THE CREATION OF THE SPAR | PROHIBITION AND ITS EFFECTS

NEW OWNERS OF THE SPAR | ALAN TAKES OVER AND GAMBLING RETURNS

TOBACCO ALMOST DISAPPEARS IN A PUFF OF SMOKE | REFLECTING ON THE SPAR

THE COMMUNITY

THE CREATION OF THE SPAR

Have you ever had a "Trail Blazer" burger at the Spar Cafe? It is a tasty burger, and one that I highly recommend. For almost 70 years, people have come to the Spar in downtown Olympia, Washington at 114 4th Avenue. It holds the record for being the oldest tobacconist in town and its familiarity, history, and nostalgia are served with each hamburger and milkshake¹. It's the way that the Spar has always been that makes it a success. If the Spar were modernized; the appeal of the Spar for local Olympians would disappear.

The Spar was created in 1935, and built around the Artesian well from the Taylor Brother's Oxford Saloon². The person who built the Spar was Joseph Wohleb, a famous architect of the era. The Spar Cafe is one of Joseph Wohleb's best-preserved , Art Deco architectural designs because of its simplicity³. On the Spar's opening day of June 28, 1935, bright shiny neon lights lit up the outside and inside walls, and premium cigars were available for purchase⁴. Those faithful old lights are still up today along with a constant supply of premium cigars and tobacco products.

Tobacco has always been part of the Spar's ambiance thanks to the influence of manager Ray Johnston and owner, Guy Hayden, whom had built the Spar Tavern in Aberdeen in 1923⁵. They were the team behind the Olympia Spar, having replaced the old Taylor Brother's Oxford saloon, which had been there from 1867 to 1935⁶. When the Spar first opened, it was a tavern open to men only, where the working man could come in and relax by playing some pool, doing some gambling or checking out the black and white photographs by Darius Kinsey. Those pictures created a masculine atmosphere and one of those pictures is a tree with its branches cut off, a "Spar" being placed on a machine called a donkey⁷.

With an all male staff and a clientel pulled from the timber, lumber and railroad industry of the area including the workers at the Veneer plant. The cafe had everything that a working man would want and it was in a good location for people to go to that lived downtown in an apartment or house. There was tobacco that complemented the simple, a hearty low-priced menu with oysters to eat and a variety of dishes like French, Italian, and Chinese⁸, there was alcohol to drink, billiard tables to play, and gambling opportunities were all featured at the Cafe⁹.

PROHIBITION AND ITS EFFECTS

In 1914, the Olympia Modern Tavern League tried to stop the sale of drinks to drunks, banish prostitution, and outlaw gambling. The people of Washington voted for prohibition in 1914 and it went into effect in 1916¹⁰. It ended in 1933, two years before the Spar was built, but there were laws that still had to be followed. Bootlegged liquor was stored in different places in Olympia and for the Spar, liquor was stored in the Artesian well in the Spar's basement. The liquor was stored in the well until 1939 because the coldness of the water would chill the liquor¹¹. The layout of the restaurant served its owners well until renovations began in 1945.

In March 1945, the building was closed down from the 12th to the 24th. Some of the space was restructured and a new floor in the kitchen and behind the counter was laid. A newly resurfaced main floor, a new paint job, steam tables, new stool covers, along with a new dishwasher and rinsing machine, and garbage disposal¹²offered customers and workers a more modern looking Spar.

By opening day on the 24th, the restaurant had accumulated a mountain of cigarettes that were served,one package per person when customers came through the door¹³. The new renovations, also worked a shift away from the men's club of the past. In the 1940's women started working at the Spar and also became part of the customer base¹⁴. Guy Hayden’s standards for the Spar proved a good recipe for future owners of the restaurant.

NEW OWNERS OF THE SPAR

On June 13, 1945, the Daily Olympian reported Guy Hayden informing the public of the sale of the Spar to new owners¹⁵:

"...We know that the new owners of "The Spar" will continue the same high traditions and high standards of service which we have built up over the years. We heartily recommend the new owners: Art Eckhouse, Mac McWain, and Rudy Rokos to you and hope that you will continue to give them the same splendid support that you have given us....

Art Eckhouse, Rudy Rokos, and R.E. "Mac" McWain purchased the Spar from Guy Hayden for $15,000.¹⁶ 1948 comes along and the Liquor Control Board arrives. This causes hard liquor to be sold in public places, but not without some consequences¹⁷. In 1949, The bar was moved to the back to follow the laws back then. The bar needed a name to go along with the Spar so the name "Highclimber"¹⁸ was given.

Between 1954 when Mayor Amanda Smith outlawed all gambling in Olympia, and 1964, when ticker tape betting was outlawed, the Spar lost the redeem of their card room and ticker tape machine. People could no longer dial 444 at the Spar for betting information¹⁹.

