Sarah Dahlstrom

For decades, specialized wood from Alaska’s Tongass National Forest has shaped the sound of Steinway pianos and Martin guitars and strengthened everything from NASA wind tunnels to helicopter blades. Much of that wood comes from one family-owned mill: Viking Lumber on Prince of Wales Island. Now, a broken promise from Washington bureaucrats threatens to silence the saws and erase a legacy built on generations of grit and sacrifice. This month’s episode of American Heroes, interviews Sarah Dahlstrom, daughter of Viking Lumber founder Kirk Dahlstrom. She works alongside her dad as a fierce advocate for Alaska’s timber workers and proudly discusses her family’s uniquely American story. In 1994, her father moved the family to southeast Alaska to revive a bankrupt mill. They built Viking Lumber in a rural region, creating year-round jobs and uplifting communities. Viking is the last remaining mill in the U.S. able to provide the wood that gives Steinway pianos their world-famous sound.