Ruth Sloan was born in 1920. She graduated from high school in 1937 and from Superior Teacher's College in 1939 with a 2 year degree that qualified her to teach in rural one room schools. She taught for eight years before settling down to raise a family with husband, Fred Wahl. After his death in 1965, Ruth returned to college at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and completed her Bachelor's Degree in Education. She taught in the Superior Public School System from 1968 until her retirement in 1985. She was the daughter of Lillian Johnson Sloan who had also taught in the area from about 1904 to 1919.