End of an Era at the Pump

Jesse Lyman Heads for the Skyways

Lyman’s Service Station - a virtual landmark on North Conway's Main Street for the past 50 years - will be shutting down its pumps on Tuesday, November 1st [1983] for good. 

On that day, Jesse E. Lyman III intends to close shop, say goodbye to 30 years working in the service station he took over from his father, and head to the Eastern Slope Regional Airport in Fryeburg to start a charter airplane business. It’s doubtful that Main Street will ever be the same without his presence.  

The outspoken, hip-firing North Conway native had agreed to lease his location at the corner of Main and Kearsarge Streets to his village neighbors of the past seven years, Horsefeathers, Ben Williams, one of the principals in Horsefeathers, who noted that his group has yet to make any plans for the property, but felt that it represented an opportunity that they couldn’t afford to pass up. 

Williams added that Horsefeathers will spend the next six months developing a plan for the property, which represents a prime location within close proximity to the Horsefeathers restaurant. Whatever the eventual plan is, he stated that it will be aesthetically pleasing to the village of North Conway. 

Jesse Lyman declined to reveal the terms of the lease, other than to say that it’s a “substantial amount.”

“Put it this way,” said the man who has become something of a fixture to motorists and passersby on Main Street over the years, waving and yelling out a hello to just about any and every car passing by. “It”s more than what I could get pumping gas, competing with these discount stations. There’s quite a bit of money involved.” 

Noting that he’s been on friendly terms with Ben Willimas and Brian Glynn of Horsefeathers ever since the restaurant opened its doors in 1976, Jesse said he was happy to see the agreement take place and the lease signed last Thursday, October 13th. “I’ve known these boys since they first got into town, and I’ve known them to be good, reputable people who pay their bills. And let’s face it,” he said in characteristic candor, “if I didn’t think they could pay for it, I wouldn’t have leased it to them, because I sure as hell don’t want to have come back here in a couple of months to pump gas.” 

That’s not to say that Jesse isn’t going to miss his front row perch on Main Street, however. In addition to providing friendly service and checking everyone’s oil over the years, Lyman’s has doubled as both an informal public meeting house for locals, and a combination public rest room and information booth for visitors. Of those diverse functions, Jesse notes he’s going to miss the camaraderie of the man-on-the-street bull sessions the most. 

“There’s been more deer shot and trout caught on the floor of this gas station on Sunday mornings than you might imagine,” laughed Jesse, who’s been known to tell more than a few tall tales of his own at the informal meetings of the minds. While fellow service station proprietor Bud Rowell has accused his well-known colleague of gabbing so much that even the telephone poles on Main Street wave back to him, Jesse says that being friendly has been a part of doing business at Lyman’s since his father first opened the station 50 years ago. “I’ve been blessed with good health, and damn good customers. People like to be recognized and feel special when they come to your place,” he related, “and that's why we’ve made an effort to do here over the years.” 

So why has he decided that 30 years in the business - and 50 years overall for Lyman’s Service Station - is enough? Jesse answers that it all comes down to three basics - money, politics, and time. “The public’s more demanding now and in a hurry all the time, and my system is unable to keep up with it,” noted the 50-year-old proprietor. With discount stations offering lower priced gas yet little service, Jesse says that he’s soured on the overall nature of the business as well. The attractive terms of the lease agreement worked out with Horsefeathers made the decision all the easier. 

Taxation and government - always a sore point with the no-nonsense businessman - also contributed to the decision, Jesse says. “I spend a lot of time thinking to myself, and I see how these congressmen and senators are voting themselves a salary increase every year out of the taxpayers’ money, when I’d bet the half of them couldn’t even run a business back in their hometown. Well,” Jesse scoffed, “I guess I just got sick of the whole cycle, and decided that it’s time to get off the merry-go-round.” 

Jesse won’t be leaving the business world altogether, however. He’ll continue to operate his fuel oil business on Pine Street, and he’s also all set to get his charter plane business off the ground at the Eastern Slope Airport in Fryeburg. A pilot since 1971, he thinks that the charter service is an idea whose time has come here in the Valley. 

Named after his three children - Lynn, Jesse the IVth, and Lee Ann - the LJL Airways, Inc., will offer flight service anywhere in the United States for five passengers in his recently purchased Cherokee 6, a 300 hp Piper Cub. Ready to leave 24 hours a day, the service offers trips at just $1.00 a mile, a rate which translates into $190 for a flight to Boston. “The rate is the same whether one person charters it, or five,” explains Jesse, “so if anyone wanted to charter a flight to a Patriots game, five people could fly down to Norwood with me pretty inexpensively.”

The service will be operated both through the Eastern Slope Airport in Fryeburg, and through Jesse’s home where his wife, Carol, will take calls. “I’ve toyed with the idea of a charter service for a while,” said Jesse, “ and I think it’ll catch on in time.” 

So, while he leaves the gas station pumps behind, Jesse E. Lyman III will continue to be a force in Mt. Washington Valley, whether flying in his plane and keeping watch on the going on below, or voicing his no-nonsense opinions at Town Meeting every March. As he noted, “I’ve seen a lot of changes in this town, and not all of them good, but there are a lot of hard working people here, and you won't find a better community anywhere. But now it’s time for me to do something else.”

Editor's Note: Jesse Lyman III passed away on May 31, 1987. The longtime Lyman's Service Station is now the popular Frontside Coffee Roasters shop.