I remember an article in Smithsonian Magazine, I believe, about the search for a name that did not mean anything in any language for the renaming of the Standard Oil Company and came up with EXXON because no language had words with two Xs next to each other.
Remembering Service Stations of the Past
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firedome
Well-known member
I miss the "ding ding"....
of the hose operated bell as you drove in for service... here it is at an Amoco in 1958 with the same Chrysler we have now... looks like NY plates of that era.
of the hose operated bell as you drove in for service... here it is at an Amoco in 1958 with the same Chrysler we have now... looks like NY plates of that era.
cornutt
Well-known member
In northern Alabama, the brands I remember being most common were Shell, Amoco, Esso, Cities Service, Sinclair, and Phillips. Some of the Sinclairs in Florida had plastic injection-molding machines that would make a small dinosaur figure while you watched.
It's still ESSO in Canada
danemodsandy
Well-known member
There Once Was....
A contingent of ESSO service station employees who had a bowling team.
You guessed it - they called themselves the "ESSO Bees."
A contingent of ESSO service station employees who had a bowling team.
You guessed it - they called themselves the "ESSO Bees."
danemodsandy
Well-known member
That's It!
I was at Lenox the day they were pounding that to rubble.
I had to pull over and get hold of myself - I was that sad and angry.
I was at Lenox the day they were pounding that to rubble.
I had to pull over and get hold of myself - I was that sad and angry.
danemodsandy
Well-known member
I Think....
It was '75 or '76.
It was '75 or '76.
Here's a 1965 Esso commercial. They had some sort of contract to operate the restaurant/service centers along the 401 in Ontario.
retromania
Well-known member
Filling Stations
My mother called them "filling stations" and we filled up regularly at a Shell service station on Main Street. She had a house account and signed a ticket. She had a gas card for Shell and I always wondered why she didn't just use that. On road trips we filled up at an Esso and later on at Exxon. She had every gas card I had ever heard of. Most of them she did not use. Later on when she changing everything from her old wallet to a new one I asked why she had so many and she said "Oh, they would just send them to you! They're probably not any good anymore." I said probably not since they hadn't made a credit card in that small size in 25 years. Lolll. My guess is my dad applied for them for her. I miss my mother!
My mother called them "filling stations" and we filled up regularly at a Shell service station on Main Street. She had a house account and signed a ticket. She had a gas card for Shell and I always wondered why she didn't just use that. On road trips we filled up at an Esso and later on at Exxon. She had every gas card I had ever heard of. Most of them she did not use. Later on when she changing everything from her old wallet to a new one I asked why she had so many and she said "Oh, they would just send them to you! They're probably not any good anymore." I said probably not since they hadn't made a credit card in that small size in 25 years. Lolll. My guess is my dad applied for them for her. I miss my mother!
Thanks, Brent. The location of that beautiful station is near the location of the Lenox MARTA station or at least near the line. That must be why it was torn down.
Ah, the days of unsolicited credit cards being mailed to consumers. When I was getting close to graduating from college, I was mailed a pre-approved MasterCard which I declined because I was scared of the trouble credit cards could cause. I had an Exxon card, for car repairs, not gas, and my Rich's card. Little did I know how much I would need a MasterCard when I moved away from Atlanta.
Often if you had one gas card, other companies would mail you one of their cards.
Some gas cards were usable at other gasoline stations, the Phillips 66 card was one that was like that.
Ah, the days of unsolicited credit cards being mailed to consumers. When I was getting close to graduating from college, I was mailed a pre-approved MasterCard which I declined because I was scared of the trouble credit cards could cause. I had an Exxon card, for car repairs, not gas, and my Rich's card. Little did I know how much I would need a MasterCard when I moved away from Atlanta.
Often if you had one gas card, other companies would mail you one of their cards.
Some gas cards were usable at other gasoline stations, the Phillips 66 card was one that was like that.
One of my Father's friends from high school owned a Signal gas station in Richmond, Ca. That is where my parents almost always got gas in the 50's and early 60's. I don't know what happened to Signal Oil Co., but I haven't seen a Signal station since probably 1964. I remember that my parents always said "Fill it with Ethyl", thats what premium gas was called then. And you always got either S&H Green Stamps or Blue Chip Stamps when you bought gas. The windshield was washed, the tires and oil were checked at every fill up. And for those people on a budget you could even get used oil to top off your old oil burner! And when I first started to drive in the late 60's I can remember well buying only 50 cents worth of regular ( gas was around 27 cents a gal then) for my Volkswagon, because sometimes that was all I could afford, and they still washed the windshield!
