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January 24, 2010

Remember When

Would you fill it up please?

Sure Thing.

And check the air in the tires too please?

Be glad to. You want to pop the hood and I'll check the oil too.

Oh, thank you.

It's a quart low on the oil. Would you like me to put a quart in while you're here?

That would be great. And thanks for cleaning the window.

Ah, those were the days. They were called service stations then. They are called gas stations now. Self serve gas. Broken handled squeegee in dirty water to clean your own windows. I've learned to be self sufficient in more ways than filling the gas!

Periodically I will write a post about the good old days and continue the theme of Remember When.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are living on the wrong side of the world... it all still happens here. Although scarily nobody ever turns their car engine off and they sit in the car, on the mobile whilst the guy is filling!!

Shadow said...

so, we are still lucky here, since the old way is the only way it happens in this country... honestly? i'm not sure where to open my gas tank...

Lou said...

Remember when..a gas station was not a grocery store also!

DJan said...

I was driving somewhere in years past and came upon one of these old fashioned places in the middle of nowhere. And then I found out why: the cost was twice as much, and they wanted to make a killing off us unsuspecting customers! I like filling my own car now...

Unknown said...

... the petrol station near my house still have attendants attending us :) But yes, most of the gas stations now are self-serviced.

Mike said...

One thing that I still love about Jersey! It is illegal to pump your own gas in NJ!

Brian Miller said...

yeah otin, thought i was going to get busted when i tried to pump my own. lol. great nostalgia

CiCi said...

This is amazing. I am hearing comments telling me that there are still service station attendants in some places. I always liked just pulling into the station, some smiling person filling the gas for me. I have been known to lock myself out of my car when I get out at a self serve station.

terri said...

I remember sitting in the back seat as a kid, watching my dad tell the attendant to fill 'er up with regular. The full service days were over by the time I started driving.

jozien said...

Reading the comments,it's interesting that, it does still happen. I laugh, not here in the wilderness. Today we will go out with the skidoo. For the gas, we had to go to town, fill up the jerry-cans ourselves, pay at the pump, bring it home, fill up our machines.etc.
I do consider my self very lucky, that i did not have to drill for oil myself. At least there is a gasstation, even if it's 75 km away.

Margie said...

Nice nostalgic post!
It's been a very, very long time since I've had my gas pumped at a gas station.
It would actually be very welcoming to sit in my car on a cold Colorado morning and have it pumped for me ...miss those days!

Have a great Sunday!

Margie:)

Ina in Alaska said...

I remember those days. I am thankful my car holds 8 qts of oil & it tells me when it needs oil. Otherwise I would have to ask someone to check the oil because I am so compulsive about it. We have a very nice quick lube center that checks oil levels for free. While there you can get cozy in a cushy chair, purchase a coffee and a pastry or a bagel so it is a pleasant "stop".

I like your idea for a weekly Remember When! Look forward to more! xoxo

Jeanie said...

I am surprised too that there are still places where they fill your tank and wash your windows. I too remember the full service station of my childhood...same station and same attendant every time. When I was in high school gas was $.25 a gallon and so were hamburgers at that new place called McDonalds.

Kathy M. said...

I remember those days. Sadly, I don't live in a place where such things still exist. Sigh.

CiCi said...

This is so much fun for me, I have fond memories of a few things and the gas stations are way up on the list.
I know that for those of use self serve gas we have become pretty self sufficient. But I can't check the oil or tire pressure myself, I don't know how. Or anyway have never done those things.

Casey Freeland said...

Yeah, that was before the big oil companies made hundreds of billions of dollars a year and the gross profit margin on gas stations was down to a couple of cents a gallon. Now, if it weren't for cigarettes and alcohol, gas stations would probably consist of pumps and a canopy and that's it, ala CFN. Those were definitely the good ol' days.

Wayne Pitchko said...

still a few stations around here with someone to pump gas and do the windows....been long time since i seen 25 cent burger though....but i remember them...thanks for your site

Ronda Laveen said...

Oh, I do remember when! But it's been a long time ago. That picture also reminds me of getting bottles of hourglass shaped Coke's out of the machine.

Claudya Martinez said...

That was nice.

It's funny though there is a station by my house that is "self serve", but they have people there to do everything for you if you like and now I feel too guilty to let them. I was a child the last time we got "full service".

Cheryl said...

We still have a gas station in our area that fills the tank, washes both front AND back windows and gives my dog a treat when done! I love to get my gas there!

GEM said...

I remember the good ole days but just barely. I think customer service in general is a thing of the past.

Thanks for leaving me so many wonderful comments. I'm sorry I've been such a bad bloggy friend.

I just don't have enough time in a day.

Hugs!!
Green-Eyed Momster

surjit singh said...

Thanks for your encouraging comments on my blog.You are a wonderful person.
God bless.

Sandra said...

I do remember well. We had one in our neighborhood in St. Paul until the mid 1980's. I was in Regina, Saskatchewan in 2004 and they still had service stations. I was so surprised.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Little Ms Blogger said...

You need to move to New Jersey. They have NO SELF serve stations.

You'd get that attention every single visit.

gayle said...

I remember when but I bet there are a lot of bloggers that don't. There are still areas in the US that pump gas for you!!

Tom said...

wow, i'm 46 and i don't even remember those days!

Jason, as himself said...

Where is Eternally Distracted from?

I remember this, too. But I was a very little, little, little boy. :)

James said...

I was surprised that Newtown still has service stations. My only memories of them in California was when my mother was driving and I was under 10yrs old.

Joanna Jenkins said...

Remember when gas was only 32 cents a gallon? THOSE were the days :-)

xo

Julie said...

Awesome!! That picture rocks. I am always griping about customer service and how bad it is in many of the big companies. Sometimes, I think I was born in the wrong decade or even the wrong century. We have an old country store where I live, and I am their most loyal customer. They have wooden floors, bait and tackle, pickle jars, benches out front, etc. It even smells old. I dearly love it. The people chat with customers and know everyone. When one family had a tragedy, the store owner organized a BBQ to raise money for the family. They truly care about the community. Not many chains do.

Thanks, Technobabe! Your posts are excellent.

Suldog said...

I wonder what the attendants were paid in those days as compared to the guy who sits in the little booth just making change now? Was it a decent wage for the time?

I sat in the little booth making change for a couple of months, so I know that was no way to get rich! Anyone old enough to have actually been a gas jockey?

A Free Man said...

Only a little bit. Full service stations were going out of vogue when I was coming up. But I miss them nonetheless. Part of the dehumanization of our society.

Bill Lisleman said...

maybe bringing them back could be a big hit. It would create jobs. Many people might be willing to pay a few cents more for the service. I hate it when the gas gets on my hands.

thanks for the memories

Syd said...

I miss those good old days. I wonder if there are any of those full service stations left in small towns in the US.