This week we're hearing from Mat Su Valley resident Dennis Ricker. Ricker came to Alaska from Colorado in 1978 and was a wildland firefighter until he retired.
RICKER: I went to school in Colorado. I came up here looking for a fisheries job and jumped into the wild-land fire game after that. Since about 1978, so a number of years over 30 years now.
Great people. Kind of a remote setting, kind of an urban setting. We kind of split our time to come in a see the grandkid in Anchorage, and then we go out to the valley and enjoy the environment out there. Lately we’ve jumped into the fat-tire bike craze, so we’ve been doing a lot of that in Willow and Nancy Lake and enjoying the trails here in Anchorage. They’re just fantastic.
I think the world is becoming a smaller place and I think things may surprise people from the lower 48 that Alaska’s not a lot different from a lot of the other places in the world. I’d say it’s more similar than not. People are similar. You know, people are people.
Things that are dissimilar… I think the environment is a little harsher than most places. Harsher than Arizona, California. But probably not as harsh as some of the adventurous folks that come from Minnesota and up that way too. I think there’s an independence, if you want to call it a pioneer spirit. I think it’s a community of diverseness, if that’s a word, I guess diversity. And yet it’s people that get along. So that’s what attracts me to this place too. It’s a place where people can argue but still talk.
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Yeah, this is home here. We have family here, we have a daughter and a son and I doubt if they’ll ever leave. You know, they love it here. So you know, families grow and so I think we’ll stay here. Probably travel a little bit more, but yeah, we’ll hang out here.