Old Cars and Old Service Stations

Introduction

We Americans love our cars. Well, I take that back. Yesterday I loved my car. Today

it won't start and I hate that bucket of bolts. But on second thought, I guess I really do

love it because I've had it quite a while and it runs pretty good most of the time.

Yep, you know the story. It is a love/hate story, and it is my story and your story, and

the story for anyone who drives the putt-putt we call an automobile. We can thank ol'

Henry Ford for the unrequested stress and cost and social change he brought forth

from his little assembly line up there in Detroit City.

In any event, we are dedicating this issue of The Paregien Journal to "Old Cars and

Old Service Stations." God bless 'em, one and all.

--Stan Paregien Sr

Old Cars

Atchilee Walters (Orr Crumb) and her brother J.C. sit on the hood

of the Lewis Walters family car in Wapanucka, Okla., in 1925.

Note the dog beneath the car. I have no idea what make,

model or year the car is. Just mighty old.

If you'll look closely at this group of about 35 people you'll conclude they did not live

in "Smileyville," or "Sunshine Valley" or "Lottalaughter." There's not a smile in sight.

Don't you just love the fancy dresses and hats some of the women were wearing. And

do any of you know what that ribbon or vest is around the young man who in the

car (who is holding the baby) represents (Masonic Lodge member, what?)? Mrs. Bob

(Barbara) Randall of Edmond says this photo was taken in about 1900 in from of

the creamery which her great-uncle Albert Davis (1875-1950) owned in Maramec,

Oklahoma. Mr. Davis is not in the car, but is standing about the 6th person from

the right (in hat, tie and coat). Husband Bob tells us, yes, as I guessed . . . the spare

tire is wrapped in burlap. And he says that was done in those days to protect the

rubber from cracking from being in the sun too much. Similarly to the common

practice today for people who own an RV to place some sore of cover over all

four tires. And the lantern was hanging on the back of the car because no car

had tail lights back then. The car may have been a delivery car for the creamery,

but no one knows for sure.

Better Than Driving a Pumpkin to the Ball

I'm guessing that this was a 1927 or so Ford Model T which my

classmates, Jim Arundell (the owner) and Linda Knight, are in

front of at the high school at Fillmore, Calif., in 1957.

This is a photo in about 1932 in Oklahoma. The man is named

Irvin Brock -- the father of Mrs. Bob (Barbara) Randall of

Edmond, OK. She says her dad grew up in Parkland, Okla.,

while her mother Imogene Allen was from Maramec. Imogene

attended Central State Teachers College (now University of

Central Oklahoma) in Edmond in 1926. They married in 1932

in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He farmed and she taught school.

Shown here beside their car are Lester & Marie Randall, parents

of Bob Randall of Edmond, OK. Taken in about 1932 in Oklahoma.

Lester worked in the oil patch for Champlin Oil in the Seminole,

Oklahoma area when he met Marie (she lived in Coyle, OK).

Note the lovely dress she is wearing.

1938 Ford Phaeton

1939 Chevy 2-door

My buddy Jim's 1939 Chevy, above, was a 2-door model. The 1939 Chevy "Master Deluxe"

4-door (below) had the back doors which, when opened, would catch the wind as the car

was moving and could pull a person out of the car. It was a very dangerous design.

1939 Oldsmobile

1940 Ford

This sleek-looking thing is a 1940 Ford station wagon, called a "woody"

because of the real wood trim.

Gene Autry's horse "Champion" rode around the country in style,

for that day and time (probably the late 1930s).

1941 Buick

Some say this looks like actor-comedian Oliver Hardy's love child, . . . but

it is just chubby little ol' me, Stan Paregien, showing off my cowboy boots

in 1943, near Santa Paula, Calif.

Wooden Bumpers?? Yep, wooden bumpers.

Here I am with my sister, Roberta Paregien, in 1948 at "Cowboy Park"

(an outside concert venue) near Saugus, Calif. We are sitting on a

19______ Studebaker belonging to our parents, Harold & Evelyn

Paregien.

