Photos taken during the interview with John and Fran Latham in Yakutat, Alaska on July 12, 1995.
John Latham
John Latham was born in California in 1940 and his early love of hunting began with deer, waterfowl, and upland game hunting. Further interest in big game led to elk, deer and antelope hunting in the varied terrain of Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming. A hunting trip to Alaska in 1966 decided John's move and he became a resident the following year. John and Fran Latham have been running a family-operated guiding and outfitting business for over 30 years. His first love of waterfowling, the variety of big game of the Gulf Coast, and the fishing potential of the Yakutat area lured John and his wife, Fran, to move to Yakutat in 1975. Since that time, they have been building their private residence and lodge (The Blue Heron Inn) overlooking Yakutat Bay.
Fran Latham
Fran Latham moved to Yakutat, Alaska in 1975. She operates the comfortable Blue Heron Inn, a bed and breakfast lodge in Yakutat, Alaska. The inn is part of the family-operated guiding and outfitting business that she and her husband, John, have been running in Yakutat for over 30 years. Fran operates the accommodation portion of their business with the inn and vacation rentals overlooking Yakutat Bay and the Wrangell St. Elias Mountain Range.