Mearle's

Jeff Black could have been a character in “American Graffiti,” complete with a head of hair capable of being fashioned into a DA style, letterman's jacket, a slick hot rod made for cruisin' and status as a star athlete.

Black, part of the founding Jack and Jeff Storage company in Visalia, is a classic car nut and proud owner of several roadsters, including an iconic three-window “Deuce Coup.'' He is president of Valley Roadsters that this September will host 80 to 100 roadsters in Visalia.

So it was a given that Jeff was on hand last week when Mearle's Drive-In went on the auction block. It was a sunny morning but with some moisture around the eyes of some onlookers when a Visalia group lost out in its efforts to save and restore it. The drive-in played a major role in Black's adolescence dating back to when it was founded as Tad's Drive-In, then Neilsen's before it became Mearle's. Jeff was an outstanding baseball player and typical young adult in one of America's most iconic decades.

Watching the auction brought lots of images to Black, including the Friday evening he got his brand new yellow and green 1956 2-door Chevy Bel Air hardtop and took his girlfriend to the drive-in. “When my best buddy, Lee Murphy, came out and saw my car, he just about dropped his pants 'cause he didn't know a thing about it.” Black said. Murphy, who lives in Montana, was an outstanding athlete excelling in baseball, football and basketball and had a promising professional baseball career ended by injury. Black says Murphy, who is scheduled to be in Visalia for a visit this week, was one of the dozens of people who now hold vivid memories of the good 'ol days cruising downtown Visalia, around the Oval Park and out to Mooney and just “hanging out.”

Over the years, Mearle's was a hangout for a true cross-section of the community including doctors, lawyers, insurance brokers, truck drivers, utility workers, students, office workers, plumbers, electricians, teachers, barbers, business owners and local politicians. All shared booths, seats at the counter over coffee, iced tea and milkshakes.

It was that kind of mix that turned out for last week's auction, including former Superior Court Judge David Allen, A&W owner Bob Cary, historians Terry Ommen and Alan George, retired phone company worker Dale Heslinga and classic car collector Jack Pendley.

In all, four to five dozen pholks milled around, many snapping photos while recalling their Mearle's experiences. They talked of banana splits, milk shakes served in stainless steel mixer cups, or an order of fries large enough to last an hour and a half of flirting with that cute guy or gal they had a crush on.

Even though the parking lot had been roped off for several months, I half-expected a '55 Chevy or a '59 shark-finned caddy to cruise in and a roller skating car hop to zip out with an order pad, whip out a pencil from her beehive hairdo and jot down orders. Likely, I wasn't alone with those images.

A couple days after the auction, Heslinga sat at the counter of his current morning coffee hang out, the Corner Café on East Mineral King Avenue, recalling when Mearle's was “the place.” He smiled while recalling how Mearle Heitzman sponsored his Little League team and how after games “The kids really looked forward to going there for burgers and fries or ice cream.

The Kazarian family, which outbid the locals trying to save the now sorry looking icon, says some kind of burger spot or other restaurant will happen there. Although for the time being, a city-imposed historic structure designation is keeping the bulldozers away, there is no guarantee Mearle's will not come down.

But don't be too surprised if, when you pass that way, you just might see some real sharp '56, '57 or '60 Chevy, a deuce coup, a '55 Ford or '65 Mustang parked there and a good looking car hop taking an order for a burger and fries. Such an image likely won't be in High Definition (HD) but sort of faded, like the pink stucco icon which won't completely disappear. Ever.

Miles can be reached at mshuper@valleyvoicenewspaper.com