A city girl from Chicago, Marge walked 65 miles through the wilderness to stake a homestead on Soldotna Creek near the Kenai River. She is the first woman to live in Soldotna under the Homestead Act in 1947. As a young wife and mother making her home in a log cabin on Soldotna Creek in 1947, Marge learned many skills she never dreamed of as a child in Chicago. Living without a grocery store meant that she would have to learn to hunt, catch, grow and preserve the family food.

Inspired by the first Earth Day, Marge organized the first roadside litter pickup in 1970. She also served as a member and chair of the local planning commission. With her hiking “buddies” (most of who were male), Marge organized the Kenai Peninsula Conservation Society and served a term as its president in the 1980s.

Today, Marge is unofficial historian for Soldotna. She has archived over 1000 photos at Kenai Peninsula College. She chairs the local historical society and coordinates activities at the town’s Homestead Museum. She brings a digital slide show, a charming wit and her vast knowledge of the early days to the local speaker circuit.

Marge, now in her ninetieth year, still takes a brisk walk daily and is a continuing inspiration for generations of local women as she actively maintains her health and her connections with her family and community. Marge continues to reside in the community she helped to build and where she raised her four children.