Nenana is in westernmost portion of Tanana territory . (The Tanana are amount the large Dene language family, also known Athabaskan.). The town was first known by European Americans as Tortella, a transliteration of the Indian word Toghotthele (TOG-uh-TEE-lee), which means "mountain that parallels the river." It was later named for the river and the Nenana people who live nearby.
Nenana was the starting point for the 1923 serum run to Nome, after diphtheria antitoxin had been transported by rail from Anchorage. It was carried by dog sled relay across the U.S. territory of Alaska by 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs 674 miles in five and a half days, saving the small town of Nome and the surrounding communities from an incipient epidemic.
I was asked by a family in Eagle River to do a house call to family in need of golden cheer. I look forward to returning again to this family to spread love and licks, and exploring more of Nenana.