Daddy always said "Fill it up with hi test." He was almost exclusively a Texaco customer both for gas, Havoline motor oil and Marfak Lubrication. He traveled about a thousand miles a week and brought home lots of S&H Green and Top Value Stamps. I remember one time a station attendant tried to make him think the car needed oil by checking the oil without giving it time to drain down after the motor was shut off. Daddy told him to wait a minute and then watched him to make sure he pushed the stick all the way in before the next reading. His cars were always too new to use oil.
I also remember that it wasn't uncommon for some service stsation attendents to try and make your dipstick look like you needed oil when you didn't. If I pretty much knew that I should't need oil and they told me I did I would also tell them to wait a few more mins. and recheck it. Service station attendents could also save the day. Once I was driving North on I-5 and stopped for gas just south of Eugene, Or. the attendent showed me that I had coolant leaking around the head gasket, on a brand new 74 Chev Nova. I was laid up in Eugene for 2 days while the Chev dealer replaced the head gasket.
Great stories guys!
I forgot about Signal Gas. I think the last place I witnessed / used the stations was in Tennessee during the late 1980's.
Tom - your dad drove 1,000 miles a week? That is incredible during that time! Did he put high miles on cars or get rid of them before issues occurred? Just wondering what was the most mileage he put on a car back when.
So funny about credit cards. I have a box with all of my old credit cards. Businesses that have been gone for a long time. One of the cards I had was for "Hess" department stores. The card number was only 5-XXXX. So funny. Oh and not to mention my BellSouth Calling cards.
Did any of you guys work in retail? Remember how we had to call in charges to get approval? The worst for me was when I was asked if I had the card in my hand, and if yes I was told to cut it up. That was a terrible thing to do in front of the customer. The world has changed so much....for the better. I guess?
B
I forgot about Signal Gas. I think the last place I witnessed / used the stations was in Tennessee during the late 1980's.
Tom - your dad drove 1,000 miles a week? That is incredible during that time! Did he put high miles on cars or get rid of them before issues occurred? Just wondering what was the most mileage he put on a car back when.
So funny about credit cards. I have a box with all of my old credit cards. Businesses that have been gone for a long time. One of the cards I had was for "Hess" department stores. The card number was only 5-XXXX. So funny. Oh and not to mention my BellSouth Calling cards.
Did any of you guys work in retail? Remember how we had to call in charges to get approval? The worst for me was when I was asked if I had the card in my hand, and if yes I was told to cut it up. That was a terrible thing to do in front of the customer. The world has changed so much....for the better. I guess?
B
nurdlinger
Well-known member
I just noticed this today for the first time
The sixth photo from the top, Sunoco Gas reduced to 26.9, is the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Oakman Blvd, in or near Detroit MI. (I no longer remember whether that is in the city or not.) There's a picture from Google Street View of that corner today. The half-assed red arrow points at the Detroit Terminal RR overpass. It seems closer in the old image, but that is the right place. It's not the first time I researched this location. That Sunoco photo popped up in an old FB group about Detroit Memories to which I belonged. I had found aerial photos of the intersection from the 50s and 60s while it was still the gas station, today it is a Payless shoe store.
The sixth photo from the top, Sunoco Gas reduced to 26.9, is the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Oakman Blvd, in or near Detroit MI. (I no longer remember whether that is in the city or not.) There's a picture from Google Street View of that corner today. The half-assed red arrow points at the Detroit Terminal RR overpass. It seems closer in the old image, but that is the right place. It's not the first time I researched this location. That Sunoco photo popped up in an old FB group about Detroit Memories to which I belonged. I had found aerial photos of the intersection from the 50s and 60s while it was still the gas station, today it is a Payless shoe store.
I sure must have made Service Stations a Dream Business, if I'd made a few out of my Legos for my Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Ertl and Pocket Cars (among other makes) and enough that they were fancy enough that had a Garage & Mechanic Shop and even car washes and restaurants, before acquiring a parking garage w/ a service station made by Matchbox and a car wash (forgot which car make it was made by, Hot Wheels or Pocket Cars) the latter, that bettered my Lego-made one...
-- Dave
-- Dave
Station in Round Rock, TX
Here are a few pictures of a station here in downtown Round Rock, TX. It isn't functional anymore but is used as an office building, they left the facade. I parked my truck out front for grins. Then a few more pictures of my old truck parked in front of an old theatre with someone's daughter dressed in 50's attire. They needed an old truck for the photo shoot.
Here are a few pictures of a station here in downtown Round Rock, TX. It isn't functional anymore but is used as an office building, they left the facade. I parked my truck out front for grins. Then a few more pictures of my old truck parked in front of an old theatre with someone's daughter dressed in 50's attire. They needed an old truck for the photo shoot.
