The Service Station ~ by David Allen

Times have really changed from when we grew up.

I am recalling my memories of the "infamous" Service Stations.

Back in the 1960's when you wanted to go out and put gas in your car, this everyday occurrance was quite an "Event".

You drove sometimes for miles to your favorite "Service Station" to "Fill 'er up"!

You pulled into the lot and pulled up to the gas pump. You had to make sure to drive over the "long snake". This was the rubber covered line that was positioned across the area in front of the pump that you ran over to get the attention of the man at the station. When you ran over the "snake", you heard a bell sound. Immediately a MAN came running out of the station to assist your every need.

The gas pumps(there were only two), were named Super and Regular. The "man" came up to your window with a big smile on his face and cheerfully asked "What can I do for you today, Mr. Allen?" You then responded by saying either "Fill'er up" or "Just give me a dollars worth" or some other small monitary amount. Back then gas was about a quarter or so per gallon.

At this time, the "man" would begin to pump your gas. While he was doing so, He would talk to you about how your family was doing or other personal chit chat. During this time, he would begin to clean all your windshields for you without batting an eye. After that was done, while still chatting, he would ask you "Do you want me to check under the hood?" That meant to check your oil and just check out your engine.

When he was done, he would come up to your window and ask how you would be paying. If you were paying in cash, he would take your money and reach in his own pocket and retrieve your change.If he didn't have it, of course he would get it inside. If you were paying by credit card (usually a gas company card), he would go inside with your card and come back out in a few minutes with this plastic tray (about 4 inches by 5 inches). This tray had the bill of sale on it, and two slots in it. One was to hold the pen for you to use to sign it and another slot to hold your credit card upright in it. You pulled the pen out of the slot and signed it , put the pen back and took your card out of the other slot.

When all this was done, he would wish you "Farewell", and you would be on your way.

Now, you could also take advantage of the other services available to you. You could use their bathroom which was always located on the side of the building marked "Men" or the other one marked "Women". You had to go inside to pick up the key which was attached to a big stick.

If you went inside, you could pick up (free of charge), any map of the city, state, or country. Notice I said "free of charge". You could also grab a "soda pop", usually cola, grape, orange,or root beer. They also all sold bags of ice. There were small assortments of snacks and sometimes some brownies or cookies made by locals that were for sale.

Every station also had one mechanic that was old and greasy that could fix ANYTHING that was wrong with your car.

Such a big difference from the concrete wonderlands we have today. These modern "stations" are not very personal and often can be unfriendly and cold. No "chit chat", mainly because the "clerk" usually can't speak English anyway.

What an era we lived in years ago!