The Historic Taku Lodge - Past

Dr. Harry C. DeVighne, a Juneau physician for the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mine, built the lodge in 1923. The hunting and fishing camp was called Twin Glacier Camp after the two glaciers upriver from the lodge.

Originally there was only the main lodge building; sleeping accommodations were in large tent frames.

People and supplies were transported from Juneau by riverboat or barge. Trips had to be timed at high tide for passage over the numerous sand bars in the river. Most supplies are still transported this way.

In the fall of 1930, Mrs. Erie L. Smith visited the lodge while touring Southeast Alaska on her yacht, the “Stella Maris”. Mrs. Smith was the daughter and heir of lumber baron Leigh Hackley who was well known for his large bequests to the city of Muskegon, Michigan. Traveling with her son, Leigh Hackley, and her nurse, Mary Joyce, Mrs. Smith bought Twin Glacier Camp as a second home for both summer and winter use. Her son, Hack, stayed on at the lodge year-round and Mary Joyce stayed as housekeeper and nurse. Hack kept a crew of men busy constructing new buildings and maintaining the place. The log cabins “Cedar” and “Killisnoo” were built at this time.

Mrs. Smith returned each spring with the “Stella Maris” loaded with supplies. The yacht was anchored in front of Taku Glacier and the supplies were ferried to the lodge by small boat. These included hay and feed for the purebred cow and her annual offspring. Since there were no bulls in the valley, the cow was barged to Juneau each fall to be bred. She adapted well to life on the Taku; in fact, her favorite snack was raw salmon, which she would eat as fast as Hack could fillet it.

In 1934, Hack set out on a hunting trip on the Stikine River. While in Wrangell, he suffered a heart attack and died. In the spring, Mrs. Smith gave the lodge to Mary Joyce, but she continued to come back each year as long as her health permitted. At the time of Hack’s death, there were 14 buildings, 15 sled dogs and 3 head of cattle.

Mary Joyce was an adventurous girl. When she received an invitation to participate in the 1936 Fairbanks Ice Carnival, she decided to make the trip overland by dog sled. She set out from the lodge in December of 1935 with 5 dogs and a loaded sled to travel 1,000 miles. She traveled much of the distance alone and used guides for portions of her trip. Commercial airliners followed her story and monitored her progress throughout her journey. Mary spent three months on the trail of which she actually traveled 52 days. She averaged 20 miles a day in spite of temperatures to 50 degrees below zero and only a few hours of daylight each day. The sled and harness she used on the trip are on display at the Taku Lodge.

Mary and Hack had begun raising sled dogs during their years at the lodge, putting them to work in the winter hauling firewood and using them for travel on the frozen Taku River. After Mary’s trip to Fairbanks, she began breeding a specific line of dogs whose sire was J.P., her lead dog on the 1,000-mile journey.

Mary's passion for travel took her out of Alaska as a flight attendant. However with her heart in Alaska she soon returned. Her next adventure was to become a pilot. The “T” shaped building on the riverbank at Taku Lodge was constructed as an airplane hangar but was never used. Mary opened the lodge and operated it successfully as a tourist resort, calling it Twin Glacier Lodge. She owned it until 1942 when she sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Royal O’Reilly. In Juneau, Mary opened two bars on South Franklin Street and lived above the “Lucky Lady” until her death in 1976.

The lodge became Taku Glacier Lodge in 1949. There have been several owners and many colorful stories since. In 1971, it was purchased by Ron Maas of Juneau. At the time of his purchase, the lodge was in need of many basic repairs and had been closed for two years. Ron fell in love with the Taku Glacier Lodge and in 1972 he met Kathy whose dream was to live in the bush. They decided to devote the greater part of their lives to bringing the lodge back to its original condition. They were married in front of the granite fireplace in 1974. The Mass’s used the lodge as their home and retreat for six years, putting all their spare time and money into rebuilding the main lodge buildings. By 1979 the Maas’s decided to share their love of the Taku Glacier Lodge with visitors of Southeast Alaska by offering the Wilderness Salmon Bake & Scenic Flight