Winston Churchill once observed, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” When brothers, Gomer and Tom Evans constructed this beauty parlor for their sister, Muriel (Evans) Wing in 1962, they probably didn’t think much about what it look like six decades later. They simply set stringers on pier blocks upon which they built a 336-square-foot box from two-by-fours and plywood, with an asphalt composite roof. The home to the right was owned by Frank and Muriel Wing, while the one on the left by Gomer Evans Jr. and his wife, Marie. Today Muriel’s Beauty Shop is Paulus Javed’s Italian Fresh Pizza located across from the Cenex gas station at the corner of Highway 169 and Lawson Street in Black Diamond.
Muriel Evans was born in Black Diamond on Nov. 17, 1917, into a Welsh coal mining family. She was the first of nine children born to Gomer Evans Sr. and his wife, Alice (Hughes). When Alice turned sick during the pregnancy of Jim, their second child, Muriel was placed with fellow Welsh immigrants, Dave and Deborah Jenkins, who couldn’t have children. Muriel ended up with two sets of parents and grew to a height of six feet.
Muriel had a razor-sharp intelligence and attended Bellingham Normal School, now Western Washington University, from which many young women graduated to become teachers. She married Frank Wing and settled down to their life in Black Diamond. Muriel spoke fluent Welsh and was an accomplished pianist. On Saturday nights she’d be playing honky-tonk piano at the Morganville Tavern but on Sunday mornings it was hymns on an organ at the Black Diamond Presbyterian Church.
Muriel’s Beauty Shoppe featured two chairs for cutting, curling, and coloring, plus two chairs with hooded hair dryers on the opposite wall. She was also a lead instructor at Mr. Lee’s Beauty School in Renton. When two sisters, a sister-in-law, and a close friend sought a special look for their bowling team, Muriel dyed the hair of Debby Barnes, Barbara Celigoy, Marie Evans, and Ethel Dearden each a different color. Muriel was involved in a variety of civic organizations including Eastern Star, Daughters of the Nile, Rainbow Girls Mother Advisor, plus she was active in Maple Valley with their Community Center, Historical Society, Junior Football, and Gracie Hansen Activity Center. Among her many accomplishments was starting the Black Diamond Fire Department auxiliary in the early 1970s. Muriel sold her beauty shop sometime in the early 1970s, passing away in 1986.
Interestingly, Muriel’s building was located on the gas station lot owned by Carl Steiert, who never charged her rent or land lease. Steiert sold his business and garage to Jim Kemmer in 1973. He likewise granted the beauty salon free rent until 1992 when he carved off a 2,400 square foot lot. That year Marilyn (Floethe) Pedersen purchased the property from Kemmer and the building from William and Deborah Honemann converting it into an insurance office.
The building went through two more owners, Mathew Newberry, and Tom Spiller before it was sold in 2008 to Paulus Javed, a 1992 emigrant from Punjab, Pakistan who remodeled the space and transformed it into a takeout restaurant. He opened for business on Aug. 22, 2010. For the past 14 years, Paul has been making, baking, and selling his Italian Fresh Pizzas, ten hours a day and seven days a week, often by himself. He works 362 days per year, closing only on Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving.
Upon entering Paul’s tiny pizza shop, expect to be greeted with a broad smile plus a blessing when you leave. Next time you’re in the mood for takeout pizza, give Paulus a call at 360-886-5111, after checking his website: https://italianfreshpizzaco.com/
This photo dated Oct. 29, 1962, comes courtesy of the Puget Sound Regional Archives which hold the historic tax records of the King County Assessor. Information about the building was provided by Sherrie Evans, Jim Kemmer, and Marilyn Pedersen. Photo enhancements were undertaken by Boomer Burnham, a Tahoma photography instructor with a private practice at http://www.boomersphotography.com/
