Mr. Al Onsager

I grew up in a Christian home in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Our family moved to Ronan, Montana in 1967 and I graduated from Ronan High School in 1969. I spent several years as a cheese maker before becoming an Insurance agent. Over the next 4 years I worked in insurance, ending up in Anchorage, Alaska, working for Carroon & Black/ Dawson & Co. I was named to the Who's Who of young American Insurance Agents about the time I was deciding to leave insurance, go back to school and follow what I believed was my calling from God - to be a teacher.

With the help of my wife, I graduated from Western Montana College with a degree in English, History and a broad field Social Studies certification. I taught English for 2 years in Bigfork Middle School. I was the head wrestling coach and coached football as well. I then moved back to Ronan High School where I taught for the next 33 years. I have coached wrestling for about 12 years and football for around 26 years. I taught a high school Bible class for around 20 years at the High School, and tried to be a strong influence for faith in the public school arena.

I love hunting and fishing though I am not proficient at either. My biggest passion is whitewater rafting. I was a guide for Glacier Raft Co. and Flathead Raft Co. for 14 years. I ran the river operations for 10 years and have floated that stretch of river nearly 800 times. I still train guides for Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp.

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This is my sixth year teaching at MVCA and it is the fulfillment of a lifelong desire to teach in a Christian setting, where I might, for the first time, get to include history's central figure in man's narrative. I am grateful to have the opportunity of teaching here and look forward to working with your children.