Fireweed Station Inn

The interior of Fireweed Station is finished with Douglas Fir.  You probably can’t find boards of that quality anymore, so we saved what we didn’t use during the restoration.  When the Kirsch family built this place in 1946 they brought in all the lumber by the Alaska Railroad to the Sunshine Siding.  Here’s a few trim boards we just dug out for a small project, as you can see, one still has J.V. Kirsch’s name on it from the railroad freight days.  We’ve seen the same kind of boards in some of the old Matanuska Colony buildings in Palmer, Alaska.

I like to keep alive the old character of our Inn.  I know the Kirsch’s took pride in the place, and are happy we have pulled the building up out of the mud.  It’s a whole other world here now; Talkeetna has hit the popular tourist map and I’m sure many people visit without feeling the sense of adventure that the pioneers, old homesteaders and miners carried.  Our place has that feel of your favorite Aunt’s house in the country; woodstove, claw foot tubs, smells of fresh air, bread and coffee, always a friendly welcome.  It feels comfortable perched on a stool in the kitchen, jawboning with Tom, sharing a bottle of wine.  For me it’s a fine balance between having all the amenities to make our guests comfy (indoor plumbing, wireless internet), and living with what we have; appreciating what’s right here on our doorstep.  Like the Kirsch family, we are mostly content to share our home with guests and friends.  We hope they will absorb some of the history, catch a glimpse of earlier days’ frontier living, find a little peace at the end of the dirt road.