Rondo Peter Ludwig was born March 14, 1937 in the logging community of Taft, Oregon.

At age 16 he headed north to Alaska as a hand on a tugboat and fell in love with the Ketchikan area. As soon as he finished high school, Rondo headed back to Alaska, where he worked tugboats for a while and then moved into logging. With a few years’ experience under his belt, Rondo started his own logging company.

Roger Sullivan and he ran their logging company on Tuxekan Island, Thorne Bay, Coon Cove and elsewhere. Around 1976 Rondo set up Panhandle Rigging in Ketchikan to supply the logging companies in the area. On August 19, 1988, Rondo married Janet Martin and retired to Kirkland, Washington.

After their sons graduated high school, they moved to San Juan Island where Rondo used his logging skills to supply his island friends with firewood for years. In 2014 Rondo and Janet moved to Redmond, Washington, then to Judson Park in Des Moines, Washington where they resided until Rondo’s death on Aug. 4, 2023. Rondo was known as a great storyteller and everyone loved listening to his tales of logging in Alaska.

“Logging, Panhandle Rigging, and Alaskan Tales: Rondo Ludwig Remembers” was published shortly before he passed on and can be found in the collections of the Alaska State Library/ Alaska Historical Collections; Ketchikan Public Library; Lincoln City Library and North Lincoln County Historical Museum. Rondo is survived by his wife, Janet, his son, Dendo Ludwig, his step-son, Tom Martin, and his two brothers, Dennis and Bill. He was preceded in death by his brothers Bob and Stan, and Lana, Dendo’s mother.