America’s Loneliest Woman’ Soon Got Thousands Of Visitors For Strange Hobby

Dorothy graduated from high school in 1927 and wasn’t interested in following the limiting gender roles of her time. She went to nursing school in Chicago instead. These skills would serve her well in the future.

Three years later, she took a vacation that would forever change the course of her life. She visited the extremely remote Isle of Pines in Knife Lake. Nestled deep within the Superior National Forest, the picturesque location isn’t for the faint of heart.

Ely, Minnesota, was the closest town, and it was 30 miles away. And it was a 15-mile canoe trip to the nearest road. As a Chicago resident, the area was alien to Dorothy — and she immediately fell in love.

Back in the city, she tried to find nursing jobs, but was thwarted by the Great Depression. Eventually, Dorothy spent larger chunks of time on the Isle of Pines, staying in the resort/fishing camp managed by Bill Berglund.

Bill noted Dorothy’s passion for the resort and offered her a full-time job in 1934. For 14 years she helped Bill run the camp, until his death. Bill left the Isle of Pines Resort to Dorothy, and at 41, she became the new owner.

Dorothy settled into her life of solitude, helping tourists in the summers and hunkering down in her cabin during the brutal winter months. Living in the middle of the woods may have seemed uneventful, but Dorothy always kept busy.

She spent a lot of time healing injured animals and tourists. From splinting broken limbs to removing embedded fishhooks, Dorothy’s nursing degree was put to good use.

Her most thrilling first responder moment was treating a boy who was struck by lightning until a rescue plane flew him to a hospital. After this memorable feat, locals called her “Nightingale of the Northwoods.”

Though she was an accomplished nurse and frontierswoman, people were most interested in the fact that she was an unmarried woman living in the woods. The only way she’d commit to marriage was if a man could “portage heavier loads, chop more wood, or catch more fish.”

To successfully live on her island, Dorothy did it all by herself: chopping wood, gathering lake water, and harvesting ice. She never had electricity, a phone, or running water. We’re not sure how she managed without those essentials.

While Dorothy was living her wild life, the government was attempting to preserve the beautiful forest around her. Part of their efforts included banning floatplane flights to the island, further isolating Dorothy.

After the ban went through, the Saturday Evening Post profiled her, dubbing the islander “the loneliest woman in America.” In 1964, life became even more complicated for Dorothy.

That was when the government passed Wilderness Act, banning homes, buildings, and businesses from Knife Lake and the woods around it. Dorothy ignored the law. She’d lived on the island for nearly 30 years at this point and had no plans to leave.

With the help of politicians and environmentalists, Dorothy eventually got permission to stay on the island. She was forced to shut down the resort, but that didn’t stop her from engaging in her favorite hobby.

When tourists and locals stopped by during their canoeing trips, Dorothy had a special beverage for all of them — root beer. She used to sell soda that was delivered by floatplane and had to adjust once the planes stopped coming.

Dorothy bought flavored syrup from Ely and a local Boy Scout base, mixing in yeast for carbonation, and lake water in an eight-gallon ceramic pot. She joked that she used a canoe paddle to stir the mixture to add a touch of pine flavor.

Bottling was easy. Dorothy collected glass soda bottles and filled them with her root beer. Her family and friends would come over for bottling and brewing parties over the summer. They’d sometimes help with ice gathering too, but we’re guessing this wasn’t as enjoyable.

To get around the Wilderness Act restrictions that concerned owning a business, she gave her brew to tourists in return for a “donation.” Even though the soda’s taste wasn’t always consistent, she sold thousands of bottles.

Dorothy sold an average of 12,000 bottles a year. People were curious about “the root beer lady” living alone in the woods and made sure to stop by during their canoe expeditions. Local Boy Scouts were some of her best customers.

