Yule Kilcher

Yule Forenorth Kilcher (born Julius Jacob Kilcher; March 9, 1913 – December 8, 1998) was a Swiss-born American homesteader who was a member of the Alaska state senate from 1963 to 1966.

He moved from Switzerland to Alaska in 1936 where he then lived permanently, after returning to Switzerland for a short time in 1939, outside of Homer, Alaska.

Life Yule Kilcher was born Julius Jacob Kilcher (the first name is sometimes given as Jules) on March 9, 1913, in Laufen, Switzerland, which was then in the canton of Bern (now in the canton of Basel-Landschaft), to Edwin Kilcher and Lina Kilcher (née Alter). His place of origin was Nunningen in the canton of Solothurn. He grew up with four siblings in Zuchwil near the canton's capital, Solothurn. After the matura at Kantonsschule Solothurn, he studied comparative philology and archeology in Berlin, Bern, Grenoble, and Aix-en-Provence. Kilcher sought a self-sufficient, natural lifestyle. The family lived without electricity and running water. From there, he went on to hold the State Senate seat for the Democratic Party from 1963 until 1966. Kilcher considered himself part of the "radical" wing of his party and a "man of the people".

Ruth and the children helped operate the homestead while Yule travelled to Juneau to attend the state legislature. Yule and Ruth Kilcher divorced in 1969.

Yule Kilcher died in Homer on December 8, 1998. The governor of Alaska, at the time Tony Knowles, ordered state flags flown at half staff at the day of the funeral.

The Kilcher homestead grew from 160 acres to 600 acres of land. Near the end of his life, Yule regretted this behavior and was able to make amends with Atz Kilcher. Yule's youngest daughter, Catkin Kilcher Burton, served for 31 years in the United States Marine Corps and was awarded the Legion of Merit. At the end of her military career, she had the rank of colonel. As of 2012, she worked for the Republican Party.

The unconventional lifestyle of the Kilcher family often found media attention. In 1984, the Swiss documentary film Die schwierige Schule des einfachen Lebens ("The hard school of the simple life") by Alfi Sinniger portrayed Yule Kilcher and his family. Discovery Channel's reality TV series Alaska: The Last Frontier also portrays the life of the Kilchers in Alaska and was in its 10th season in 2021. In 2012, Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) broadcast the documentary film Rousseaus Kinder – Ein Reality-Check in Alaskas Wildnis ("Rousseau's children – a reality check in Alaska's wilderness") in its series DOK, making a comparison of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's philosophy to the lifestyle of the Kilcher family. A review in the newspaper Tages-Anzeiger criticised it for leaving that promised connection unclear.