Alone in the Wilderness - the story of Dick Proenneke
Dick Proenneke's cabin on the shore of Lake Clark

 

Dick Proenneke (1916-2003)

Dick Proenneke was born May 4, 1916 in Primrose, Iowa. He had 3 sisters, Helen, Lorene and Florence and 2 brothers, Robert and Raymond.

He learned his carpentry skills in the US Navy during WWII. Dick spent 6 months in bed recuperating from rheumatic fever when he was still in the Navy. It was during his recuperation he realized how important his health really was, and he started thinking about living a simple life in Alaska.

Dick Proenneke's cabin on the shore of Lake Clark

Dick Proenneke became a diesel mechanic after leaving the Navy, and later, he moved to Oregon to ranch sheep.

In 1950 Dick Proenneke moved to Shuyak Island, Alaska to ranch cattle for a short while. Then he got a job working at the Kodiak naval base as a heavy equipment operator and repairman.

Dick worked on and off as a commercial salmon fisherman, and as a diesel mechanic for years. He even joined the Fish and Wildlife Service and worked at King Salmon.

Dick Proenneke's cabin on the shore of Lake Clark

Dick Proenneke retired in 1967. He spent the summer scouting the best location to build a cabin at Twin Lakes and cutting the logs that he would use to build his cabin the next year. In the fall he returned to Iowa where he spent the winter preparing for his adventure in Alaska.

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