David Polston

Name: David Polston
Age: 53
Residence: North Pole, Alaska
Occupation: Building Maintenance Specialist
Years lived in Alaska: 32
Current Location: Chandalar State Camp Milepost 238 Dalton Highway
Date of Photo: August 27, 2019
Temperature: 43 F
Current Weather: Foggy and overcast

Image Description: During his lunch break, David stands at the rear of a piece of heavy equipment he works on at the Chandalar State Road Maintenance shop.

What first brought you to live in Alaska: My parents. I came up here in ’81 with my parents. My dad had a job. He used to work in gold mines. He worked at the top of Hatcher Pass. He brought us up here. We stayed for a little over a year. And then, when we left at the end of the summer. Four years later we came back and I stayed.

1. How has Alaska captured your heart or turned you off?

The wilderness, the fishing and the people. They’ve got – It’s a different attitude up here than they do in the lower 48. There’s way too many people down south for me too – I’m pretty sure I was a hermit in a previous life (laughter.) I just love it up here. I’m not going anywhere.

2. Describe just one of your most favorite “Best Day” or “Most memorable experiences” in Alaska.

Probably a fishing trip. The company my wife works for took everybody fishing down to Soldotna and we just had a blast. It was a four-day fishing trip and the whole group caught, like, 7800 pounds of fish and there was 40 of us that went. There was too many fish to process. They had to send it to Anchorage to deal with the fish we caught. So, yeah, we had a blast.

3. What in Life do you know for sure?

The early bird gets the worm. In Alaska it’s feast and famine: Feast in the summer and you’ll be lucky if you don’t starve in the winter. But until you get a year-round gig; and then you’re good to go. But other than that, that’s about it.