ouis Strutz was born in Oaks, North Dakota on January 7, 1896. When he was two, his family moved to Montesano, Washington, where he spent his youth. He played the tuba in the Montesano Band and on March 28, 1917 he joined the United States Army, indicating his occupation as musician. After the end of World War I he was assigned to Anchorage, arriving on November 5, 1919 with Company B, 21st Infantry.

After his discharge, Louis determined that Anchorage would be a good place to live and asked the love of his life, Aline Sawhill, to join him. Aline was born on the Tyler Ranch in Nimrod, Montana, July 16, 1899. She attended elementary and high schools in Nimrod and Blakely, Montana and business college at Missoula and Thompson Falls, Montana. She was employed by the division storekeeper of the Northern Pacific Railroad in Parkwater, Washington, where she met Louis Strutz. Aline and Louis were married in the Presbyterian Church in Anchorage on April 12, 1920.

Louis started a dairy farm with fourteen cows and five-hundred chickens. He purchased a home and property at 916 P Street and, as the family grew larger, he sold off the farm animals and went to work for the Alaska Railroad from 1926 to 1941. He then worked for the Northern Commercial Company until his retirement in 1962. Though he was kept busy at work and at home, Louis found time to play the tuba and drums in the local band.

Louis and Aline Strutz had six children, all born in Anchorage. Daughter Clella was born in 1921, Joan in 1923, Gayle in 1924 and Ermalee was born in 1925. Son Lloyd L. was born in 1927 and the youngest, Richard, was born in 1929. Aline kept busy raising the children, caring for a large vegetable garden, and living a true subsistence life, canning salmon, vegetables and fruits. The children were all responsible for helping with chores.

Aline also had many hobbies, her favorite of which was collecting and photographing Alaska wild flowers. She visited many areas to find wild plants which she transplanted in her yard. She eventually collected over two-thousand specimens and wrote articles for gardening journals and contributed to rock garden and other bulletins in the United States as well as in Britain. Many of her photos were published in the “Alaska-Yukon Wild Flower Guide.” As a member of the Anchorage Garden Club, she participated in all of its flower shows, winning many honors. A plant variety named after her is the “Artemisia Campestris borealis, H & G var. strutzea Welsh.” After her death Aline was honored by the Alaska Legislature, which noted that her many accomplishments and contributions to the state and her strong pioneer spirit and dedication had helped to make Alaska the great land that it is.

The 1964 earthquake severely damaged the Strutz home, which stood atop a bluff at the west end of town. The family faced the challenge of restoration and turned the rubble back into an attractive home and garden, which was a popular stop on the local garden tour for many years.

Louis Strutz died February 22, 1977 at the age of eighty, and Aline died on November 12, 1995 at the age of ninety-six. They are both buried in the Pioneer Tract of Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery.

Aline and Louis’ oldest daughter, Clella Lou Strutz Fowler, had two children, Janis Aline Fowler Bradbury and Richard William. Joan Strutz Nattress had three children; Michael, Gregory and Penny Nattress Brandt. Gayle Strutz Ryan had four children; Timothy, Joseph, Mary Ann Ryan Edwards and Abigail Ryan Hensley. Ermalee Strutz, the youngest daughter, married Walter J. Hickel and they had six sons; Theodore J., Robert J., Walter Jr., Jack E., Joseph W. and Karl.

Lloyd Louis Strutz, the oldest son, had four children; Sharon Lou, Debora Jean Strutz Studnek, William Louis and Margaret Ann Strutz Hanrath. Son Richard Kenneth Strutz had seven children. Richard, James Paul, Colleen Halsey, Cindy Ann Lamson, Marie Ray Scouler and Ronda Lee Strutz Martens.