This 1950 Ford 2-door is what our friends and former neighbors Bob and Barbara

(Brock) Randall here in Edmond, Okla., were driving on their wedding night on

June 26, 1954 at the First Baptist Church in Fairfax, Oklahoma.

1950 DeSoto

1955 Chevy convertible . . . mighty sweet

Where are those 15-cent hamburgers today, when seniors on a budget really

need them? Oh, well. Wonder what a bag of fries sold for in 1955?

The car at left is a 1955 or 1956 Ford and the one on the right is . . .

an Oldsmobile "Rocket". You car buffs will have to help me out, here.

1955 Mercury

Well, folks, here I am with my very first car. I bought this used

black 1955 Mercury with a "stick" shift upon graduation from

high school in the summer of 1959. Black paint jobs are great,

when clean and polished. We lived on a dirt road and I could

never keep it clean. Plus, it ran like a . . . well, like a lemon. I

traded it for the following "family car" . . . or not.

1955 Ford

I bought this customized 1955 Ford in May of 1960 at the

Pontiac dealership's used car lot in Fillmore, CA., for $500

(minus the $300 I got for my '55 Merc). Note the triple carbs

under the hood, handy for any family needing to get to the

grocery store in a hurry. It had the "Tijuana tuck and roll"

upholstery which is very popular at that time.

My dream car: a 1957 Chevrolet, any model, any time.

The guy driving this car and looking like "Mr. Hollywood"

is "Mr. Hollywood" (aka as "Dr. Phil," Phil McGraw). This

car--valued in 2012 at $80,000 was stolen from him in 2012,

but the police got it back.

1957 Pontiac

Now this is exactly what the '57 Pontiac looked like

which my folks had, right down to the "spinner"

hubcaps. It was a beauty . . . and I hear . . . it could

run fast, too, even with the emergency brake on.

Who the heck is that skinny dude?

1958 Chevy Impala

My high school chum, Duane Beard, bought a car

which looked just like this one a couple of years

after he graduated from high school in 1959.

This is Duane Beard and myself standing beside

his 1958 Chevy Impala. We were heading out on

a big date. We picked up Dick Miller in Fillmore

and then our respective dates. My date was none

other than Ms. Peggy Allen of Ventura. We were all

duded up and drove to Chinatown in Los Angeles to eat.

Duane spent his last years in Coweta, Oklahoma, where

he had a brother and a sister living, and died there.

Old Service

Stations

Route 66 Between Weatherford & Clinton, Oklahoma

Built by the first owner in 1929, Lucille Hamon bought it in 1941 and

operated it for 59 years. (Photo copyrighted by Stan Paregien Sr in 2007)

Look at those old, old cars. My mother, Evelyn Cauthen Paregien, was a cafeteria

manager at the Piru Elementary School--not once, but twice. And my father,

Harold, worked on the Edwards Ranch about a mile west of town for some

twenty years. But I have no idea where in Piru the photo was taken.

This is the Nelson Service Station in 1926 in Lebanon, Missouri on the southwest

corner of Highway 66 and Jefferson Avenue. Founded by A.T. Nelson

1930s Standard Oil service station in southern California

This photo was taken in California, probably in the 1930s. Look at those

vintage cars.

The conditions were rather Spartan at this Marathon Oil service

station in Caddo, Oklahoma in the 1930s.

My father, Harold Paregien, operated this service station in Wapanucka

(Johnston County), Oklahoma in 1938-1939. Those chalk marks are

from the previous night when the community held a "cake walk" there

on the pavement.

Slow day at the pumps at this Gilmore gas station, even at only

5-cents per gallon. Exact date and location unknown.

Country bar and cafe with gas pumps in Melrose, Louisiana. Photo by

Marion P. Wolcott (Library of Congress)

Garage/service station with gas pumps in Wisdom, Montana.

Photo by John Vachon (Library of Congress)

This small Phillips 66 service station still stands in downtown Atoka,

Oklahoma. (Photo copyrighted 2010 by Stan Paregien Sr)

Hey, the idea of "ethanol" has been around a long, long time. This photo was taken at

a service station in Omaha, Nebraska offering a 10% corn alcohol/gasoline blend

way back there . . . in 1929.

