Episode 32: Charlie DeWitt; A Life Built In Alaska

Send us Fan MailYou can hear a whole era of Southeast Alaska in Charlie DeWitt’s voice: Salvation Army roots, moving from post to post, then landing in Haines and deciding it is home for good. Charlie walks us through the early days, from small boats and cannery rhythms to the way a town shapes you when everyone knows your family and your work ethic actually matters.From there, the conversation opens into the Alaska outdoors as a lifelong classroom. We talk guns and hunter safety, learning to reload, trapping and fur handling done with real pride, and what hunting becomes over time when it is less about taking animals and more about competence, respect, and time with family. Charlie shares the stories that stick with you, including the kind of cold, wet “goose hunt” that can end a kid’s enthusiasm in one afternoon.Then we get into the work: trade school, diesel mechanic life, and the North Slope and Prudhoe Bay years where you learn fast or you fall behind. Charlie explains how major road and construction projects run, what it takes to keep iron moving, why he tried teaching shop class, and how he ultimately built his commercial fishing boat, the Tiffany Lee, piece by piece. We also dig into shooting sports, range etiquette, and king salmon management, plus why local knowledge should never be dismissed when runs are struggling.If you care about Haines Alaska history, commercial fishing, king salmon, the North Slope, hunting culture, or how people build a good life through skill and responsibility, this one is for you. Subscribe, share it with a friend who loves Alaska stories, and leave a review with the part of Charlie’s journey that hit you the hardest.