-1958-
DINK-DINK!
KENNETH E. HALL LONDON 21 APRIL, 2014
When
I was seven years old, there was a Cities Service gasoline station
near my apartment house in Arlington, VA. I used to think the logo
was funny: it looked somewhat like a slice of pickle! I don't ever
remember us buying any gas there, but I do recall waiting for the
school bus near the air machine, and wondering why they charged 1¢
for AIR!!
I mean, wasn't air free, wasn't it?
I mean, wasn't air free, wasn't it?
One
afternoon, while walking in the area, I got a notion to play a prank.
I sneaked up close to the driveway, and, when nobody was looking, I
ran over and jumped twice on the air hose. "DINK! DINK!"
went a muffled bell inside, which let the gas station attendants know that a
customer had just driven into the station.
Away
I scurried, and hid in a nearby bush, and watched: Out came an
attendant who looked around - no car was to be seen! Bewildered, he
took off his hat and scratched his head, put the hat back on, and
went back inside. I walked back home giggling.
I
look back at that little memory of 1958 and chuckle to myself. I
couldn't duplicate that prank today. Sixty years ago, gas
stations looked quite differently than they do today. That is because
what they DID back then was far different.
When
Rock-n-Roll was on the radio, expensive hamburgers were 30¢-45¢, movies cost
50¢-75¢, and gasoline was only 20¢-25¢ a gallon.
"I'd
like a dollar's worth of Regular, please!" my mother used to say when the attendant
came up to her window as she pulled into the Sinclair service station in Arlington . With gas prices in the new Millenium so high,
$1.00 today would hardly take her across town, let alone to well-past
the city limits, as it did back then.
The
truth is, gasoline was inexpensive in the U. S. during the Fifties
partly due to lower demand, since fewer
cars were on the road, and also because we were self-sufficient in
petroleum. There was no need to import oil at a higher cost. No
Arab Sheikhs controlled what we paid at the pump, and the "diabolical
intrigues" to the south of us were content selling us coffee, sugar, and
bananas.
Postwar
America was a nation on the go, wartime rationing a thing of the
recent past. A new generation of Americans abandoned their fathers'
trolleys and began buying Fords and Chevys, Ramblers, and Dodges in
record numbers. On the road, the emerging oil industry expanded to
meet the new demands - demands that the oil industry itself was
partially responsible for creating. "See the USA in your
Chevrolet!" was a popular commercial.
And
see it we did!
"Fill
'er up!"
Every
so often, our automobiles needed a fill-up on gasoline - which meant
money into the coffers of Texaco, Standard Oil, and the like,
assuring repeat business and the public's dependency on the oil
companies. The modern "service station" came to be during
this decade. It was a far cry from the "oil station" of my
grandfather's day.
A
car pulls into a filling station and rolls over an air pressure hose
connected to a muffled bell: "DINK! DINK!" went the bell
inside the garage, and immediately one or more uniformed men would
approach the car. When given the instructions as to how much gasoline
was desired, the attendant began to pump the gas. A second attendant
checked the oil and tire pressure, and the windshield and back
windows were washed and squeegeed clean. The only gas sold was
regular and premium - both containing harmful lead additives. (There
MIGHT be a pump somewhere at the station, usually around back, that had unleaded gas,
called "white gas" or "lawn mower gas." It had to
be requested.)
There
was a garage bay or two for light mechanical issues, such as
tire-changing, windshield wiper replacement, fan-belt changing, or
tune-ups. (A minor motor tune-up consisted of changing spark-plugs, points,
and condenser - none of which are used in today's digital electronic automobiles.)
Often
with gas purchase, the customer would receive a few S&H or Top
Value "trading stamps" - sometimes called "Green Stamps."
These would later be placed into little booklets, and when there
were several of these booklets filled with stamps, the customer
traded them in at a nearby redemption store for a host of
household items, such as irons or toasters. Also, often gas stations
would pass out promotional items - freebees - such as drinking
glasses, with the company logo on the item. This practice continued
well into the Sixties and Seventies.
While
we were living in Arlington Towers apartments, during the late
Fifties, I had several books about dinosaurs, and to my sheer
delight, the local Sinclair service station offered tiny plastic toy
dinosaurs FREE with every purchase.
Additionally,
the customer got an occasional break when a "Gas War" broke
out, and dealers in an area vigorously competed with each other to
see how low they could drop their gas prices. It was not unheard-of
for a dealer to actually sell gas BELOW COST for a few days. He hoped
to recover his losses by gaining new repeat customers, and by selling
sodas, hot dogs, and candies, etc. (Sodas, also called soda pop, pop,
or just Coke, were only sold in returnable bottles on which a 2¢
deposit was charged.) The idea of the gasoline-convenience store was born during this time.