In 1986, Dorothy died in her cabin, and a group of her passionate supporters, calling themselves “Dorothy’s Angels” opened a museum in Ely to honor the independent woman. She may have lived an isolated life, but she spent her time doing what she loved, societal expectations be damned. More recently, her lifestyle inspired others to get off the grid — but with a key difference.

Some embraced the wilderness as a family. The Atchleys are the only residents anywhere along the 250-mile stretch of the Nowitna River. Residential areas are far from this woodsy terrain, but living way out there was a life Romey always dreamed of.

“Growing up I was really interested in living off the land,” the then 45-year-old Romey told Jenny Brockie, the host of SBS’ Australian documentary program Insight in 2018. “I had this desire to have space around me and really think about life.”

David and Romey have two boys, Zack and Sky. Understandably, Zack moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, when he was just 17 years old, as he craved civilization. Sky, who was 16 years old as of 2020, still lived with his parents.

While Zack clearly felt secluded and off the beaten track, his father never felt that way. “I never considered myself as isolated. I knew we were remote, but for me it was about having the quiet and hearing my own mind without the noise of the town,” said David.

Though David may not “consider” him and his family to be living in isolation, they live almost 100 miles from the nearest town, Ruby, which only has 160 residents. So yeah… they’re not exactly social butterflies.

Out of the nearly 20 years spent living in the thick of the Alaskan forest adjacent the river, only a few people have visited the Atchleys’ remote cabin, one being photographer Ed Gold, who documented their unique way of living via photographs for BBC.

But living purely off the land can only last so long, as the Atchleys aren’t ancient hunters in loin cloths and fur capes. Once a year, they take one massive trip to the grocery store and stock up on necessities.

“We buy everything for a year and we buy all the supplies and we box. They barge it down to Ruby for us … and it usually takes a couple of trips. But once it’s here, you are good for the year,” David explained. The extreme couponers are surely impressed!

Sky doesn’t seem to have the same mindset as his older brother did (who likely felt stranded), considering he’s completely content with the fact that he’s been homeschooled his entire life and doesn’t plan on leaving the quietness of the Alaskan wilderness anytime soon.

“A lot of other teenagers would probably think it’s not cool to be around your parents,” Sky explained via Skype. Yes, though they are disconnected from the rest of civilization, the Atchleys did succumb to getting internet installed in October 2017.

“When you live this close to each other in the middle of the woods and you’ve been here for a long time … they’re not just your parents … they are your best friends because you’re all alone with them,” Sky continued.

He’s bonded with his parents in ways “normal” teenagers could never understand. Though Sky said he’s “happier here than I would be anywhere else,” he estimates he only spends a week-and-a-half in contact with peers over the internet each year, which is rough.

The miniscule amount of interaction Sky has had with people his own age throughout his life has forced him to mature with great speed. “Growing up with my parents, sometimes kids seem a little childish,” Sky admitted about his peers.

“They care about things that aren’t that important sometimes,” he continued. The fact of the matter is that Sky and his family live a very different life from most modern Americans, so it’s no wonder that he can’t relate to his peers in regards to minor (AKA unimportant) issues.

Remember when we said that the Atchleys don’t “hunt wild animals in loin cloths and fur capes?” While this still true, they do hunt for meat on the land (just minus the caveman ensemble), often pursuing black bears, wolves, rabbits, ducks, and beavers. Yum.

The Atchleys also traverse the Alaskan forest, which they call their backyard, to forage for lingonberries and rosehips to make their delicious homemade jam. “I’m not very fond of the food in town,” Sky hilariously said of his annual outings to restaurants. We guess there’s nothing like mom’s cooking.

Sky followed that up by pondering about whether or not he has “stronger than normal” tastebuds. “When he (Sky) gets to town and wants a sandwich … for someone to hand him white bread it doesn’t seem like bread to him after eating homemade wholewheat,” explained Romey.

Amazingly, living off the land and using solar power costs the family just $12,000 annually. Life without materialistic clutter is pretty darn cheap. David is the family’s breadwinner, making moola by selling tanned hides, building log cabins, or working in a nearby gold mine.

