Al Wise Interview, May 26, 1999

Al Wise shares a number of colorful anecdotes about his life from living in Illinois until he was married, then moving to the Swan Valley in Montana in 1932 for employment. He recalls homesteading there with his family and making ends meet by working as a logger, sawmill operator and U.S. Forest Service fire lookout. Wise describes how each of these jobs were performed in the Northwest during the mid-20th century. He discusses helping to establish a church in the Swan Valley and his involvement within the homesteading community. Wise also talks about navigating the Swan Valley terrain before roads and other transportation networks were established.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/upperswanvalley_oralhistory/1004/thumbnail.jp