Damn Yankee
Member
How times have changed. I'M sure some of you folks will remember the gas stations fifty years ago.
http://hipspics.freewebspace.com/gas/gas.html
http://hipspics.freewebspace.com/gas/gas.html
Old Gas Stations
- Thread starter Damn Yankee
- Start date
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J. R. WEEMS
Member
You can almost smell the oil & grease. 
oldjohnsr
Member
The flying red horse brings back memories.
Hodgin
US Veteran
"You can (could) trust the man who wears (wore) the star, that big bright Texaco Star."
You can.....
You can trust your car to the man who wears a star.
The big, bright Texaco star!
You can trust your car to the man who wears a star.
The big, bright Texaco star!
back in the day....a gallon of regular was 25 cents
you never had to leave your car
windows were cleaned
oil, water and battery were checked
gas station attendants wore uniforms
with your $2 purchase you were given a small gift....water glass, soap, coffee mug..... a smile and a thank you....
I don't often hear the last one said much anymore.....
you never had to leave your car
windows were cleaned
oil, water and battery were checked
gas station attendants wore uniforms
with your $2 purchase you were given a small gift....water glass, soap, coffee mug..... a smile and a thank you....
I don't often hear the last one said much anymore.....
One of my favorite old gas stations is at 1149 Elkhorn, Belle Fourche, SD. For a number of years it was the site of Bobby Whittaker's Motorcycle campground. The owner was an antique motorcycle enthusiast. His campground was favored by Moto Guzzi riders, Brit-bike enthusiasts, and the like, and as such the patrons and the bikes were a lot more interesting than the typical rally crowd. They kept tools and a repair stall available for the use of campground guests.
The building was a classic old stucco station with a covered forecourt. Behind the station, the ground sloped down to the cottonwood-shaded bottoms of the Redwater River, not too far from where it flows into the Belle Fourche. Lots of nice tent spaces. In inclement weather, you could shelter your bike under the US 212 bridge.
Street level photos are proving hard to find. I don't know if the campground is still open during Rally Week; last time I was through there was in June a couple of years ago and the place looked pretty sleepy.
The building was a classic old stucco station with a covered forecourt. Behind the station, the ground sloped down to the cottonwood-shaded bottoms of the Redwater River, not too far from where it flows into the Belle Fourche. Lots of nice tent spaces. In inclement weather, you could shelter your bike under the US 212 bridge.
Street level photos are proving hard to find. I don't know if the campground is still open during Rally Week; last time I was through there was in June a couple of years ago and the place looked pretty sleepy.
mr-mom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Enjoyed these pictures. I was looking for a Deep Rock station picture. I managed one in my college years when we sold regular gas for $0.16 per gallon during the gas wars. We checked the oil, radiator level, tire pressure, and washed all windows on every vehicle. I still carry a rag in my back pocket when working around my cars & pickups.
Dave
Dave
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Use to stop at Little America for coffee when I was stationed out that way. Wife worked in the gift shop there. One night about 3AM I was havin' a cup and watched a gal use a ratty old straw broom to clean the grounds out of the 20 or 30 gallon coffee pots.. That helped me to understand why the truckers called it coast to coast coffee.
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Some great shots there! I used to take the kids up to Camp in the summer and there is an OLD TIME working Texaco Gas Station somewhere around the Honesdale PA area IIRC. Not only is it original from the 1920's or 30's but it is IMMACULATE and they still wore the uniforms (at least 12 -15 years ago). REALLY COOL!! I love that OLD stuff!
When was this...
When was gas .16/gal.? I THOUGHT that I remember this but being (only) 58 I don't if if I actually saw this or imagined it.
I can remember when I was a kid and short on gas, I'd have to scrape some change off the floor of the car to get enough to make it home. I remember one time I coasted up to a pump having run out of gas coming down a viaduct so I had enough steam to make it.
When I first started driving gas was .16/gl, I can remember pulling into a gas station and asked for .50 worth, the attendent asked if I wanted him to sneeze in my tires.
When was gas .16/gal.? I THOUGHT that I remember this but being (only) 58 I don't if if I actually saw this or imagined it.
I can remember when I was a kid and short on gas, I'd have to scrape some change off the floor of the car to get enough to make it home. I remember one time I coasted up to a pump having run out of gas coming down a viaduct so I had enough steam to make it.
shouldazagged
Absent Comrade
I remember stations from seventy years ago, but don't have pictures. Lots of brands now gone--Golden Arrow, Cities Service, and others.
LedFowl
Member
I was a pump jockey for a couple of summers back in the 70's. We sold bulk oil in these refillable glass bottles with metal, screw-on spouts. Does anybody sell that anymore? We filled 'em out of a big barrel with a hand pump on it.
I worked at a Chevron station last 2 years of high school. Then went with a pardner running a Richfield station. Gas was 25 cents oil was the same.This was 1948 &'50. Got 80 cents an hour wage.
Fishslayer
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
You can almost smell the oil & grease.