When it comes to medical needs, the Atchleys rely on various books on medicine and first aid kits they keep on hand. Overall, they’ve learned to deal with health-related issues as they’ve come, but in the case of a real emergency, David said they’d have to call in a light aircraft for help.

“It’s pretty intense out here in general. But you learn how to put it in the back of your mind and only deal with what’s happening instead of the fears of what could happen,” David relayed. Though he was initially referring to health-related affairs, he then went into emotional complexities.

“When you’re isolated like this with each other, your relationship is everything,” David explained. “During the decades of living out here you spend a lot of time working on your relationship because in isolation you truly create your own reality.” he said.

“When you have the ability to make your wife slump or make her smile, what are you going to choose? That makes the rules for us.” David continued. “We’re all just trying to get along and we all love each other.” That’s a mentality we could all benefit from, now matter what lifestyle we adopt.

We couldn’t imagine the mental, physical, and emotional challenges that come with living off the grid and seeing the same few faces every single day (even if you love those faces), but the Ruiz family might know a thing or two about said challenges. Minimalistic living in the midst of Mother Nature’s gifts ain’t always easy.

During the blissful honeymoon phase of their marriage, Zac and Katie Ruiz resided in a quaint California apartment. While waking up to the warmth of The Golden State every day sounds like a dream, cutesy Cali living came at a price.

With no real plan in mind, Zac and a pregnant Katie went back to Katie’s hometown in New Mexico, as they needed to save some dough. After living there for about a year, Katie’s mother relayed some surprising, not to mention convenient, news.

Lo and behold, Katie had unknowingly inherited an acre of land. As you could only imagine, the couple, with a second baby on the way, was practically jumping for joy. Money was tight, and this seemed to be the answer to their prayers.

Zac and Katie were eager to move onto their newly obtained property, as they wanted to break the exhausting cycle of simply working to pay their rent and living paycheck to paycheck. They knew where they were going to live, but not what they’d live in.

After perusing the internet for housing options, hoping to build cheaply their dream home on Katie’s acre, they found the available options would strip their wallets dry. They birthed a unique idea, however.

The Ruiz family decided to live in a tent. Yes, a tent. After getting situated in a lousy camper for a few months while on the property, they transitioned to tent living. But don’t cringe just yet; they took “glamping” to a whole new level.

Within an eight-week period, Zac, who makes handcrafted lighting and decor, and Katie, who sells various essential oil products, built a 300-square-foot tent, complete with a cozy, raised loft. Though it’s compact, the homey tent featured only what the family of four needed.

“That’s $1,500 a month we don’t have to spend,” Zac said regarding their brilliant escape from the dreaded monthly rent bill. Raising a family comes with its sacrifices, and while you’d think giving up a house would be a huge sacrifice, it wasn’t for the Ruiz family at first.

Their sleeping area, kitchen, and dining area were all visible from the aesthetically pleasing glass front, which obviously made for a cramped lifestyle. The Ruiz family made it work, though.

The whole hipster-Brooklyn-coffee-shop vibe, which included rustic artwork, pastoral wood, and various houseplants, made the lack of elbow room more than bearable for the fam. Although it was homey, tent life did come with its downfalls.

The loft, which was dripping in fairy lights, was accessible via a ladder for the kiddies. Though it was technically the kids’ bedroom, they often slept in their parents’ bed due to temperature issues. The tent didn’t exactly get central heating.

It was especially a problem in the winter, as the family not only slept in the same bed to bask in communal body heat, but they also frequently wore coats and sweats inside the tent. That sounds like it would get old pretty quickly.

“Most people probably couldn’t deal. I always joke, ‘People like nature until nature kicks in,'” Zac said of the uncomfortable temperatures the Ruiz family endured. Still, their was more nature to deal with than the cold.

