Ruth & Diane Sandvik

In this interview, Ruth Sandvik speaks with her daughter Diane about her trip to Alaska in 1940.  She and  her childhood friend Alice Longworth headed north by steamship to take jobs as teachers in Petersburg. She also regaled us with tales of her life as a young bride and mother, marrying into a Norwegian fishing family.

Ruth blows the whistle on what men really do down in the harbor when they say they are going to “check the boat”. She explains how it was she became an Episcopalian, why she feels we should keep Christmas in our hearts every day, and about climbing Petersburg Mountain at the age of 79. This is an entertaining interview with Ruth, who so many people know as the “Purple Librarian”.