...and hear the "Ding! Ding!" when you run over the hose...
Fishslayer
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
i remember the conaco gas station in clairmore OK. still has a weigh in station for hunting. and that wasnt that long ago
Old Corp
Member
Love the pics.
As an aside I had NO idea there were still places where you were NOT allowed to pump your own gas!
Wife is from NY (I'm sure not....) and on a trip to NY to see family (upstate), we were on what I suppose is called the 'Jersey Pike' and had to turn off of it for fuel. You HAD to use the attendant at the pump. He comes to window, I lower it, smile and say 'good morning!' and hand him my card. He scowls, snatches my card, pumps the gas. When finished he pokes it back in the window with the receipt.
Now, just to rankle him I make eye contact and speak up in my very best 'Goober from NC' voice, 'Thank you Sir!'
Just got another scowl.
Very unhappy big Italian guy.
No wonder so many people from there move to my state.
As an aside I had NO idea there were still places where you were NOT allowed to pump your own gas!
Wife is from NY (I'm sure not....) and on a trip to NY to see family (upstate), we were on what I suppose is called the 'Jersey Pike' and had to turn off of it for fuel. You HAD to use the attendant at the pump. He comes to window, I lower it, smile and say 'good morning!' and hand him my card. He scowls, snatches my card, pumps the gas. When finished he pokes it back in the window with the receipt.
Now, just to rankle him I make eye contact and speak up in my very best 'Goober from NC' voice, 'Thank you Sir!'
Just got another scowl.
Very unhappy big Italian guy.
No wonder so many people from there move to my state.
Graduated from High School in 1961, and went to live with my Aunt & Uncle in Phoenix. Worked at a Shell station and for a while we were selling gas for $.16 a gallon, due to a gas war with another station across the street. My boss was tearing what little hair he had left out of his head, and mumbling and grumbling all the time.
On another note, I too worked at a Sohio station for a couple of years when in H.S.. I still remember washing the windshields"real good", if the driver was a pretty female showing some leg.
And, I think a lot of them did it on purpose too.
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Old gas stations are sooo cool!
Here I an "filling" up the Deuce while on a 2 week road trip in Shamrock, TX. on old Route 66.
That really wasn't a working station, was it? Neat old pumps.
LedFowl
Member
Here's other random memories from my summers at Sterling Super Save on Harbor Island, Seattle:
- When cars drove up, we RAN out to them.
- We wore those white, starched jump suits with someone else's name embroidered on them.
- No matter how buggy, we cleaned windshields with stiff blue paper towels and watered down Windex.
- The manager's name was Harley.
- Free glassware with fill-up!
Boox
Member
My first car, a 1957 Ford Courier, had an oil consumption problem, to the tune of about a quart a day...30-50 miles worth. It had about 150,00 on the clock, a tired 6 cylinder engine, but it was my first road legal car. I remember it cost me 20.00, and less than 75.00 for insurance back then, 1964 summer. Point is, the company I worked for had a commercial account at the nearby Rotary Station, so that's where I bought most of my gas and most of my oil. They used to sell used oil for something like 15 cents a quart. My routine was usually 1.50 worth of gas and fill the oil...those were the days
GreyOwl
Member
Would love to find a pic of that parking garage in action!!
Ogandydancer
Member
I worked for my BIL in Ind. a couple of years and gas was something like 26.9 and maybe 30.9 if the price went up one week. We were require to pump the gas and ALWAYS clean the windshield and ask if they wanted their oil checked or their tires aired up.
We also did some garage work and fixed flats (my job) and did car washes also another of my jobs. The station was in Andrews Ind. and it only had two stations. Ours also served the fuel oil needs and gas and diesel needs for the local Farmers. Let me tell you it was mighty cold standing out and pumping gas @ 10 or maybe 8 degrees and the wind @ about 10 to 12 mph.
The one brand I didn't see listed in the pictures was Sinclair with it's large green Dinosaur. We had a lot of those and Amoco stations in the area where I now live but, those are all gone. Those were the good ole days, you could buy an burger and fries and drink at McD's for 25 cents but you couldn't go in because they were only walk up places then. Mercy how times have changed.
We also did some garage work and fixed flats (my job) and did car washes also another of my jobs. The station was in Andrews Ind. and it only had two stations. Ours also served the fuel oil needs and gas and diesel needs for the local Farmers. Let me tell you it was mighty cold standing out and pumping gas @ 10 or maybe 8 degrees and the wind @ about 10 to 12 mph.
The one brand I didn't see listed in the pictures was Sinclair with it's large green Dinosaur. We had a lot of those and Amoco stations in the area where I now live but, those are all gone. Those were the good ole days, you could buy an burger and fries and drink at McD's for 25 cents but you couldn't go in because they were only walk up places then. Mercy how times have changed.
No, but the pump handles worked. The red pole to the right of the furthest right pump was a restored air hose complete with the chuck. You could look inside the building and it was just like it was way back when.
I read where Shamrock, TX is the most originally restored town on Route 66. So many cool things to see!
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