Axel Anderson was born in Sweden in 1886 and his way to the United States was paid by a farmer in North Dakota. He paid the farmer back by working for him for a time. He worked his way across the country and eventually ended up in the Elk River area before it was a company town and the mill was built. On his way across the country, he worked for a railroad doing construction and briefly worked on a dam. He also worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Depression.

One of the stories he tells about the early days of Elk River talks about the men sleeping in tents, even during the winter. They were back in the woods and so they didn't go to barbers very often and their hair got long. Sometimes he would wake up in the morning and his hair would be frozen the the side of the tent. Someone then had to pour warm water over it so he could get it loosened up.

He ran the steam donkey to drive piles for the mill in Elk River and worked in various positions for Potlatch, including running Camp 35 near Clarkia. He knew where every man was in the woods and since they had worked together for a long period, trusted each other.

His family has compiled a book with many of his stories.

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