1920's Service Stations

1920's Service StationsYou might enjoy these old stations


The place is a Texaco Gasoline Filling Station
(primarily they filled gas tanks).

But what is that contraption with the ramps?
The mechanism appears to be driven by the cars wheels.

Hydraulic lines go to that can with a raised top.
What could it be? A pump for lubeing a car's under parts?

The little sign does say "Havoline" which was Texaco's brand name for its oil products.

An early engine dynamometer?
Maybe it's a primitive car wash.


I guess there was no signage limitations back then.
I count eleven Texaco signs on that station.



Land wasn't at a premium then like it is now.
Note the wide open layout and the nice row of little trees.
This was a Texaco Gasoline Motor Oil Service Station.
The concept had become a "service station", which included more than just filling your tank.
They even filled it FOR you, no "self-service" needed.



Looks like an early "mall". At one location, you could fill up your tank, get a loan so as to look prosperous with a new suit, and have a meal while your spark plugs were changed.



Ford Sales and Service.
Look at all those Model T's.



Simplicity itself.
No name gas and motor oil for 20 cents a quart, Wow.



Dome Gas. You better try it 'cause "It's Better".
It better be good since they want 23 cents a gallon for it!



Lemans' Tire Shop. Barney Oldfield tires only $9.99 each.
Sounds kind of expensive to me.

Note the water can by the side of the road and the barricades around the trees.

I guess people just drove up on the sidewalk to get their tires and the trees were in the way.



Here we have Super Motor Fuel.
I hear Dome Gas is better but this stuff is SUPER.



Note the name of the station "Toot-An-Kum-In".
King Tut was big news in the twenties so why not capitalize on it.
This is a really modern looking station with the full roof and multiple islands of pumps.
AMOCO Gas (still around today) but what does "filtered" mean.
Obviously they consider other gas to be "dirty"



Four Wheel Drive Autos sales and service.
The SUV's of the 20's.
4WD gas is only 20 cents a gallon!

Tell Me Bought The Good Ole Days - Nostalgia

How's This For Nostalgia? 

All the girls wore gym uniforms and tennis shoes, not $200. Nikes?

It took three minutes for the TV to warm up?

Nobody owned a purebred dog? 

When a quarter was a decent allowance? 

You'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny?

Your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces?

You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, all for free, every time? And you didn't pay for air? And, you got trading stamps to boot? 

Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box? 

It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents? 

They threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed. . . and they did it! 

When a 57 Chevy was everyone's dream car...to cruise, peel out, lay rubber or watch submarine races, and people went steady? 

No one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked? 

Lying on your back in the grass with your friends? And saying things like, 'That cloud looks like a... '? 

Playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game? 

Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger? 

And with all our progress, don't you just wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace, and share it with the children of today. 

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home? 

Basically we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we survived because their love was greater than the threat. 

.........as well as summers filled with bike rides, Hula Hoops, and visits to the pool, and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar. (Swimming at our dock) 

Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, 'Yeah, I remember that'? 

I am sharing this with you today because it ended with a Double Dog Dare to pass it on. To remember what a Double Dog Dare is, read on. And remember that the perfect age is somewhere between old enough to know better and too young to care. 

Share this with someone who can still remember Howdy Doody and The Peanut Gallery, the Lone Ranger, The Shadow Knows, Nellie Bell , Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk. (& Bullet) 

How Many Of These Do You Remember? 

Candy cigarettes 

Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside. 

Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles. 

Coffee shops with Table Side Jukeboxes. 

Blackjack, Clove and Teaberry chewing gum 

Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers. 

Newsreels before the movie. (& cartoons) 

Telephone numbers with a word prefix...( Yukon 2- 3601). Party lines. 

Peashooters. 

Hi-Fi's & 45 RPM records. 

78 RPM records! 

S & H Green Stamps. 

Mimeograph paper. 

The Fort Apache Play Set. (& Erector Set) 

Do you remember a time when decisions were made by saying "eeny-meeny-miney-moe"?

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, 'Do Over!'? 

'Race issue' meant arguing about who ran the fastest? 

Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening? 

It wasn't odd to have two or three 'Best Friends'? 

Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot? 

Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute commercials for action figures? 

'Oly-oly-oxen-free' made perfect sense? 

Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down was cause for giggles? 

The Worst Embarrassment was being picked last for a team? 

War was a card game? 

Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle? 

Taking drugs meant orange - flavored chewable aspirin? 

Water balloons were the ultimate weapon? 

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have lived!!!!!!! 

Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their 'Grown-Up' Life . . 

I Double-Dog-Dare-Ya! 

"A Birth Certificate shows that we were born 

A Death Certificate shows that we died 

Pictures show that we lived!"

Life Span Explained

On the first day, God created the dog and said:


'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'


The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?'


So God agreed..


On the second day, God created the monkey and said:


'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.'


The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'


And God agreed.


On the third day, God created the cow and said:


'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'


The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'


And God agreed again.


On the fourth day, God created man and said:


'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.'


But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'


'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'


So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.


Life has now been explained to you.


There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public serviceOn the first day, God created the dog and said:


'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'


The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?'


So God agreed..


On the second day, God created the monkey and said:


'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.'


The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'


And God agreed.


On the third day, God created the cow and said:


'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'


The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'


And God agreed again.


On the fourth day, God created man and said:


'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.'


But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'


'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'


So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.


Life has now been explained to you.


There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service