Jackson, CA
When Mel and Faye Gillman's hamburger stand opened in 1956 it had six counter stools, a three-digit phone number and a seasonal highway visible through its windows that was closed in the winter. As the years rolled on, the business expanded into a cozy diner that became the face of Jackson's Highway 49 - a fact that was recently celebrated by the city with a plaque to Mel commemorating the original site of his landmark establishment.

Mel was first exposed to restaurants when his father came out west via working for Union Pacific and suddenly found himself out of a job. He opened a hamburger stand in Oakdale called Gillman's Frosty in the early 1950s which is still in the Gillman family today. After Mel got out of the Navy in 1955, he and Faye were driving through Jackson in a convertible Cadillac when Faye scoped out the traffic situation and decided the highway would be a perfect place for a hamburger stand. "I think they liked the idea of being independent business owners," said Bart Gillman, Mel and Faye's son and current owner of Mel's Diner. "Each of them is a people person and enjoyed being around the general public - they enjoyed serving people."

Over time Mel's Diner went through three separate expansions, all while the Gillmans became more involved in the Jackson community. Mel was a Jackson City Council member from 1958 to 1965 and served two terms as Jackson's mayor from 1963 to 1965. Mel was also known to sit down in his diner after the big lunch rush and play chess with his friends.

In 2003, the city of Jackson approached the Gillman family with a major request. By now Mel and Faye had retired and the business was under ownership of Bart and his wife, Maura; but this passing of the family torch had coincided with the expansion of Highway 49 into a wide, five-lane traffic channel. For the purposes of safety and smooth traffic flow, the city was asking the Gillmans to move their historic diner to a new location down the road. Five decades of looking out for the best interest of the Jackson community was not lost on the Gillmans - and Mel, Faye, Bart and Maura all agreed to the move.

"I'm really happy with the new location," Bart said. "It offers a lot of advantages for our customers. But the destruction of the old diner building was really hard on my parents. It was a sad thing for them because they'd invested their lives in it. They couldn't come down to watch the actual demolition."

As a new parking lot was erected where the old diner stood, Maura began talking to then-city councilmember Drew Stidger about the possibility of a plaque to recognize the impact of the original diner. City Manager Mike Daly and other council members soon got on board with the idea and the plaque was recently unveiled on the stone wall of the parking lot.

"My parents are not the types who like a lot of attention to themselves," explained Bart, "but I think they were happy about the recognition of the diner."

These days Mel spends his time playing golf, poker and having breakfast with friends at the new restaurant. Faye enjoys corresponding with family and friends through letters and e-mail. "They still like being a part of things," Bart said. "They've loved being in this community and are still really connected to it."

Originally published online here: http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/life/lifeview.asp?c=241609