Close To Home -- Discovering Personal History At Alexander's Country Inn Near Mount Rainier

ASHFORD, Pierce County - Breakfast utensils clinked. Waitresses scurried past. But we stood captivated by the photographs on the wall in Alexander's restaurant.

The photo of Alexander Mesler, shown standing on the wooden planks of his porch, was intriguing. Despite the three-piece suit he wore for the camera in 1911, nothing could hide the rough edges of this mountain man with his weathered skin and bushy beard.

Looking at his photo and those of other Meslers, it seemed as if my wife Ruth and I were standing not in a busy restaurant but in a museum about the family that homesteaded there years ago.

We were face to face with Ruth's great-grandfather, Alexander.

Our visit to Alexander's Country Inn and Restaurant, about a mile from the southwest entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, was a weekend getaway. But it was much more than that for Ruth as she soaked in some family history.

After all, we were lodging in an area once known as Mesler Village. Alexander Mesler, at age 63, homesteaded on 160 acres in 1895. Ruth's great-uncle, Alexander Jr. (one of Mesler's five children), built the hotel in 1912. And her father, Burgon Mesler Jr. (the son of one of the five children), was born in a cabin next to the hotel in 1921.

Another picture on the wall shows the inn half built, its framing not yet protected from the falling snow.

A picture can be better than a thousand words, but maybe not this time. So Ruth's folks, Burgon and Vi, joined us to reminisce about the Mesler family.

"When my grandfather was young, he made a couple of fortunes in silver mining in Colorado," Burgon told us. After silver prices plunged, Alexander Mesler guided some wagon trains, worked in a Colorado bank, tried farming and finally headed to new opportunities in the West.

Close to Paradise

Today, the Mesler connection to Alexander's is only in memories. But under its current owner, it remains a popular bed-and-breakfast along the road to Paradise. Some say the restaurant's homemade breads and wild blackberry pie are close to paradise, too.

Ruth and I stayed in the Belle suit - alias great-aunt Belle. (The other Mesler children were Clara, Elizabeth, Alexander Jr. and Burgon Sr.) Our suite, one of 14, had a bedroom and a separate sitting area.

Down the hall was a huge parlor with a crackling fireplace, and stuffed chairs and couches beckoning us to sit and rest a spell. We chatted with a couple from Maine; other guests played Scrabble or read books. The tranquil setting became even more relaxing as we sipped the complimentary evening wine.

Could the scene have been any more perfect, with several deer grazing just outside like hired props?

Way back when, less-tame wildlife also was near: "I remember shooting at a bear right behind here with a bow and arrow," recalled Ruth's father. "I don't think I even hit it."

Burgon said his father set trap lines nearby, catching mink, martens and bobcats and selling their hides.

Famous guests

A sign at Alexander's explains that after years of taking in summer boarders at the homestead house, son Alexander decided to build the Mesler Inn. The Mesler accommodations were popular among Mount Rainier visitors. Guests included Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.

"Lots of important people in Tacoma used to come up here and stay," Burgon told us. He and his parents and 10 brothers and sisters were some of the guests, since they had moved to Tacoma and returned regularly to visit relatives.

Burgon was born in 1921 while his parents were back in the area temporarily helping run the inn.

"I'd come up every summer as a kid. We'd have little chores to do, then we'd go play all day, usually up at Goat Creek," he said.

Goat Creek is big in Burgon's memories: crossing a footbridge over the creek on the way to Lake Christine; stripping off his clothes as a youngster and jumping in the ice-cold water; fishing constantly; and, once in the 1930s, watching as a logjam gave way and the torrent of water dug a huge channel directly next to the inn. "It almost washed it out," said Burgon.

Eventually, family deaths, the Depression and World War II combined for hard times, and Mesler Inn was sold.

For 31 years, it was run by Harry and Mabel Papajohn - more like a hostel than a hotel.

In 1973, Jerry Harnish of Tacoma bought the building, renamed it Alexander's and operated a restaurant there for 11 years. In 1984, with a bank loan in hand, he refurbished the hotel, installed European stained glass throughout, added a hot tub and enlarged the inn's trout pond (the menu includes trout you can catch in the pond).

Memories linger

The cabin in which Burgon was born has long since been torn down. The original Mesler homestead house eventually was moved to higher ground and is now another bed-and-breakfast, the Growly Bear, just down the road.

Gone are the days when Indians would camp in a nearby meadow - memories from Burgon Sr.'s childhood that he passed on to his children. Gone are the shingle, lumber and railroad-tie mills that provided much of the Meslers' livelihood.

But firmly in place at Alexander's are a world of memories for Burgon - and now for Ruth, too.

IF YOU GO

-- Room rates at Alexander's Country Inn range from $75 to $135, depending on the room and season. Two guest houses also are available, each one sleeping up to eight people.

-- For an unusual experience, you could rent the Tower Suite, which is two floors - the first a sitting area, the second the bedroom. Steep stairs connect the rooms. For a smaller room, but more classical B&B in layout and decor, Room 3 is a good choice. It's on the third floor in a quiet spot at the back of the inn.

-- Dinner prices range from $10.95 for a Mediterranean salad to $19.95 for T-bone steak or salmon. Breakfasts run $3.95 to $8.95 (free for overnight guests); lunch prices are $5.95 to $9.95.

-- For future reservations, call 800-654-7615. You might be asked to leave a message, and the innkeepers will call you back. For same-night reservations, call 360-569-2323.