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Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Service Station (1957)

 We learn about the gas service station.

VIDEO HERE   (11 minutes)

15 comments:

  1. i can remember when my dad would go to the Texaco around the corner and get charcoal lighter fluid in the green and white can. he would have to stand back and throw a match on it because it would go POOF.
    remember the little greasy guy that would come out and offer to check your oil, air in our tires? we would tell him "no, get away from my car"
    well, he finally did.
    there are still 2 stations in my area that still do that and they stay busy even at 5 scents a gallon more than convenience stores. a co-op and an independent.

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    1. Air fresheners with fuel purchase? Ohio Guy

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  2. MCMLVII, or 12 years before I worked as a 'Service Station Attendant" in MCMLXIX. It was my second job, or third if you count my paper routes.
    At the (Chevron) station I worked at I held the heavy responsibility of cleaning the johns every evening. I'll spare you the details.
    That video sure brought back some memories.

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    1. Liked the dates. I'm sure ya know the Roman numerals had no zero. I was pumping gas, checking under the hood and tires in MCMLXIV. Seems like C years ago.

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  3. I can't imagine anyone, even a service station attendant opening the radiator cap on a car that just pulled in. Also I am thinking the oil check and the cans of motor meant bitd, cars burned a get deal of motor pil. Much more than today.

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    1. remember radiator safety caps with the safety lever in them. if not then you are not old enough to know how to check the fluid levels in your vehicle. take it to the dealership to check your oil. gee wiz

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    2. First time you opened one like he did you learned a lesson about opening the radiator cap.

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    3. I remember some of the radiator caps had the lever on them and others you turned a quarter turn to a safety detente in order to vent the pressure.

      How did I learn about radiator caps? Why the hard way, of course.

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  4. Too cool, I saw the Sound Engineer was Glen Glenn, which was the go to sound company in Hollywood from early 40’s to early 80’s. You’ll see his name in almost all productions from Hollyweird.
    MadMarlin

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  5. I pumped many a gallon at a dollar's worth and washed a lot of windshields during that timeframe. Made a great after school job, even at $.78 per hour. Also cleaned the driveway, restrooms, and office before quitting time.

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  6. Seeing that reminded me of going to town with my mother circa 1962, her getting "3 dollars worth" of gas, and me asking how much gas that was. 3 gallons? And she laughed and said "No, if that's all we got, I guess we wouldn't be buying it." It's funny to think she probably got more than 10 gallons which was enough to go 150-175 miles even with the cars back then. I see people at the convenience store go in with a $20, get a tall boy, a pack of smokes, a scratch off, and put the remaining 9 bucks on pump 3...enough to get home, work tomorrow, and back to the store the next evening.

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  7. Memories, a great film on how it used to be.

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  8. I remember blue chip stamps, green stamps, wise owl stamps, and buy a classic book or a volume to eventually make up a set of encyclopedias for 10 cents with a fill up.
    Yeah, and "Check under the hood for you?"

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  9. From 1960 to 1965 my family owned a Conoco station. Long hours, not much remuneration and a lot of stress on my parents, especially my Dad. But, it did pay the bills. Hardest part was keeping and keeping a good honest mechanic. We did get the car I drove to H.S from it on a mechanics lean. A 1949 Plymouth with 3 on the column and a vacuum driven windshield wiper that did not keep up with Colorado snowstorms very well, but I had fun driving it. We sold it just when I was old enough to go up and work and was tall enough to do the windshields. Drat!!

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  10. I can gettin' a fill up and after the kid got the windshield and side windows, he vaulted into the bed of the truck and got the back window, too. Tipped him a quarter (the cost of a gallon of gas) and heard him runnin' back into the office and braggin' about his luck.

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