When I was a kid, I remember that there were lots of different type of gas stations where I grew up and where we traveled as a family. I remember Texaco, Phillips 66 (so named because the first station was on Route 66), Amoco, Standard, Union 76, ARCO and Husky along with the companies we have now like Shell and Exxon (though Exxon seemed pretty new fangled at the time for some reason). I honestly can't say I remember BP (where I tend to buy most of my gas now), Conoco (which in now part of a huge multinational that is ConocoPhillips that owns Chevron and Union 76 among other things) or Citgo. I loved the interesting signs like the old orange 76 ball and the Chevron sign. For some reason, where I grew up these were markers of the great wild open for me. Not too surprising given that we didn't have a road as celebrated as Route 66 was in song and lore. Of all the signs, my favorites were the Texaco Star and the Mobil Pegasus. An interesting note, in Oregon it used to be that it was illegal to pump your own gas (it probably still is). I remember the first time I drove outside the state, I stopped at the station and waited for the attendant to come out for quite some time before I figured out that I would have to pump my own gas. Fortunately, it's not a particularly difficult operation to master as I hadn't ever done that before. I'm sure the guy at the station looked at me like I was in idiot while I fumbled around for things. After I went to grad school and started my first teaching gig, I returned to the state and nearly knocked the attendant at a station over getting out of my car to fill up. I didn't expect him to be there and we both met as I was standing up getting out of my car. I just laughed as I realized how things had changed.
Anyways, back to the present. While racing up near Gainesville, GA a few weeks back we passed a restored (though no longer functional) Texaco station. Having my bikes and a camera, I decided to snap a few pics which I thought I'd share. Enjoy the trip down memory lane and thanks for reading.
