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The 16 Ft. Lazy JC Snow Poke, on the front of the building, greets travelers on Main Street. Artist, Penny Coles.
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The Lazy JC is the oldest continuously operating business in Melstone.
It was originally a drugstore, established in 1912.

THEN …The Lazy JC, on the corner of Main St & 4th Avenue in Melstone, began life as a drugstore. Some of the owners in later years were Phil & Venda Hoffman and Don & Ethel Pease. In 1988, it was purchased by Ben & Anne Coles. Since Ben’s passing a few years ago, Anne has operated the store. The “Lazy JC” brand has been in the Coles family for several generations. A highlight for years for adults and kids alike was the drugstore soda fountain, elements of which can still be seen in the store today. Green Rivers and Cherry Cokes were a nickel apiece. Ice cream sodas and milkshakes were a quarter. During the Melstone Centennial Celebration in June 2008, our soda-fountain-for-a-day brought back so many happy smiles and memories that we're doing it again for the Melstone Heritage Day Celebration on June 20, 2009, when we'll be selling chocolate and cherry-flavored cokes, and green rivers.

NOW … As the only retail store in Melstone, the Lazy JC is a vital resource for ranchers and residents in the region. To ensure its continued operation, plans are underway to purchase the business from proprietor Anne Coles and operate it as a community-owned cooperative.


Former owner Don Pease was also an artist. His drawings of Melstone buildings have been collected by a few fortunate residents and provide a nostalgic look at the “way things were.” When the Lazy JC needed structural reinforcement in the early 1990s, because daylight was showing through the bricks on the north side, the building was expanded, and a metal façade was installed to meet insurance requirements.
Don’s rendering (above) depicts the store exterior circa 1980.
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 The phone booth is still in the back corner of the store today. It does see occasional use – because although we have wi-fi, cell phone coverage is non-existent in Melstone. When a phone was first installed in the store in the 1950s, almost nobody in town had their own. They’d have to come down to the store to make a call. If a call came in, someone from the store would be dispatched to go out and find the party being called.
 

The back bar is the original backdrop for the old soda fountain, with stained glass detailing and lighting. The ornate cash register in the center is also an antique, but has been replaced by an electronic version for daily transactions. Original drugstore shelving, pressed tin ceilings, and old-fashioned door hardware are visible throughout the store. Soda fountain service had to be discontinued when the north side of the store was rebuilt for structural integrity, and the food license was no longer valid. It is sometimes brought back during special events like the Centennial Celebration and Heritage Days, so that old-timers and kids of all ages can enjoy green rivers, cherry cokes, and chocolate cokes once again.

2008 was the first year of the Melstone Area Chamber’s snowman contest. The Lazy JC had a variety of entries: the 16-ft tall Lazy JC snowpoke that continues to light up Main Street at night designed by Penny Coles, a jovial snowman who stood watch at the highway by Adrian Foss, a tractor-driving roly-poly-bagged fellow in the park next to the store by Anne Coles, a musical snow trio (see members at left) by Brandon Braaten, and a snowman to welcome local military personnel home for the holidays by Penny Coles. Store employee Loretta Curtis won “Best of Snow” for her Hawaiian surfer snow couple at her residence.