Join us in this episode as we explore the rural culture of Orcas Island with Craig Gibson, fourth-generation owner of North Beach Inn (NBI), located on the outskirts of the remote village of Eastsound.
Craig’s forebears acquired the 100-acre waterfront fruit farm in 1911. In 1932 they constructed a handful of the 16-rustic cottages now dotting NBI’s eight mile stretch of sandy beach, where panoramic sunsets brighten Canada’s Gulf Islands.
Craig explores the sources of NBI’s longevity, its reliance on word-of-mouth marketing, and the exceptional loyalty of its customers. Born out of his family’s Scottish heritage, the business has been shaped by an evolving ethos prioritizing good relationships with family, guests, workers, neighbors, and community.
Listen to an extraordinary saga of an Island family, as they steward and share the homestead into it’s second century. The episode concludes with an invitation for you to come and experience NBI yourself.
“The strangest thing that happened is we survived to the fourth generation. And they’ve done studies that say that… there’s a fifty percent chance of making it to the second generation. There’s six to ten percent chance of making it to the third generation…So that we’ve made it to the third, going on the fourth, going on the fifth…It’s quite remarkable. It is almost miraculous.” - Craig Gibson
Here are Craig & Edward recording in the studio at Jack Straw Cultural Center, October 2022:
