Richard Proenneke

Proenneke descended from a family of German immigrants. His father, William Christian Proenneke (1880–1972), served in World War I, and made his living as a house painter, carpenter and well driller. His mother, Laura (née Bonn) (1884–1966) was a homemaker and gardener. His parents married in December 1909 and had three daughters and four sons: Robert, Helen, Lorene, Richard (Dick), Florence, Paul, and Raymond (Jake). The year of Proenneke's birth is often mistakenly given as 1917, but social security and census records note Richard Louis Proenneke was born in Primrose, Iowa, on May 4, 1916. Proenneke completed primary school in Primrose, but left high school after two years because he did not enjoy it. Until 1939, he worked in proximity to Primrose driving tractors, working with farm equipment, and doing typical chores Iowa family farms required at the time. He also admired motorcycles and obtained a Harley Davidson as a teen. ==Naval career==

Proenneke enlisted in the United States Navy the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor and served as a carpenter. He spent almost two years at Pearl Harbor and was later stationed in San Francisco waiting for a new ship assignment. After hiking on a mountain near San Francisco he contracted rheumatic fever and was hospitalized at Norco Naval Hospital for six months. During his convalescence the war ended and he was given a medical discharge from the Navy in 1945. According to one of his biographers and friend, Sam Keith, the illness was very revealing for Proenneke, who decided to devote the rest of his life to the strength and health of his body. ==Later career==

Following his discharge from the Navy, Proenneke went to school to become a diesel mechanic. The combination of his high intelligence, adaptability, and strong work ethic helped him become a skilled technician. Though adept at his trade, Proenneke eventually yielded 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 Air Station at Kodiak. He spent the next several years working throughout Alaska as both a salmon fisherman and diesel technician. He worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service at King Salmon on the Alaska Peninsula. His skills as a technician were well-known and sought after, and he was able to save for retirement. ==Twin Lakes cabin==

On May 21, 1968, Proenneke arrived at his new place of retirement at Twin Lakes. Beforehand, he made arrangements to use a cabin on Upper Twin Lake owned by retired Navy Captain Spike Carrithers and his wife Hope of Kodiak (in whose care he had left his camper). This cabin was well-situated on the lake and close to the site that Proenneke chose for the construction of his own cabin. Proenneke remained at Twin Lakes for the next sixteen months, after which he briefly went home to visit relatives and secure more supplies. He returned to Twin Lakes the following spring and remained there for most of the next thirty years, traveling to the contiguous United States only occasionally to visit his family. He made a film record of his solitary life, which was later re-edited and made into the documentary Alone in the Wilderness. In 2011 a sequel was produced after enough footage for at least two more programs was discovered. Alone in the Wilderness: Part 2 premiered on December 2, 2011. Proenneke's cabin was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The site is a popular attraction for many who want to personally experience parts of Proenneke's life and values. ==Death and legacy==

In 1999, at age 83, Proenneke left his cabin and moved to Hemet, California, where he lived the remainder of his life with his brother Raymond "Jake" Proenneke. He died of a stroke on April 20, 2003, at the age of 86. He willed his cabin to the National Park Service, and it remains a popular visitor attraction in the still-remote Twin Lakes region of Lake Clark National Park. Sam Keith, who came to know Proenneke at the Kodiak Naval Station and went on numerous hunting and fishing trips with him, suggested that Proenneke's journals might be the basis for a good book. In 1973, Keith published the book ''One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey'', based on Proenneke's journals and photography. Proenneke however alleged that Keith had "changed some things" to embellish the story, such as writing that Proenneke had assumed a role as King of Bears and wielded power over them. After years in print it was reissued in a new format in 1999, winning that year's National Outdoor Book Award (NOBA). A hardcover "commemorative edition", celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of when Proenneke first broke ground and made his way in the Alaskan wilds in 1968 was published by Alaska Northwest Books in 2018. In 2003, some of the copyrighted text from the book and some of Proenneke's film were used with permission in the documentary Alone in the Wilderness, which began appearing on U.S. Public Television. It follows Proenneke's life as he builds the cabin from the surrounding natural resources and includes his film footage and narration of wildlife, weather, and the natural scenery while he goes about his daily routine over the course of the winter months. 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 John Branson, a longtime Lake Clark National Park employee and friend of Proenneke, covers the years when the park was established. Proenneke had a very close relationship with the Park Service, assisting them in filming sensitive areas and notifying them if poachers were in the area. The Early Years: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke 1967–1973 was published by Alaska Geographic in 2010. As with ''More Readings From One Man's Wilderness'', the volume is edited by John Branson. This collection of journals covers Proennekes' first years at Twin Lakes, including the construction of his cabin and cache. The journal entries overlap those in Sam Keith's edited collection of some of Proenneke's journals, ''One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey.'' But unlike that book—in which Keith frequently modified Proenneke's writing style—The Early Years presents Proenneke's journals with minimal or no modification. In 2017, a Richard Proenneke museum exhibit was opened at the Donnellson Public Library in Donnellson, Iowa, near Proenneke's hometown of Primrose. The exhibit features a replica of Proenneke's cabin, some of his writings, and other artifacts. In 2016 and 2018, respectively, A life in Full Stride: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke 1981-1985 and Your Life here is an Inspiration: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke 1986–1991 were published. In 2020, the fifth and final collection of Proenneke's journals, Reaching the End of the Trail: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke 1992–2000 was published. These three final collections were published by the Friends of Donnellson Public Library, The Richard Proenneke Museum, and were edited by John Branson. Monroe Robinson, a woodworker who restored Dick's cabin and spent 19 summers there after Dick moved out, giving tours, wrote a book called The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke in 2021. This book focused on the tools and hand-made creations of Dick through his journals. Additionally, the Donnellson Public Library published, in 2024 and 2025, Dear Jake Volume I and Dear Jake Volume II. These books include letters written from Richard to his brother Raymond "Jake" Proenneke. These two volumes cover the years 1965-1984 and are believed to be the very first Journal Richard wrote at Twin Lakes. ==See also==