This is a gem of a book and one of my favorite Alaska memoirs.
Lunch at Toad River: Moving to Alaska by Sally Lesh, published by Point Adolphus Press in 2001, is a humorous and heartfelt memoir recounting the author’s family’s adventurous journey from Falmouth, Massachusetts, to Alaska in the early 1960s. Sally, her doctor husband Jack, and their eight children embarked on this cross-country expedition in a converted yellow school bus, aiming to start a new life in the Alaskan frontier.
Mrs. Lesh vividly captures the challenges and joys of traveling with a large family across North America. The story is filled with amusing anecdotes, such as the children’s candid interjections during Jack’s attempts at historical storytelling, and the family’s various camping escapades along the way. Sally’s witty and engaging writing style brings to life the unpredictability and excitement of their journey.
Upon reaching Alaska, the family first lives in Juneau and then later settles in Gustavus, a small town that becomes their new home. The memoir not only details their physical journey but also delves into the emotional and personal growth experienced by each family member during this transformative period.
Lunch at Toad River offers readers a glimpse into a unique family adventure, highlighting themes of resilience, adaptability, and the pursuit of a dream. It’s a charming account that resonates with anyone interested in tales of exploration and the pioneering spirit.
Sally Lesh is also the author of two other books:
All My Houses: A Memoir (2005)
This 320-page memoir chronicles Lesh’s life journey, detailing her roles as a mother of eight, traveler from New England to bush Alaska, innkeeper, farmer, and more. It offers insights into her 84 years of ingenuity, humor, independence, and love of life.
I have also read All my Houses, which is also an excellent book.
A Collection of Recipes from Gustavus Inn
This collection features recipes from the Gustavus Inn, offering a taste of the local cuisine and Lesh’s culinary contributions.
Mrs. Lesh died in 2011 in Juneau Alaska at the age of 90 per her obituary.
Sally Carter Townsend Lesh died peacefully at home in Gustavus on October 10, 2011. Born on January 19, 1921 in Boston, she lived for over ninety very full and rich years. Her life was an inspiration to the many people whose lives she touched.
She married Jack Lesh on June 14, 1942 whom she met while both were attending Antioch College. The early years of marriage took them across the continent and back, finally settling in Cape Cod for several years. Wanderlust led them to Alaska in a school bus with their eight children in 1960. After six years in Juneau, where she opened the original wool shop in her basement, she and Jack bought the Gustavus Inn in Gustavus where they have made their home ever since.
She was a woman of many talents and inexhaustible energy, running the Inn for ten years and setting the standard for hospitality in Gustavus; leading the way on many projects such as the Gustavus Library; cooking for Governors Jay Hammond and Bill Sheffield; she was a steward on the ferry, authored three books, traveled the world, took up weaving and spinning, raised goats, sheep, cows, gardens and children, and had a steady stream of friends and family in and out of her house.
Friends describe her as a woman of wise and wonderful energy and an amazing force in her community. Her family will remember her as the kind, courageous and loving woman that raised eight children, 19 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, leaving her indelible mark on them all.
She is survived by Jack, her wonderful husband of 69 years; her eight children, Mike (Marline) Lesh, Peter Lesh, Jon (Carolyn) Lesh, Jim (Melanie) Lesh, Dave (JoAnn) Lesh, Sally (Tom) McLaughlin, Betsy Lesh and Tom Lesh; grandchildren Melissa Swift, Ben Lesh, Sante and Serge Lesh, Indra Bloemers, John and Carter Lesh, Anna, Joey, Jeff and Dan Lesh, Kelly and Brenna McLaughlin, Nathan Jennings, Casey, Sean and Toby Hall, Scott and Hillery Lesh; great grandchildren Isaac Millman, Natalie, Claire and Ryan Lesh, Cahal Burnham, Theo Bloemers, Henry Lesh and Ewan McLaughlin.
Her family buried her in the Gustavus Cemetery and asks that donations in her memory be made to the Gustavus Community Center or the Gustavus Cemetery. Published in The Juneau Empire from October 19 to October 25, 2011
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80501486/sally-carter-lesh
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