Unfortunately, there was no running water anywhere in the tent (which may be the final deal-breaker for some), so that made certain aqua-related chores a bit of a hassle. The family had an industrial-style, outdoor shower, though.

“Washing dishes isn’t the easiest thing. But it’s still really doable. It maybe just takes a few minutes longer here and there,” Zac said. It was all give and take.

In the grand Ruiz tent, you’d also find a four-foot by eight-foot closet, and a four-foot by three-foot bathroom with a composting toilet. They were only concerned with the tent serving the most fundamental of needs; there was no fluff in this woodsy paradise.

Since minimalism was important to Zac and Katie, they found little ways to create space without cluttering the teeny-weeny tent. Their king-sized bed sat on an elevated platform, which provided room underneath just perfect for storage.

They also kept their energy usage to a minimum, which was why their solar panels worked wonders. Said panels fueled LED lights, a television, a DVD player, phone chargers, a small fridge, and an electric stovetop. “Our daily power needs are pretty small,” Zac said.

Zac relayed that he gained a ton of free time since the start of the family’s downsize, tent lifestyle. “Time to do whatever I want. Time to hang out with the boys, time to have hobbies and actually do them,” he said.

The Ruiz family’s tent was even featured in Brent Heavener’s book Tiny House, which details the ins and outs of tiny living. Though their two-year-old tiny tent was famous, they weren’t planning to be there forever.

The family was in love with tiny living (which Brent Heavener believed “aids in your pursuit of freedom”), but Zac explained that a 600-square-foot cabin would be perfect for the squad, and that they were planning to move out of the sacred tent in a few years.

“We evolved our mindset of working with less,” Zac explained. Living a simplistic life in a 300-square-foot tent birthed a minimalistic renaissance for the Ruiz family. A life without unnecessary clutter not only saved the Ruiz clan wads of cash, but it created a sense of enlightenment and fulfillment within the family.

Tiny living ain’t easy, but Zac and Katie are just one of many couples who took the plunge into this eccentric, money-saving lifestyle. Curtiss O’Rorke Stedman and Kelly were also plagued by money problems and turned to tiny homes to help.

Curtiss and his partner Kelly had the itch to see the rest of the lower 48 states. A couple of nature buffs and travel junkies, they grew restless in their admittedly beautiful home of Juneau, Alaska.

As an English teacher, Curtiss was stuck in his location to earn a living. But day after day, his mind would drift while writing on the whiteboard. He fantasized about turning his passion project into a full-time gig.

During the week, he was all business. It was “Please take the hall pass when using the restroom,” and “where’s your homework?” but once the bell rang on Friday, Mr. O’Rorke Stedman disappeared. In his place, was the folk Americana crooner, Cousin Curtiss.

Taking his musical career full time was looming larger in Curtiss’ mind. Together, he and Kelly came to a decision. The window of opportunity to uproot their lives, travel the states, and give his music a shot was ajar, and they didn’t know how long it would stay open.

As luck would have it, Kelly was wrapping up her graduate program in early childhood special education. Before she hunkered down and started searching for her eventual career in social services, she wanted to pursue their dream. It was the perfect time to take off and explore.

Since they had a history as travel companions, Curtiss and Kelly knew their relationship could withstand the tensions of life on the road. The couple actually cemented their romance over the week-long drive from their home state of Michigan to Alaska.

But one big obstacle stood in their way — money. Puttering around to different places would require a place to stay, and the idea of a small fortune spent on hotel fees was unrealistic. They had to find a solution.

“It was just too big of a leap to continue to pay rent and then hope that we had enough money to cover those other expenses,” Kelly said. After looking at their goal from several different angles, the best avenue was to exit their current residence and create a transportable tiny house.

A payment of $4,750 bought them their brand new crash pad. Well, the bare bones of it anyway. It was a blank canvass of a space that required a healthy dose of ingenuity and vision — a 98-square-foot utility trailer.

Utility trailers are not known for their cozy, quaint appeal. They are synonymous with constructions sites and dirty work boots. However, the idyllic transformations cluttering Pinterest feeds of nontraditional spaces revamped into cute cottages (like the one below) gave Curtiss and Kelly hope.

Granted, it is easy to see the sleek multifunctional tiny homes on blogs and social media and get lured in by their sharp features. Curtiss and Kelly knew better than to fall into a trap of fawning over nonessentials.

First off, they established their primary needs in a living space: sleeping, food prep, storage. You may be thinking, why didn’t they just get an RV? Well, Kelly and Curtiss hated the idea of driving and living in the same space. Plus, the utility trailer was far cheaper.

Before they put their hard hats on, they plotted out the dimensions of their pocket-sized house on the floor of their living room. Standing within the parameters of the 7 x 14-foot space blocked with painters tape and furniture, it was a tight squeeze.

Even though they didn’t need all the gadgets of fancier tiny houses, other homeowners on Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube became the couple’s best teachers. Every weekend for nine months was devoted to rehabbing their portable space.

Still, forgoing luxuries didn’t make the project expense free. Hands down the priciest component in the process was a solar panel at $1,600, though a year’s worth of electric bills made that amount seem like child’s play.

Tiny living came with sacrifices. Initially, a shower was incorporated into the design, but plumbing and limited space left them with no choice but to scrap that feature. After all, it wasn’t just their space to consider…

Joining Curtiss and Kelly in their converted utility trailer were their dogs, Doug and Soy. Most of their time would be spent traveling and adventuring in the great outdoors, but the pups deserved comfort, too.

The final tally for total expense came down to $10,250.00. Factoring in the $1,500 cost of their rent in Alaska, their plan to live off the land in their cozy makeshift abode for 14 months certainly resulted in savings.

Admittedly, Curtiss and Kelly weren’t too fussed about the saving aspect of their new lifestyle. “We weren’t really doing it to save money. We were doing it to prove it could be done, that you could live minimally and follow your dream,” said Curtiss.

June 1st, 2015 marked the start of their journey. Following winding roads with their home bobbing along behind their truck, they ticked off state after state, stopping at night to park and relax.

One silver lining to a house on wheels? Everywhere felt like home. To find places to stay at a low cost, Kelly scrolled through the website Harvest Hosts. Places with land to spare, like farms, breweries, wineries, and even folks with rolling back yards, offered up free space to book temporary visits.

When Harvest Hosts proved dry in the area, they holed up in campgrounds, parking lots, and the driveways of kind acquaintances for the night, something that tested the boundaries of their comfort zones…

Horror stories about talking to strangers are universally known, but hopping across the country makes it necessary. Kelly ripped off the bandaid and in doing so, created lasting memories, “it’s so easy to say ‘no’ and talk yourself into all the reasons why you shouldn’t go to a strangers house to eat a meal.”

Still, even your best friend and dogs can become too familiar when trapped in a small box for months on end. To avoid lashing out from tiny house fever, Kelly would suggest they stop what they were doing, grab their dogs, and take a giant gulp of the outdoors.

Cousin Curtiss jammed on his acoustic in 28 different states, but after over a year of the nomadic life, they were prepared to put an end to the tiny house chapter. Now it was Kelly’s turn to invest in her dreams and use her degree.

In the end, they just about made back their initial investment on the sale of the tiny home when they decided to sell. Painfully, they stripped the snug homey dwelling back down to a bare utility trailer.

In the end, Curtiss and Kelly valued tiny house living and would recommend it: “It’s going to be scary. It’s not going to be pleasant all of the time. But it’s something that if you really feel you want to do it,…you must. Otherwise, you’re going to resent the decision not to for the rest of your life.”

The idea of cutting cost with a mobile tiny house in order to travel is a popular one. Though stationary small dwellings save money in their own right and pack in cool features, even the grandest homes are lacking.

