Balboa Island’s historian

When Balboa Island residents wanted to hear stories, tell tales and talk history, they went to their ... local gas station?

It was a bit unconventional, many islanders realized. But Union 76 owner Jim Jennings was the go-to guy for all sorts of chatter.

Jennings, who owned Balboa Island’s only gas station for 30 years, was the consummate historian. He had stories of movie star encounters and could rattle off facts about almost anything in the neighborhood.

For those who never made it to Jennings’ station, he wrote down many of his favorite stories in a book titled “Old Balboa Island Stories: From 1907 to the Millennium,” which came out two years ago.

On the back cover, Jennings wrote, “I realized that some day after I am gone, all of the old stories will be forgotten history, so I decided to put them into this small book so future generations can enjoy them also.”

That time is now.

Jennings died Nov. 1 of cancer. He was 77.

Jennings, born in Brownsville, Texas, moved to California in 1945. He married his high school sweetheart, Maybelle, at the Santa Ana courthouse, where the fee was $3. As the story goes, the presiding judge said he gave the marriage six months to last.

He was wrong. The couple never separated.

Jennings was the first owner of the Mobil gas station at the corner of Bayside Drive and East Coast Highway. For years, he worked alongside Danny Dan, a wax detailer who had an awning outside the station.

Dan said Jennings provided the best service in town -- giving customers a complete car check-up and a chat.

“He was known for his honesty and his good business practices,” Dan said. “He treated everyone fairly.”

Business at the station was booming, but Jennings wanted to buy a smaller, neighborhood station. So in 1959, he took over the Union 76 station on the corner of Park Avenue and Marine Avenue on Balboa Island from friend Dick Cramer.

Six years later, Jennings moved to the island himself and never left.

Jennings’ customers followed him to his new location. According to Newport Beach historian Gay Wassall-Kelly, his regular clientele was above 1,500 per year.

If regular customers didn’t have the money to pay Jennings, he allowed them to pay him at a later time.

In 1988, Jennings was notified that Union Oil planned to close down the station for economic and environmental reasons.

“He was disappointed,” said Jim Jennings Jr., Jennings’ son.

And his customers were angry. About 200 of them signed a petition to keep the station open. They called their elected leaders and pleaded with them to fight the closure.

But it was to no avail.

Jennings was out of business. But he wasn’t done serving the community.

“He went the extra mile,” Jennings Jr .said. “After the station shut down, he helped everyone who helped him. He had friends rich and poor. It didn’t matter.”

And Jennings never charged anything for his services. He would help take care of the “old ladies” on the island and would often use his extensive tool kit to help neighbors repair broken utilities.

“He was a cross between a true cowboy and MacGyver,” Jennings Jr. said. “He was rugged like a cowboy, and you could depend on him. And like MacGyver, he could fix anything.”

Fishing and hunting were two of Jennings’ favorite activities, and he kept photographs of his best catches in his Balboa Island garage.

And what he couldn’t put in the garage, he put in the 89-page book, filled with tales of Collins Island, Buddy Ebsen and Balboa Island’s haunted house.

Jennings paid out of his own pocket to have the book printed, and sold about 200 copies at the printing price.

“He gave so much to Balboa Island,” Wassall-Kelly said. “He took care of people and never asked for anything in return.”

JIM JENNINGS

Born: May 28, 1928

Died: Nov. 1, 2005

Services: Scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Monday at Pacific View Memorial Park, Corona del Mar

Survived by: His wife, Maybelle Jennings; his sons, Jim Jennings Jr. and Harry Jennings; his daughter, Lorraine Glassell; six grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren20051106ipida4kn(LA)Jim Jennings, third from left, was a Balboa Island historian and a gas station owner.