Axel Alfred Anderson, known to many as Big Swede, cast a large shadow in Elk River and his son, John, wanted to make sure he was remembered. That is how Anderson Ridge which stretches over a mile along the town's eastern horizon. got its name officially in 1998 through the U.S. Board of Geographic Names.

He was born in 1886 and came to the United State from Sweden in 1904 when he was 18 years old. He started working for Potlatch Lumber Co. in 1907 and continued with the company for 44 years until his retirement, according to author Tom Farbo who wrote extensively about Clearwater Country.

"A jack of all trades, a keen sense of humor, a good cribbage general, an outstanding soldier, a camp boss at most of the early camps and a supervisor at three levels of management, he became assistant logging superintendent at Elk River," Farbo wrote about Big Swede. He also spent some time as the mayor of Elk River.

Anderson passed away in 1981.

Check out a digitized copy of oral history interviews with him at: http://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/lcoh/people/anderson_axel.html.

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