It's Gone Forever.....

[BT SNAKE]

A couple weeks ago I happened to be coming through Yarnell, Az. I always look for that old station thats at the end of town. Well, it has been torn down. It's really kinda sad. I love to see those old stations. Reminds me of those far gone days as a kid going in with my Dad and getting a cold Nehi and a bag of planters peanuts. I can still picture the old hound dog laying by the screen door entrance. There was always a couple older men hanging around talking about their good ole days. It never failed that one of these old gents would reach down and grab my nose and say "I gotcher nose sonny !". The smell from inside the store was that of hanging chewing tobacco and saw dust on the floor.
Thank goodness for the memories anyway.

Hersh
http://www.clubcobra.com/cgi-bin/pho...=3138&size=big

[Back in Black]

What a cool display those would make on an estate, restored, next to a garage/mech bay !

I wonder what happens to them...probably end up as scrap.


I remember the same things, and also the scantily clad girls, in "nose art" style poses, on the shop calendar..lol

[mikiec]

That sucks....


That place has been abandoned for over 20 years. It was just a matter of time. I will miss passing by there. At least I have some shots of the Cobra there.

Mike

[Flyin_Freddie]

I never saw this station, but I understand your sentiments. There used to be an old Sinclair station along I-95 on the way to Florida from Atlanta. It was classic Americana....Dino Supreme pumps, green and white...still had the little amber lookin' 'spinners' in the top of the pumps that spun around when the gas was pumping....cool! Pumps still had the bells in them that counted off the gallons with a real satisfying 'ding-ding-ding' when you filled up!

But, the best stuff was inside...an old chest-type Coke machine where you slid the drink down the channels inside the chest after you opened up the top - had to hold the top open with one hand and slide your Nehi orange soda with the other. Then, dropped your quarter - was a dime at one time - into the coin slot and pulled the bottle up through the locking mechanism. Inside of the box was all lined with galvanized tin...you could see the zinc plating. And then there was the "Tom's Snacks" machine....big red machine that had pull handles under long rows of products. The front was glass and inside was all painted gloss white. Put your money in the coin slot and the pulled the knob under the snack you wanted. Very satisfiying 'ker-chunk' when you pulled the handle and the candy dropped down into the bin. My favorite was called 'Toms Full Dinner'...a peanut butter and hard candy thing with off-white and brown pin stripes on it. Loved 'em.....

Fat tire bicycle leaning up against the side of one of the bays....floors all black from years and years of oil drips and Dino lube dripping on them. Thousands...literally THOUSANDs of v-belts and hoses hangin' up all along the top of the walls in the service bays...this one had two bays. And the long wooden pole with a hook on the end of it to remove and replace the hoses and belts from the hooks along the top of the walls....all stained black along the handle end from years of use. I love all that stuff....the smells, the black gook on the floor, even the air hose operated bell that rang when a customer's car ran over the air hose outside.

Even that sickening lilac smelling block in the commodes in the restroom....remember those?

Man....these are pieces of Americana that are disapperaing fast every day. Get off the Interstates folks....drive the back roads and maybe you can find places like this!

[BT SNAKE]

Hey Freddie,
Here is one of those old ones with the bike againt the front. I believe this old station was somewhere in Oklahoma on Route 66.

Hersh

[Flyin_Freddie]

I live in Germantown, TN....a sleepy little upscale town just outside of Memphis. Just east of us is Collierville, TN....even sleepier little town. On their town square there's an old brick service station - McGinnis Service Station - that's an old corner cut station....the service drive is cut at a 45 degree angle across the fron portion of the building. There's three ancient fuel pumps on the service island and the overhang is all brick and a part of the building itsellf...have you got the picture....?

Best part about it is that's it's still in operation! Everyday, 6 days a week!

My plan is to take some photos of #770 in front of it and submit them to our SPF Calendar guy....I know when they see my SPF in front it'll be a shoe-in for a calendar photo! I'll post pictures when I take them. Can't decide whether to take pictures while they're open for business, or waiting until Sunday when they're closed. Either way would be cool.... Any suggestions?


And under the overhang, or just outside with the building as a backdrop? Decisions...decisions.....

[BT SNAKE]

Freddie,
Take a bunch of different shots and send them all in. I would take the pictures in the early morning hours and a few at night with all the lights on the building if possible.

Hersh

[Double Venom]

Not as old or as quaint as the ones you guys are describing, how well I remember them. The main reason I like the movie "IQ" is the old '50's station!

DV

[John-Tucson]

Thanks for the memories guys. I remember those gas pumps and the coke machine , aaah those peanuts. Here in Tucson the only remaining 1930's gas station burned down about six weeks ago. John