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• Taste sensation in Lodi

• Progressive solar plan pitched by Galt mayor

• New Lodi High gym opens; holds entire student body

• Coastal cleanup day at Lodi Lake Park

• Woodbridge Grange Hall may be open to community by December

• Regional Roundup

• Big turnout for the San Joaquin county ag center dedication

• Clarification

• Correction

November 21st, 2009

• Logbook

• Holiday drive spreads cheer to U.S. troops

• Galt High students want board to approve open-campus policy

• Poisoning victims remain hospitalized

• Expert: Half a mushroom cap can be deadly

• Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl

• Lodi Middle School holds annual Turkey Trot

• Regional Roundup

• No motive or suspect in shooting

• Sacramento cop arrested for alleged kidnapping

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Chase ends in crash

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

November 17th, 2009

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clarification

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Regional Roundup

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• The country's mess is our fault (170)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (73)
• Public health care is a Christian option (66)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (50)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (25)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (18)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)

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Jack of all trades

Lodi native talks about life behind the bar and returning home

With a career that's spanned decades, beginning right here in Lodi, Jack Morgan is taking on a new challenge: vice president.

Morgan, the owner of Jack's Back, a bar that had a home for eight years on Sacramento Street, closed the establishment on August 31. And he's betting all his chips on the Wine Country Cardroom and Restaurant, of which he is part owner.

Getting started

It all started in 1939 in Galt, where Morgan was born and raised. When he was old enough, Morgan and his older brother would take their shoeshine kits into various bars, earning a nickel here and there for the work they did. The young entrepreneurs soon discovered that if they hitchhiked to Lodi, they could hit the seven bars and seven cardrooms and make even more.

As his brother shined shoes, Morgan would take the nickels he earned and drop them in the jukebox.

"I'd start dancing, and get money for that. People would throw it at me," Morgan said. "I made more money than my brother. That made him so mad."

When he was 15, Morgan began picking peaches in Clear Lake and Walnut Grove, which he credits as his "first job." He eventually graduated from Lodi High, and when he turned 19 he joined the Army.

The conflict in Vietnam was in its earliest stages, and Morgan spent his entire tour of duty at a base in Germany. He was able to stay connected to daily life back in Lodi with a subscription to the News-Sentinel that his mother had shipped to him — a month behind.

The bar biz

After returning home, Morgan went to work at Aero Jet in Sacramento, bartending part-time. Not long after, he found he was making more money bartending than he was at his regular job. So he left Aero Jet.

Morgan worked at the 505 Club in Sacramento, making his living as a bartender. Two blocks down was the Alkali Club. The owner of the Alkali met Morgan and offered him a working partnership.

Four years later, Morgan realized he wasn't being made a full-fledged partner. When he was given the chance to purchase Senior Duffy's in Lodi — which people would now know as Stooges on Pine Street — Morgan took it on. He owned and operated the bar from 1971 to 1981.

There was a falling out. Morgan parted ways with his partner in Senior Duffy's. At about the same time, he went through a divorce, and went to work in Palm Springs, putting life in Lodi behind him.

"I didn't burn any bridges, though," Morgan said.

While working in the tire and axle business, Morgan began working part-time as a bartender again.

Soon he found himself leaving his full-time job, returning to bartending. He managed the lounge of the Palm Springs Lanes for 11 years. In all, he was away from Lodi for 20 years.

Coming home

Morgan suffered a leg injury and left the lounge at the turn of the century. He sold his home for enough to purchase a bar and cardroom in Lodi that was called Roy's. One problem existed: What to call the new endeavor?

Friends told him that since he was returning to town, he should simply call it "Jack's Back." He opened the bar in October of 2000. Morgan had come full-circle to his childhood days, but this time he was on the other side of the bar.

Almost nine years later, the cardroom was becoming obsolete.

"It was a dinosaur," Morgan said. "People wanted Texas Hold 'em."

Morgan put a stake in with the Wine Country Cardroom, a small operation with big promise on Cherokee Lane. During the past few months, the establishment started renovating, putting in a lounge, adding card tables and working on a dining room that will serve breakfast lunch and dinner. Morgan couldn't be more pleased.

The semi-retired man in the snazzy black hat will be handling some public relations for Wine Country, but mostly, Morgan will be doing what he's always done: making sure people have a good time.

"Customers need (recognition). They want to know this is their place," Morgan said.

Contact Business Editor Marc Lutz at marcl@lodinews.com.