During my late grade school years, I became fascinated with the hunting and adventure stories in magazines my father brought home. True and Argosy were my favorites, with their tales of big game pursuits and intriguing travels to exotic places worldwide. I heard the "call of the wild" in most of those manly stories. But real life in small towns in rural America seemed more like a meek whisper of the mild. I realized early on that I wanted to lead an interesting life full of grand deeds and challenges. If an opportunity for foreign adventure came my way, I was determined to grab it. So began my years of interesting travel about the globe.

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.