There may have been snow on the mountains near Cucamonga, California in this

1930s photo; but one of the guys is wearing a short-sleeve shirt.

This "hole in the wall" Conoco station can be seen in the business area of

Commerce, Oklahoma (Copyrighted 2012 by Stan Paregien Sr)

Unidentified gas station in southern California, probably in the 1940s.They sure went

all-out in providing service with a smile. Suppose it was in Beverly Hills or Hollywood?

During World War II, there were civilian manpower shortages.

Not to fear, women stepped in and did very well lots of jobs

previously done only by men. And these ladies in this photo

are using good PR in calling themselves "Victory Girls."

Well, ladies and gents, this may be my favorite "old service station" photo of 'em all.

This was probably during the 1940s and, especially the years of World War II.

Look at the boss all decked out in his regulation Texaco brand clothing, and the

rest of his very large staff dressed in matching white (or "mite near white" as we

would say in Oklahoma). That is capitalism at work.

Down to 26-cents a gallon in 1952. Date and location unknown.

My maternal uncle, Sidney Cauthen, ran a Phillips 66 service station in Sweetwater, Texas

in 1954. The person to his right is John W. Cauthen, his father (my grandfather) who

was visiting from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Restored vintage Conoco station in the heart of Shamrock, Texas

(Photo copyrighted by Stan Paregien in 2009)

Old service station in Peach Springs, Arizona. Breakfast was the only meal my father,

Harold Paregien, ever allowed us to stop and eat on the road from southern

California to see my grandparents (John & Vada Cauthen) in Tulsa, Oklahoma

(via U.S. Highway 66). Mom would make us sandwiches to eat while my dad (who

refused to let my licensed mother drive) drove straight through without sleeping. I

recall stopping for breakfast in Peach Springs a time or two on the way to Tulsa.

You have to look closely, but the owner of this place in remote Hackberry, Arizona

(on old Highway 66) was sorta resting/sleeping in the right hand corner. When I got

hope and edited my photos, on one of them you can clearly see him carrying a big

.45 pistol on his right hip. (Photo copyrighted by Stan Paregien Sr., 2010).

This ancient gas station stands on historic Highway 66, between Kingman and Oatman,

Arizona. (Photo copyrighted by Stan Paregien in 2010)

Abandoned service station in equally abandoned Clairemont, Texas


"What can we do you for?"

Landmark in Matador, Texas

Matador, Texas

Service station in Bob Wills' hometown of Turkey, Texas


I guess their "middle name" has changed to "Do-it-yourself-fella"

And they gave prizes or Green Stamps, too.

Ah, we wish it were always true.

Peggy Paregien in front of a service station replica inside the Route 66 Museum

(inside the public library) at Lebanon, Missouri on Dec. 22, 2012. Note the

large crown on the top of the "White Crown Gasoline" pump. Those are

quite the collector item. (Photo by Stan Paregien)

Do you remember these handy-dandy clothes and wringer dryers at gas stations?

This one was inside the Route 66 Museum (inside the public library) at Lebanon,

Missouri on Dec. 22, 2012. (Photo copyrighted by Stan Paregien)

This service station in the 1960s in Escondido, California was selling

regular gas for 25.9-cents per gallon. That's only one reason we old

folks still call those "the good old days." I refuse to reveal the other

reasons we call it that because of my right, under the U.S. Constitution

to protect myself against self-incrimination.

Say, now, isn't that a nice rig with a swanky-looking Pontiac station wagon and

a pull-me-behind-ya-house? Nice looking Shell service station, too.

Well, friends, there you have it. That's the end of our little drive down memory lane in old

cars and trucks, while making that occasional stop to buy gas or oil and to visit the restroom

at those most often friendly but sometimes frightening service stations in big cities, towns

villages and way out "a fir piece" away from civilization. Ah, those were some awfully

interesting days, weren't they?

See ya on down the road.

--Stan Paregien Sr

The Paregien Journal - Issue 222 - February 4, 2013

Keywords: J.W. Parker, Bob Randall, Barbara Brock Randall, Duane Beard, Peggy

Paregien, Harold Paregien, old cars, old service stations

Documents

Old Cars and Old Service Stations