Who Is Norman Vaughan?
A century of memories...
Legendary musher Norman Vaughan, who dropped out of Harvard to join the first U.S. expedition to Antarctica, turned 100 on Monday and the celebration -- including Vaughan's first sip of champagne -- was a few days early.
Vaughan celebrated the milestone Saturday from a chair at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. Smiling broadly through his white beard, he shared memories with dozens of family members and friends, some of whom took part by videoconference from South Carolina, Massachusetts and Colorado.
One hundred candles topped a cake; Vaughan indulged in a few oysters and a sip of champagne.
Born into an era of polar exploration, Vaughan left Harvard in 1928 to join a two-year Antarctic expedition led by Adm. Richard E. Byrd. Vaughan is believed to be the last surviving member of that expedition, among the last accomplished with dog teams.
Byrd honored his chief dog driver by naming a 10,302-foot Antarctic peak for Vaughan, who fulfilled a lifelong dream by climbing Mount Vaughan in 1994.
Vaughan moved to Alaska when he was 68 to pursue adventure and to continue driving dogs. He has taken part in 13 runnings of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and completed six Iditarods, the last one in 1990. --Miami Herald
Legendary musher Norman Vaughan, who dropped out of Harvard to join the first U.S. expedition to Antarctica, turned 100 on Monday and the celebration -- including Vaughan's first sip of champagne -- was a few days early.
Vaughan celebrated the milestone Saturday from a chair at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. Smiling broadly through his white beard, he shared memories with dozens of family members and friends, some of whom took part by videoconference from South Carolina, Massachusetts and Colorado.
One hundred candles topped a cake; Vaughan indulged in a few oysters and a sip of champagne.
Born into an era of polar exploration, Vaughan left Harvard in 1928 to join a two-year Antarctic expedition led by Adm. Richard E. Byrd. Vaughan is believed to be the last surviving member of that expedition, among the last accomplished with dog teams.
Byrd honored his chief dog driver by naming a 10,302-foot Antarctic peak for Vaughan, who fulfilled a lifelong dream by climbing Mount Vaughan in 1994.
Vaughan moved to Alaska when he was 68 to pursue adventure and to continue driving dogs. He has taken part in 13 runnings of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and completed six Iditarods, the last one in 1990. --Miami Herald
