Richard Proenneke

Richard Proenneke

Richard Louis "Dick" Proenneke (May 4, 1916–April 28, 2003) was a naturalist who lived alone in the high mountains of Alaska at a place called Twin Lakes. Living in a log cabin he constructed by hand, Proenneke made valuable recordings of both meteorological and natural data.

Life

Proenneke's father, William Christian Proenneke, served in World War I and later made his living as a well driller. His mother, Laura (Née Bonn) worked as a homemaker. His parents married in late 1909, or early 1910, and started a family: three daughters and three sons: Robert, Helen, Lorene, Richard, Florence, and Raymond Proenneke. The year of Richard's birth is often given as 1917, but social security and census records prove him to have been born in Primrose, Harrison Township, Lee County, Iowa, on May 4, 1916.

Proenneke served in the United States Navy as a carpenter during World War II. It was during this service that he contracted rheumatic fever and was bedridden for nearly six months. According to Sam Keith, a life-long friend from Duxbury, Massachusetts, this illness was very revealing for Proenneke, who decided to devote the rest of his life to the strength and health of his body.

Following his discharge from the Navy, Proenneke went to school to become a diesel mechanic. The combination of his high intelligence, unique adaptability, and strong work ethic turned him into a very skilled mechanic. Though quite adept at his trade, Proenneke succumbed to his love of nature and moved to Oregon to work at a sheep ranch. He moved to Shuyak Island, Alaska in 1950.

For several years he worked as a heavy equipment operator and repairman on the naval base at Kodiak. Proenneke spent the next several years working throughout the state of Alaska as both a salmon fisherman and diesel mechanic. He worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service at King Salmon on the Alaska Peninsula. His skills as a mechanic were well-known and extremely sought after, and he was able to put away a modest nest egg for retirement. Proenneke retired to Twin Lakes.

Retirement

Proenneke's Cabin

On May 21, 1968, Proenneke arrived at his new place of retirement at Twin Lakes. Before arriving at the lakes, he made arrangements to use a cabin on the upper lake of Twin Lakes owned by a retired Navy captain, Spike Carrithers, and his wife Hope from Kodiak, (in whose care he had left his camper). This cabin was well situated on the lake and close to the site which Proenneke chose for the construction of his own cabin. Proenneke's bush pilot friend, Babe Alsworth, returned occasionally to bring food and orders that Proenneke placed through him to Sears.

Proenneke remained at Twin Lakes for the next 16 months, when he left to go home for a spell to visit relatives and secure more supplies. He returned to the lakes in the following spring and remained there for most of the next 30 years, coming to the lower 48 only occasionally to be with his family.

Death and legacy

In 1999, at age 82, Proenneke returned to civilization and lived the remainder of his life with his brother in California. He died of a stroke April 28, 2003 at the age of 86. He left his cabin to the National Park Service and it remains today as a popular visitor attraction in the still-remote Twin Lakes region.

In 1973, Sam Keith wrote the book One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey (ISBN 0-88240-513-6), based on Proenneke's journals and photography. After years in print and a re-edition, Keith's book won the 1999 National Outdoor Book Award (NOBA). In 2005, some of Proenneke's film, Alone in the Wilderness, began appearing on U.S. Public Television. Primarily, the film consists of shots of Proenneke performing tasks around his cabin, canoeing and walking, and views of wildlife, along with narration. For shots of himself (since he was alone), Proenneke fixed the camera in place, and then performed his tasks. This would necessitate him returning to the camera after walking or canoeing away. An unknown visitor recorded some shots of him in the movie. He or she is not seen, but his or her existence is given away in several scenes when the camera follows him as he is walking or canoeing. Also in 2005, the National Park Service and the Alaska Natural History Association published More Readings From One Man's Wilderness, another volume of Proenneke's journal entries. The book, edited by longtime Lake Clark National Park employee and Proenneke's friend John Branson, covers the years when the Park was established. Dick also had a very close relationship with the Park Service; assisting them video taping sensitive areas and notifying them if poachers were in the area. The actual location on the Upper Twin Lake is at coordinates 60°38′59″N 153°48′38″W

External links

• More Readings From One Man's Wilderness: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke From the National Park Service. 500 pg, illustrated, 50 MB
• NPS page about Richard Proenneke
• NaturalBushcraft page about Richard Proenneke
• Alone in the Wilderness at IMDB
• Photos of the landscape in Lake Clark National Park
• Map showing the location of Proenneke's cabin
• NPS Video No Place Like Twin Lakes, Talking Circle TV