Dick Proenneke in 1983 preparing lake trout fillets at his cabin on Upper Twin Lake, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. Copyright Fred Hirschmann.
The Friends of Dick Proenneke Twin Lakes Endowment is intended to provide long term, reliable funding for both recurring and one-time expenditures associated with the care and preservation of the Richard L. Proenneke Historic Site, and protecting, managing, and interpreting the wilderness and natural and cultural heritage of the Twin Lakes Basin located in Lake Clark National Park.
In 1968 Dick Proenneke built the quintessential Alaskan log cabin along the shore of Upper Twin Lake in what would become Lake Clark National Park. Many have called Dick a modern-day Thoreau. He chronicled his 31 years living at Twin Lakes in thousands of detailed
Cheryl Bloethe Linder and Dick Proenneke on the summit of Falls Mountain with Upper Twin Lake beyond, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. Copyright Fred Hirschmann.
journal entries. Dick’s original movie, One Man’s Alaska, was instrumental in the 1980 establishment of Lake Clark National Park. Fifty years following publication, his widely popular book, One Man’s Wilderness, remains in print. Four films covering Dick Proenneke’s life at Twin Lakes, produced by Bob Swerer Productions, frequently air on PBS.
During the Summer of 2017, the Friends hired historic log building
White spruce forest and delta of Hope Creek along Upper Twin Lake from land being acquired by the Friends in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. Copyright Fred Hirschmann.
preservationists to replace the sod roof of Dick’s cabin and remediate mold growth occurring inside. In 2018 the Friends paid for archival 4×5 inch Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) photographs of Dick’s cabin and outbuildings for placement in the Library of Congress. In 2019 the Friends is raising $ 100,000 to purchase for Lake Clark National Park a very important private parcel on Upper Twin Lake near Dick Proenneke’s cabin.
All photos copyright Fred Hirschmann
Friends Of Dick Proenneke And Lake Clark National Park Land Acquisition Account