The
major players, who started the gas wars, could take losses for
awhile, and they knew that, but the small, independent stations
could not continue to sustain such losses, and they – AND THE
PUBLIC – were the big losers in the “Gas Wars.”
Inside
of every gas station, on the counter, could always be found a Lantz
cookie jar full of delicious crackers for sale. There were also bags of peanuts, etc., and there was always a long tub of ice full of soft drinks, sold then only in returnable bottles.
Lost?
The folks there were glad to give you directions - and even a free
road map! In fact, there was a RACK of city, area, and state maps
available to the motoring public, free of charge!
For the most
part, service stations were local Mom & Pop operations, and
attendants were dressed in clean uniforms with hats! Even the
mechanic wore uniform overalls - always stained and spotted with oil
and grease - hence their nickname: "grease monkeys." CITGO
was called Cities Service then, and Exxon was called ESSO. Many gas
stations had big signs that turned around like radars - to attract
attention. Outside were displays of motor and lube oil, in reusable
jars - and some were also sold in cans.
With
the demise of independent service stations, caused by a paradigm
shift on the part of the big oil companies to sell gasoline only - at
a higher profit margin - there came a dramatic price rise of gasoline,
[SURPRIZE!] accompanied by a trend toward self-service pumping –
supposedly to offset or beat higher prices. The move away from
full-service sadly meant the eventual disappearance of the friendly
gas station attendants, and they were replaced by uncaring,
indifferent clerks earning minimum wage and doing minimum required. The motoring public was being CONDITIONED to pumping their own gas,
and eventually the savings the customer once enjoyed reverted to the
gas station, and from there to the oil companies, where higher prices prevailed, thus they reaped the
benefits of labor savings.
Result:
self-service gas at full-service prices! GOTCHA!!
Today,
the windshield gets washed by the customer using an old squeegee
immersed in filthy water - if there is one there at all. Now we drive
in to a gas station quietly – there is no bell to announce our
arrival - and no-one comes to greet us. No one cares. Service? Take
it down the street! - Oh, wait - there is no place else to go
anymore. It's just a fading memory in the minds of old folks.
Nowadays
we pay exorbitant, ever-rising prices at the pump with the swipe of a
credit card, and only an electronically programmed display on the gas
pump bothers to thank us for our purchase, and does so by a beep. We only see a clerk to buy
cigarettes, beer, lottery tickets, or snacks. Don't bother asking for
a map or for directions. Just pay - and leave. Better yet: pay at the
pump, and get out fast.
True,
our cars and highways are bigger, better, and safer. Cars get much
better mileage, and they go faster, and the poisonous lead gasoline
additives are *long-gone. We save lots of time: we are in and out
very quickly --- though our hand might occasionally smell of
gasoline. We have GPS, and satellite radio in our car, and in our
pocket, our smart phone can instantly connect us with the internet,
family, friends, and clients - and we can often see the person we are
speaking to, just like the Dick Tracey comics predicted, except in
color!
Today,
as I speed past small towns and open spaces on our Interstate
superhighways, I realize how much we really have progressed... but
sometimes I wonder how much we've gained - and how much we've lost -
in our frantic race toward.... ? Well, where the heck are we going, anyway?
In
the late Fifties, a drive through the country meant taking it slowly
- seeing small towns and people on their porches who waved to you as
you drove past. It meant enjoying the journey as much as the
destination. A stop at a filling station meant taking care of
necessities, but it also meant an ice-cold soda and a pleasant
conversation with the folks who ran the place.
I
was there back then, and it was to me, a much friendlier time, all
things considered.
In
the Fifties, Texaco tankers had on the back of their trucks: “Sound
your horn; the road is yours!” Truth was, the major oil companies
had run their smaller competitors off the road, and the way was clear
for the big boys. Bit-by-bit things were changing – and not so much
for the better.
Back
in 1958, we believed we could "trust your car to the man who
wears the star; the big, bright Texaco STAR!"
Who
do you trust today?
"HAPPY
MOTORING!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
F If you enjoyed reading this story, check out a similar one on my Blog:
http://kennyduke.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-roadside-diner-kenneth-e.html
RELATED ITEM: Johnny Cash had a recitation of Cisco Clifton's Fillin' Station, which first performed on "The Johnny Cash Show" on September 27, 1969.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9w3kak-I1w
Sinclair logo: Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Oil_Corporation#/media/File:Sinclair_Oil_logo.svg
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