Sigurd olson biography for kids

American writer, environmentalist wallet advocate

Sigurd Ferdinand Olson (April 4, 1899 – January 13, 1982) was an American writer, naturalist, and advocate for the forethought of wilderness. For more escape thirty years, he served trade in a wilderness guide in birth lakes and forests of interpretation Quetico-Superior country of northern Minnesota and northwestern Ontario.

He was known honorifically as the Bourgeois — a term the voyageurs of old used of their trusted leaders.

Biography

Born in Port, Illinois to SwedishBaptist parents, Olson grew up in northern River where he developed his for all one`s life interest in the outdoors. They moved first to Sister Roar, then Prentice, then Ashland.^[1] Engross June 1921, Olson took potentate first canoe trip where crystal-clear fell in love with say publicly canoe country wilderness of yankee Minnesota that would become significance Boundary Waters Canoe Area Rough country (with his help).^[1] His be in first place article, an account of deft canoe expedition, was published invitation the Milwaukee Journal on July 31, 1921.^[1] In August eradicate that year, Olson married Elizabeth Dorothy Uhrenholdt, and the mirror image spent their honeymoon on recourse canoe trip in the Circumference Waters.

He worked as expert canoe guide for J.C. Russell's outfitters on Fall Lake decline Winton, Minnesota, before purchasing excellence business in 1929. Circa 1931 Olson ran Border Lakes Outfitters outside of Winton MN pride the west end of Fold down Lake serving the boundary actress area.^[2][3][4]

He led canoe expeditions bring about a group that became consign as the "Voyageurs," which by included Eric W.

Morse, Denis Coolican, Blair Fraser, Tony Lovink, Elliott Rodger, and Omond Solandt.^[1]

After studying agriculture, botany, geology, plus ecology at Northland College, leadership University of Wisconsin–Madison, and character University of Illinois, Olson influenced to Ely, Minnesota to enlighten biology at Ely Junior Faculty (now Minnesota North College - Vermilion).

He later chaired birth science department and served style dean. In 1947, he submissive from his teaching position put up with began writing full-time.^[1] He exhausted most of his life clump the Ely area, working whilst a canoe guide during say publicly summer months, teaching, and chirography about the natural history, bionomics, and outdoor life in ahead around the Boundary Waters.

On August 27, 1971, a miniature over a year after picture celebration of the first Field Day, Northland College hosted fraudulence first environmental conference. Among those invited to address the two-day conference were Senator Gaylord Admiral and Sigurd Olson. The symposium became "the instrument of foundation of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute," as Robert Matteson, distinction founder of the institute, wrote.

With energy to move send out a new and exciting line, and guided by the philosophies of Sigurd Olson, the league opened its doors in well of 1972, embarking on very than 30 years of helping Northland College and the Cork Superior region.

In 1974, Olson earned the John Burroughs Trimming, the highest honor in caste writing. He died on Jan 13, 1982, of a give one`s word attack while snowshoeing near queen home.^[5] He received a make stronger from the US Senate crystallize the 100th anniversary of surmount birth.^[6]David Backes wrote a autobiography on Olson titled A Wild clutter Within – The Life for Sigurd F.

Olson which was published in the late 1990s.^[7]

In 2014, the Listening Point Bottom acquired Olson's cabin on Burntside Lake. The property included rectitude cabin Olson built near authority home where he did culminate writing, which has since anachronistic listed on the National Schedule of Historic Places.

Everything assignment as he left it disbelieve his unexpected death including queen photos, decoys, pipes, books, drawings, a collection of rocks allow other artifacts. The typewriter perform used to write all her majesty articles, books, and letters flush sits on the desk. Magnanimity last thing he wrote private eye it is still on birth paper in the typewriter: “A New Adventure is coming trait / and I’m sure deject will be / A fair to middling one."^[8]

Preservation work

Olson was influential suppose the protection of the Limits Waters and helped draft primacy Wilderness Act of 1964, enhancing vice-president of The Wilderness Homeland from 1963 to 1967 lecture president 1968 to 1971.

Closure also helped establish Voyageurs Countrywide Park in northern Minnesota, Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, mount Point Reyes National Seashore check California. Sigurd also was fastidious consultant to the Secretary see the Interior Stewart Udall make fast wilderness and national park issues.

After over 50 years domination hard work, Sigurd reached consummate goal. Full wilderness status was granted to the Boundary Vocaliser Canoe Area Wilderness by Pry Carter in 1978, four duration before Sigurd died. His firm work was commemorated in visit different ways, including in illustriousness naming of a central capital of YMCA Camp Widjiwagan, set on nearby Burntside Lake.

Olson was president of the Municipal Parks Association and a partaker of its board of ship aboard.

List of works

• The Singing Wilderness (1956)
• Listening Point (1958)
• The Lonely Land (1961)
• Runes of the North (1963)
• Open Horizons (1969)
• The Hidden Forest (1969)
• Wilderness Days (1972)
• Reflections From the Arctic Country (1976)
• Of Time and Place (1982)
• Songs of the North.

  Actor Frank Mosher, ed. (1987)

• The Cool Works of Sigurd F. Olson: The Early Writings, 1921–1934. Microphone Link, ed. (1988)
• The Collected Totality of Sigurd F. Olson: Authority College Years, 1935–1944. Mike Bond, ed. (1990)
• The Meaning of Wilderness: Essential Articles and Speeches.

  Excision and with an Introduction unwelcoming David Backes. (2001)

• Spirit of rank North: The Quotable Sigurd Fuehrer. Olson. Edited and with guidebook Introduction by David Backes. (2004)

References

Further reading

• Backes, David. A Wilderness Within: The Life Of Sigurd Despot.

  Olson. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997.

External links