ALAN TAKES OVER AND GAMBING RETURNS

In 1962, Mac McWain passed away and for seven years, his wife took over as the owner. Then in 1969, Alan McWain, Mac McWain's son, took over as owner of the Spar Cafe in Olympia. Around that time, Alan's brother Rob took over the Spar Cafe in Aberdeen²⁰. During the 1970's the gas for the cigar lighters were shut off because people with long hair were burning their hair on the lighters when they got too close²¹.

Entertainment at the Spar along with tobacco continued to draw customers to the tavern behind the Cafe. Offered was a piano bar, and a single guitar player. Alan McWain, the current owner of the Spar thought that the bar wasn't big enough for dancing, so he decided to offer Jazz instead, which is still going on in 2003²². It seemed for a while that with the reissuing of some type of gambling that the Olympia Spar was getting some good luck back. In 1973, gambling came back to the Spar with the legalization of punch boards, pull tabs, and the reopening of the card room²³. The community was glad that gambling had returned. Once the 80's were here, the Aberdeen Spar closed down on September 1985²⁴, and its outdoor sign now hangs in an Aberdeen museum²⁵.

TOBACCO ALMOST DISAPPEARS IN A PUFF OF SMOKE

Not all of the Spar's luck has been good though. A tragedy almost happened in 1992, when the Artesian well that serves the water that the Spar still sells, known as "Spartesian" water to the locals²⁶, was almost closed down because the city of Olympia thought it was a health hazard²⁷. The card room was closed in 1992 and became the cigar fumoir room with its own cigar humidor, which is the only cigar room in a restaurant in Washington²⁸. Tobacco ,cigars, and neon lights are a part of the Spar’s history and are the images that are associated with the Spar.

Alan McWain listened to the opponents of House Bill 1868 on February 28, 2003, which would have banned smoking in public indoor places and would have affected the Spar's selling of tobacco and cigar room. Alan said

“ I feel this revenue our industry pays should give us a little more consideration than an outright ban. That the ban would forever alter what the Spar is about and doom its future"²⁹.

REFLECTING ON THE SPAR

If you look around the Spar today, you'll feel like time has gone backwards and that you're at an old fashioned establishment. There are still hooks on the wooden stool chairs for holding your hat, Spar Coffee that is freshly brewed, a smoking section that’s still present, thanks to the unpassed bill of 1868, and water from the artesian well. The well serves cold crisp water but also keeps the refrigerator nice and cool. All of the food that's made in the kitchen at the Spar is made from scratch, staying away from anything that's instant³⁰.

Directly opposite the kitchen is a wall with a collection of old black and white pictures of the Spar Cafe were taken by Darius Kinsey, which date back to the Spar’s beginning³¹ while others were given to Alan by people he's met in his life. One thing that hasn't been around since the Spar's opening is the outside sign. During 1945, the sign was possibly changed with a remodel. Alan recreated the the original sign³² in 1986 with the same materials as the original. Everything feels old fashioned with the Spar. Up on the pedestals are old cigar boxes from yesteryear and vintage nice neon sign that advertises Squirt. An old phone booth right next to the Men's restroom no longer works, thought the occasional customer would close the door, sit down, and use their cell phone³³.

The Spar does stay current in some ways. It has an ATM machine and because ticker tape betting was outlawed³⁴, they now sell lottery tickets at the cash register. Many of the locals come by and check out the numbers to see if they've won.

In 2001, an earthquake hit Puget Sound and the Spar Cafe was undamaged thanks to the design by Joseph Wohleb. With that strong design, the Spar has survived a total of three earthquakes with no damage to the building.

THE COMMUNITY

One local customer that I met is Jamin Gerdes, whom I interviewed at the Highclimber. I wanted to know why people keep coming back to the Spar and to the High climber room. He said he's been going to the Spar for about 4 years. The reason he wanted to come to the Spar was ambiance, musicians, jazz, and history. He felt that with these reasons, the Spar had a lot of nice class to it.

" One of the classiest places around here."

, said Jamin. He likes that everything is still the same and familiar, so he doesn't have to get used to any change. His wife and he first dated at the Spar. This shows that people in the community like coming down to the Spar and relax. It's a comfortable setting with its safe layout and great service from its employees ³⁵, that makes it a nice place to take people. He loves the Spar, but wouldn't mind some other type of historical music on another day if it's possible.

The Spar has stayed here for so long because of its old and new customers that keep coming back for its food, familiarity and nostalgia. It is a part of Olympia's history for lasting almost 70 years. The Spar offers to the community, an established restaurant and local hang out spot that has good food, good service, live music, and an ambiance that is hard to find in current times. So come to the the Spar because the community will keep it here for years and years.