Spending the summers of 1958 through 1960 on a large ranch south of Cascade, Montana, as a teenager, I learned a lot about ranching-and life. Teams of horses were used for much of the work, and buckboard wagons were used daily. Technology-wise, this ranch was about thirty years behind the times, but it made a profit for the absentee owner, and it was a wonderful way of life.

Jake arrived in Alaska in June, 1967, just short of 100 years after the purchase of Alaska from Russia and a few months less than 10 years after statehood. Jake holds Alaska Master Guide License #54, giving him the privilege of operating in Game Management Units 6 through 26, a Commercial Pilot license, and a 100-ton Mariners license. Jake operated his Arctic Rivers Guide & Booking Service from his 80 acres of private land through 2023. When the Federal (Feral) Subsistence Board restricted Moose and Caribou hunting to subsistence-qualified rural Alaskans only, our family Paradise was Lost due to the vote of 8 appointed (not elected) bureaucrats. This unconstitutional action suffocated the opportunity to book guided hunts, so after more than 56 years, Jake did not renew his Master Guide license in 2024.