At 102 years old, business owner runs the show

A year or two ago, Eugene Phelps renewed his driver’s license for six more years. Now, at the age of 102, he still drives himself to his store in downtown Oak Harbor, where he has been working for the past six decades.

Back when Oak Harbor was still a small town mostly inhabited by Dutch residents, 42-year-old Gene opened what is now one of the city’s oldest businesses — Gene’s Art & Frame.

After all these years, he has yet to get sick of the work routine, continuing to take care of books, inspect the aisles and place orders for his store located at 250 Southeast Pioneer Way.

“I like my work,” he said, smiling in his office. “I enjoy people.”

Gene believes he moved to Oak Harbor at least 65 years ago. After years of traveling around the country to build housing for the Navy, he saw in Oak Harbor the ideal place to raise his children, Cassandra, Clay and Charlene.

At the time, he said, there was less “action” in town.

Traffic was significantly less and children could safely play outside. Cars used to yield to the cows as they crossed Highway 20, and locals dined at the town’s very first drive-thru restaurant, Kow Korner, which closed in 2000.

On Whidbey, Gene began working as an independent paint and drywall contractor, renting a space at the old Oak Harbor bank that used to stand on Pioneer Way before it was demolished.

The previous tenant, he said, had left a small display of art supplies. With so much paint in his hands, Gene was inspired to open Gene’s Art & Frame while still working as a contractor.

At the store, which moved to its current location a year later, Gene built frames and hosted a teacher who taught weekly art classes. Though he no longer paints, he enjoyed painting natural sceneries from his own imagination, as well as his children.

The Navy community was also much smaller, as the base had only been around for two decades.

Gene, who was born in New Orleans on April 16, 1922 — making him five years older than the first television — was one of the many men who served during World War II, summoned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to fight Hitler and his allies.

Gene was only a teenager when he was called to join the Navy Reserves, where he was proud to serve his country. After going through bootcamp, he was assigned to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas, later being transferred to a submarine destroyer in the Pacific Ocean.

Among the different locations he was sent to was New Guinea, where the U.S. was building a base where planes could land and take off, and Japan, where he was stationed for three months after the end of the war.

Gene has always been an adventurous man, his daughter Cassandra Phelps said. Years ago, he would take his children on bike rides, hikes and camping adventures. Even as he entered his senior years, his intrepid spirit remained.

“One time I called him and said, ‘Dad! I went skydiving today!’” Cassandra recalled telling her then 76-year-old father. “He replied, ‘That’s great honey! I went whitewater rafting down a class 5 river!’”

When his children were little, Gene would entertain them with riddles, rhymes and tricks. Cassandra recalled he would pretend to swallow knives.

As a great-grandfather, Gene recalled with fondness acting as Holland Happening’s grand marshal in 2022, accompanied by his young great-grandchildren.

Looking back, Gene couldn’t remember ever expecting to live this long.

“He doesn’t think he’s doing anything unusual or extraordinary,” Cassandra said. “He doesn’t see what age has to do with anything.”

His family members have been supportive of his dedication to the job because they know that’s what makes him happy, he said. To Cassandra, his decades-long passion is a source of inspiration.

Whenever she and her partner need advice in running their own business, she said, her father offers his opinions gently.

In a city where new businesses come and go in short cycles, this mentorship can be quite valuable.

When asked about the secret to his longevity, Gene said exercise has been an important contributor. He has always been physically active, walking and biking on trails and enjoying the island’s scenery. To this day, he enjoys going on short walks by himself or with company.

During the pandemic, Cassandra said, she would join him on walks at City Beach to discuss grants, loans and restrictions. During a time of uncertainty, he helped her stay grounded.

Gene said he has never been a worrier, always trusting in God.

“Accept things as they are instead of worrying about them,” he advised.