I wanted to share this with you guys..
I recently drove by an Old Texaco gas station that we drove by nearly each morning throughout the 1960's-70's as my Mom drove my Dad to work back then-(only owned one car).I would later pull in there too on my Raleigh chopper to get air in the tires and a Dr.Pepper..The station is still there,but it's just the old building with two fluted lamp posts mounted on a cement island in front of it.Now everything around it has been built up & modernized.
I thought I would knock on the door,and didn't expect anyone to answer when lo & behold a grizzly old man answered the door.He was real suspicious of me and gave me a stare that would make Ernest T. Bass quiver.
He asked what I wanted,and I said I grew up near here & was just curious if you still had any old gas pumps,pics,signage or stories from decades ago.Right away he asked to see me drivers license,as a few strangers ask the same question of him then come back later to try & break in his old building for items he just showed them.
I assured him I was no thief,and not really looking to buy anything today.He took my license & Xeroxed it,which was fine with me.Once he did that,he changed.I mean he did a complete 180 degree with his attitude and showed me around like a museum curator for 3 hours.He even put on some soup.I couldn't believe it...All the stories he recanted.The cars he worked on..Repair order invoices beginning with the 1940's.People with hats & canes waiting for the cars to be worked on..The longhaired mustaches who would pull in with their cars with sidepipes..8X10 Pictures of the ole station from the 1940's through 1980's.With cars from those years all over the pics too.Showing his Eco air meter,a Lubester,Revere lamp post,Windshield papertowel box,Anco & Trico wiper cabinets,island oil can cart,all shown in these pictures in their natural setting.Even the infamous pop machine dispenser I remembered so well.He and his employees took pictures of everything throughout the years.
His garage bay areas were so soaked with tools,you couldn't make out anything specific,just metal items.
The old gas pumps were brilliant in these pics!
I mean you could see his first gravity pumps,then the switch to clock face,then finally switched over to computer pumps until the day it closed in the late 1980's early 1990's due to poor business and his deteriorating health..All of these documented in the pictures he has.
He showed me pics Of The old Texaco corner Banjo sign I remember so well.Nearly 50 feet tall in brilliant Green,Red & White with the circular Star on top..Looking like it was just installed a day prior,that somebody eventually drove up and removed in 1989.He always thought it was Texaco Corporate who removed it after he closed shop,but found out later on it was actually stolen by banditos,looking for scrap metal back then.They unbolted it's base,sawzalled the electric,and lowered it into a truck only half it's size at 3AM.No one was ever caught or charged.
I asked him about the vintage Soda side machine that I remember so vividly and he said it was stolen one night by someone with a truck & chain.
I always remember running over that black rubber ground hose with our bikes as kids,just to hear that bells metallic "Ding~Ding",then bolt away as someone would walk outside from the bay,usually swearing at us.He said that was probably him,as most of his staff let him do that.
I am trying to get him to sell me that Bell today,as that's an item I would pay dearly for if he can find it.
"The Gas pumps?",I ask,"what of the gas pumps?".
He smiled & walks me back to a special hidden cove in the back,and there under a dim light are four,3 digit readout circa 1970's A.O Smith Stainless steel Texaco gas pumps.Like the one in Micks picture above.
Two unleaded,and two leaded.All still holding their heritage with protective blankets wrapped around them and inspection stickers dated as such.Gently worn,and not abused.Nice patina and character on each,used until the day they closed their doors.Each looking like they worth $1000.00 to me,as they were just as I remebered from my youth.I honestly couldn't believe it.I was touching my past!
He said those pumps and the two original fluted lamp posts,(each with 2 inches of paint protection),mounted on the outside cement island were all that he had left of the old girl from her hey day,aside from the photos & the building which was barely upgraded to work out of today.
I asked how much he wanted for the pumps,Flat out,"How Much Do You Want!"..He looked at me & said they were not for sale at any price.
He's gotta be past 85 years old,so I understood him loud & clear.He wanted these items and the pics to hold onto.This explained why everything was all collected and stored properly.I didn't feel right about buying those pumps at any price.They belong with him.
He has let me back in there a couple more times since,as he knows who I am now and that's really all I wanted.
Just to walk in and remember those days as much as he.
[This message has been edited by coldpizza (edited 01-05-2008).]
