Jack’s Place brings back Puget Island memories

Thanks to Ralph Keyser, we've got another great picture and information on yet another gas station that was located on Puget Island: Jack's Place, or maybe you knew it as Jack Maughan's Place. Officially however, it was Jack's Place named after John William Maughan, who was known as Jack. This place was located along what is now SR 409 in the 650-660 address, which is just north of the State Road intersection. This was on the west side of the road and if you were around my age, you may know it as being south of where the Lawsons lived and about the spot where the Don Newmans lived. The portion of the building on the right contained a restaurant, tavern and dance hall and was built before 1924, while the larger part on the left was built some time after 1925, when the road across the island was completed. Jack sold Red Crown gasoline and Zerolene oil. A telephone office was added in 1927.

According to Ralph, various people say that Jack also sold automobiles but there doesn't seem to be a consensus on just what kind he sold. If you came to Jack's and needed a place to stay, why there was also some rental cabins behind the garage that you could rent. From what my mom told me, this was also the place where Wilbur Jacobson's band used to play and at one time, she even played the clarinet with him and his band, which certainly surprised me when she told me about it! Jack passed away back in 1939 and his wife, Lavina (Mills) moved to Portland in 1940.

In the photo that Ralph supplied to The Eagle, courtesy of the Wahkiakum County Historical Society, the two people sitting on the bench on the far right side are unidentified. Do you know who they are? The fellow standing in the restaurant doorway is Kenneth "Ted" Dyrud, an employee. The couple standing in front of the building are owners, Jack and Lavina (Mills) Maughan.

Anyone having any other information about this establishment is urged to give me a call as we love hearing about these places of the past that bring back such great memories for some and interesting history lessons of our area for those of us who were not around when they were in existence.