While it’s true that no home is the same, one thing’s for sure: everyone wants space! However, there’s one movement that’s allowing homeowners to cut back on their expenses without losing any of the amenities. It’s all about tiny homes, and it’s proving that “small” doesn’t have to mean a lack of luxury.

In just 240 square feet, this tiny home—which hit the market at just $95,000—comes equipped with a full kitchen, full bath, washer-dryer combo, and a bedroom with enough space for a king-sized mattress. It’s also got a hidden dining room table that can seat up to eight people.

It might not look like much from the outside, but this house is packed with amenities. Its exterior is rustic and charming; it almost looks like a modern take on a woodcutter’s cottage, and fits in perfectly with the natural vistas that surround it.

Some people don’t like the idea of living in a tiny house because “tiny” means less space in which to live, store things, and entertain family and friends. But for this tiny home, that isn’t a problem! For starters, it boasts repurposed barn doors that drop down into a deck…

The house is designed to be easily mobile and adaptable to almost any terrain. This cozy abode is all about its surroundings—not just what happens inside of its doors, too. Though, the interior is just as stunning…

When you step inside of this tiny house, it’s almost impossible to believe just how small it really is. Nothing about this space says “cramped” at all. In fact, the wood choices and the appliances used all give it a sense of air and space…

Just imagine how great it would feel to curl up in this chair read a good book while looking out of the glass door into such a vibrant back yard? And the best part is that everything is within reach!

The natural light actually serves a couple of different functions here. Not only does it give the house a sense of being much bigger than it actually is, but it’s also a great asset if you’re the type of person who loves to grow their own plants! It’s like a tiny greenhouse, too.

Usually in tiny houses, space can be a bit of an issue, but this place is constructed with so many neat little nooks and crannies that you might actually have trouble filling up all of the space you have!

Not only is there plenty of space for planters and storage, but it’s got a top-of-the-line, totally modern kitchen. Can you imagine how nice it would be to do the dishes and put away in their right places while looking out at that view?

For those who spend a lot of time in the kitchen, sink space can be a real issue: it’s either too small or it’s wide but too shallow. This sink was inspired by those in traditional homesteads, so it’s super deep and just the right size for cooks!

Did we mention the dishwasher? Since there’s not much prep and counter space for a drying rack, it helps to have an updated dishwasher on hand to help get the job done efficiently and easily. The best part? You can use the dishwasher as extra storage.

Can you imagine waking up every morning and seeing this? This is a dream kitchen with a place for both essential tools and luxury items—just check out all those spice racks and cabinet space! Every single inch is utilized here.

On the opposite end of the house sits the lofted bedroom space, which is accessed by a small ladder. Believe it or not, this nook can actually hold a king-sized bed! You can also sit up once you’re there without hitting your head.

Don’t believe it? Just take a look! The bed takes up the entire space, so every inch is cozy and comfortable. A window lets in lots of light, and one wall includes shelving to store your favorite reads and items. The old-school light fixtures brighten up the loft, too.

Deciding to live in a tiny house doesn’t have to mean giving up modern conveniences. Case in point: there’s a built-in washer and dryer. You won’t ever need to schlep to a laundromat again with this place.

In tiny houses like this one, you have to think outside the box if you want to live in the way that you’re used to. For this home, that means you get a full bathtub and a toilet. The only downside? They’re in the same room as your washer-dryer. (Thankfully, there’s a sliding door to the bathroom.)

Just get a load of that tub! Wouldn’t it make you feel like a million bucks to take a nice bubble bath in there? The tiles mimic the old-school subway station tiles of New York City, too, which give the bathroom a vintage aesthetic.

While it’s perfectly easy to open up both doors, drop the deck, and let the sunshine stream through, you don’t always need to be on display either. The original repurposed barn doors provide plenty of security when you need it most.

While the house offers plenty of security, it’s basically a welcome wagon on wheels! Imagine dropping the deck, breaking out the cooler, and sipping iced tea outside? You’d definitely become one of everyone’s favorite neighbors.