Life was hard in the western Washington town of Humptulips during the 1930s. Located on the Humptulips river on the Olympic peninsula, the town had seen better days for the commercial fishermen trying to earn a living.

One family, the Moodys, found life so difficult in Humptulips that they decided to follow Mrs. Moody’s brother to Alaska, where, according to the brother, the fishing was good and there was money to be made. The family of six packed up and traveled the 2,500 miles from Humptulips, to the Canadian border, then on through British Columbia and the Yukon before heading west to the frontier town of Dillingham, Alaska. From Dillingham they headed up the Wood river, finally arriving on the remote shores of Lake Aleknagik.

Although Aleknagik is a Yupik word meaning “wrong way home,” the Moody family found a good place to settle beside the lake, where they built a small log cabin. Mr. Moody and the eldest son took their large fishing boat down into Bristol Bay, home of the world’s largest source of red salmon, while Mrs. Moody cared for the three younger children at home.

Sadly, just a few months after settling into their new home, tragedy struck the Moody family. As father and eldest son headed up the river from Dillingham, somehow both men ended up in the fast current and drowned, leaving the mother to raise the two younger sons and a daughter.

Being a family of faith, the mother continued to gather the children for worship and on Sabbath they met with the uncle and his family. During the week, Mrs. Moody carried out the family fishing business, with the help of her two younger sons, Lloyd, 14, and Roland, 13.

We grew up fast, remembers Roland. We had a mother and little sister to help.

In order to help their family survive, Lloyd and Roland had little time for school as they worked as commercial fisherman near their home. By the time they were no longer teens, the young men had not yet finished at the rural public school. Early each morning, Roland, who was now 20, built a fire in the school’s wood stove so the place would be warm when the students arrived.

During those early mornings, Roland not only warmed up the classroom–he also took the opportunity to get to know the school’s beautiful young teacher, Miss Jackie. By the end of the year, they were married and set up a home beside Lake Aleknagik. To be continued

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