Scott Cordelle Bone was the tenth governor of the Alaskan Territory. He was officially inducted on June 15, 1921 and was in office until June 16, 1925. He was appointed by President Warren G. Harding. There is little information about Scott Bone’s life, but the information that is out there is impressive. Scott Bone made the decision to use dog sled teams to carry diphtheria antitoxin to Nome.
Political Life
Bone was a Republican and he belonged to a number of organizations and held several positions. He was chairman of the Alaska Bureau of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce which is a private organization that represents economic development in the metro region of Seattle. Bone was also a member of the Gridiron Club, one of the oldest and most prestigious journalistic organizations in Washington, D.C. He was also a member of the National Press Association, director of publicity for the Republican National Committee and a life member of the Red Cross. He was the editor of the Washington Post and founded the Washington Herald. Bone was also the editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He was a friend of President Warren Harding, President William Taft and President Theodore Roosevelt.
Making History
Scott Bone made the decision to use dog sled teams to carry diphtheria antitoxin to Nome. During the winter of 1924-1925, the city of Nome, Alaska was facing an outbreak of diphtheria. The city needed to find a way to get medicine quickly and the first thought was to use an airplane. At the time, airplanes were a relatively new technology and were unable to fly in the harsh winter which made them unreliable. Thus, the proposal of using a dogsled relay. By using the dogsled teams, the diphtheria antitoxin was able to get to Nome and save many lives. Bone was brave for making this decision as there were doubts about the dog sleds making it safely to Nome. The 1925 serum run has been famously known as The Great Race of Mercy and The Serum Run. Read more about this race here.
The Merdes Law Firm has been helping injured Alaskans for more than 30 years. It’s who we are. And while we hope you never need us … We’re here if you do. ~ Ward Merdes
Source: Wikipedia
Image Source: Alaska’s Digital Archives
