Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

He was a regular: A son reflects on his dad's life in bars

Courtesy of Mike Lewis
The Lewis family, circa 1964

This story originally aired on April 21, 2018.    

Years ago, not long after Mike Lewis lost his father, he made a pilgrimage to his dad's favorite bar--a place called The Ranch in Modesto, CA. When he got there, he found something he didn't expect: a stool that had been roped off. 

Mike asked about it, and was told it was in honor of Jack Lewis, "a guy who hung out in here who was really well liked." When Mike identified himself as Jack Lewis' son, he heard an outpouring of stories about the kind of man his dad was, and about everything he gave to the people around him.

Now the proprietor of the Streamline Tavern in Lower Queen Anne, Lewis says he learned most of what he knows about the value of a good bar from his dad. Not about drinking--the two men never shared a beer--but about community.

Gabriel Spitzer is a former KNKX reporter, producer and host who covered science and health and worked on the show Sound Effect.