Your hosts, Tom and Sally McLaughlin, are proud to call ourselves Alaskans. Tom’s grandfather, an Irish immigrant, made his way to Juneau during the gold rush in the late 1800’s. Tom was born and raised in Juneau, the son of John and Helen McLaughlin. He worked his way through college by spending summers sliming fish and in the freezers of the Juneau Cold Storage.

Sally’s family moved to Alaska in 1960 (which is an adventure story in its own right), spending the first several summers in Gustavus while wintering in Juneau. She is one of eight children born to Jack and Sally Lesh. In 1965, when she was 11 years old, her family purchased the Gustavus Inn, the original home built on the White family homestead, and moved permanently to Gustavus. Sally spent her summers washing sheets in an old wringer washer and hanging them out to dry, making beds, and helping her mother in the kitchen. Homestead Bed & Breakfast is located on a portion of that same homestead.

We met in the early seventies, and the summer of 1975 found us both working at the Gustavus Inn. Later that year we married and then purchased the Gustavus Inn from Sally’s parents, who, by then, were more than ready to rest and to travel the world. After four years we sold the Inn to her brother and his wife, David and JoAnn Lesh who have been running the Inn since 1980.

The years between then and now found us working and raising two daughters, in Sitka, Juneau and Seattle, Juneau again for twelve years, then in Anchorage, always knowing that Gustavus was where we wanted to return for good. For many of these years we summered in Gustavus where Sally continued to be involved at the Gustavus Inn as breakfast cook and/or evening hostess. By spending summers here the girls were able to experience growing up in a small rural area as well as in a larger community during the school year, where they could participate in sports and other activities. We returned permanently to Gustavus in 2005, and have been working since then to renovate our small summer cabin into a spacious, comfortable home. Our children live in Alaska still and spend much of their time in Gustavus; 2008 has given us our first grandchild. We both work outside the home, at least for part of the year.

We love the lifestyle that Gustavus offers. We enjoy the opportunity to grow, gather, and catch much of our food. Any given day may find us working in the garden, gathering wild mushrooms or berries, fishing, digging clams, pulling crab pots, tending the flock of hens and ducks, or gathering firewood. However, we enjoy taking time to chat, answer your questions or to help you plan your day. If you like, we could even point out some weeds that need pulling or some berries to pick.