this bullying? I believe that like the kids it is time for us to pull together. We need the kind of empathy and compassion that connects us just as John Beargrease connected his communities through enormous effort and sacrifice.
One small way to help right now is through Razom. Razom is an American NGO that cooperates with Ukrainian NGOs to support civilians. They have so many programs that are working with the Ukrainian health care system and others that are providing first aid kits to front line medics, advocacy and more.
Razom means “together” in Ukrainian. It is time for us to pull together too.
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