#1230 - Bob's Tavern, Shelton WA - 9/14/2010

Bob's Tavern is a classic old dive, apparently established in 1942. Contrary to popular opinion, the bartender Dottie has not been there even longer, though she has been there for 30 years, and at 71, can still do a crackerjack job trading friendly barbs with the customers. And it has not been "Bob's" for all of that time -- e.g. the 1960 city guide lists "George's Tavern" at this location.

In addition to Dottie, the bar interior is dominated by a semi-circular bar, and the outside by a large painting of a chicken. The drinks are pretty standard, and the patrons pleasant and humorous,often with a card game going on in the afternoon.

320 S 1st St, Shelton, WA 98584 - (360) 427-9940
Previous bars in this location: George's Tavern (1960s)
yelp

#1229 - Golden Pheasant, Shelton WA - 9/14/2010

Update:  By my visit in May 2014, the Golden Pheasant had closed, and been replaces by a private Moose Lodge.

---

The Golden Pheasant, which is down the road a piece from downtown Shelton and just north of Golden Pheasant Auto Wrecking, was my first clue to the series of antique bars in the area. The main sign is maybe 30 yards west, along highway 101, and can give the illusion that the tavern is actually located in a small storage shed.

Once they got over their suspicions of a city slicker taking photos of the place, the patrons and staff were both quite friendly. In between noting how stupid various projects on the local roads and parks were (they assumed each one was "an Obama thing"), they informed me about the other bars in town and the old bowling alley with floors that shifted when the tide came in.

There's nothing fancy about the drinks, but they are quite reasonably priced and options do include several microbrews on tap.

The bar, I am told, has been around since 1939, though "Uncle Elmer was probably selling liquor someplace" well before prohibition was ended. Some of the patrons recalled when he used to have outboard motors attached to the bar as he worked on them. When I noted that the freezer door looked like it dated back to the origin of the place, they informed me that it was older than that, as it had been relocated here from the city morgue.

930 W Golden Pheasant Rd, Shelton, WA 98584 - (360) 426-2808

#1228 - Starlight Lounge, Shelton WA - 9/14/2010

I took a small trip to Shelton, WA to pick up a craigslisted bearskin rug, and decided to have lunch and a drink at the Little Creek Casino, across the street from the designated bear rug exchange point.  I had never been to Shelton before, and would not have wasted precious drinking time among the lifeless casino denizens had I any idea of what a rich supply of fine, historic old bars the town featured.  I paid a tiny amount ($2.25) for an even tinier gin and tonic -- in one of those micro juice glasses that senior citizens are used to for exotic rarities like orange juice.  In fact, as I later discovered, it was Senior Citizens Day at the casino, which probably took the average customer age up several years over the usual 80.  And even though it was a lazy weekday afternoon, the place was packed, though I suspect it emptied considerably just before the O'Reilly Factor.

In any case, the town of Shelton is populated with several lovely old bars surviving from the 30s and 40s, when a booming logging industry filled a long string of bars along First Street (and a bowling alley on the river, whose angles would change as the tide came in).  So if you ever find yourself in those parts, don't make the same mistake I did -- head straight for the bars with history and character (and characters), and don't waste time and liver space on the gawdawful casino bars.

91 West, Highway 108, Shelton, WA - (800) 667-7711
little-creek.com