And do you remember when you had to depend on finding a phone booth if you needed to make a call while out on the open road? Whether for an emergency or not - you were sure to find those dependable Bell Telephone booths along your path. 
You know, in case you needed to stop for any reason - like one of these, from this 1959 advertisement:
I know they still pump your gas in Oregon - I love that when I'm up there - but in most places you are on your own. And you actually seldom need to even have cash with you to purchase fuel for your car. So many people have GPS systems that they sure don't need to stop and ask for directions! And almost EVERYBODY has a cell phone - who stops to use a phone any more? There aren't many phone booths left out there - and why should there be? Everything gets vandalized these days. Even in our neck of the woods- don't you dare leave your car by the side of the road if you break down at night! More often than not, by morning some jerk will have smashed it somewhere - and sometimes they even burn it up!Sigh...
11 comments:
I remember it all. A different time, a much different world. Great post. Thank you.
I'm still waiting to get my GPS. I want one of the ones that tells me the street name. It is very helpful when you don't have a passenger with you. My cell phone doesn't work when I get up into the hills of the divide, so when my friend and I got a flat tire way out in the middle of nowhere at a garage sale, we had to depend on the kindness of a gentleman neighbor, just like the old days. I like the "service" idea in Oregon too, except that it is against the law to pump your own gas, I think that is a bit strange. At least it makes jobs. Vandalism is a big problem everywhere, it is really sad. What makes it fun to wreak anything just for the heck of it? Love T
my mother went to her grave never having to pump gas. my brother hung out at a 'service station' so they would jump quick to help her. when it became THE thing to pump your own - she always managed to have someone there do it for her. SHE KNEW where to stop. so it is one thing she never learned on purpose. my earliest price per gallon memory is 22 cents.
do you remember the giveaways? you know glassware, banks shaped like gas pumps (sunoco), my folks always gladly accepted any of those things - to keep the 3 kids in the car occupied.
Oh I do remember those days! I'll never forget the day I had to start pumping my own gas. My mother remembers the day she was told she had to pump her own gas! She drove an extra three miles to Mr. Jessups station where the old gentleman still pumped his customer's gas tank. That was an eye opener for us!
Thanks for the fond memories it brought back.
Deanna:)
Hi Heidi Ann... I sure do recall those days of full service stations. I can remember going with my Dad to get gas. We had a white "Comet" Station Wagon with red interior. I remember the big inflatable animals that hung between the pumps... in particular, the huge green dinosaur. Do you recall which gas company sold those?! My memory fails me on that. Once we pulled into the neighborhood we lived in, Dad would pull the car over and open the back and allow us kids to sit on the tail-gate for the remainder of the ride home! Ohhh those were the days! Thanks for sparking such fond memories for me...
~blessings~
Pearl
I do miss the good old days. I hate it that we can't trust anyone anymore. I also remember 'service stations' and certainly wish we still had them. I HATE pumping my own gas. I always think if I win the lottery I would open a chain of full service stations for people like me. I think it would make a fortune. Then I could buy you all those vintage Barbies:) Twyla
Sometimes timing is just too funny. Today while running errands we stopped to get gas. As per usual my husband got out and pumped. While the gas was going into the tank he started to wash the windows. I then took the opportunity to tell the children about how years ago you had the full service stations, where someone else pumped gas and washed your windows. They looked at me like I had two heads. Imagine not being able to identify with that. I felt so old! So I had to laugh in seeing your post tonight.
Maureen
Oh, yes! My mom would pull up to the station and say, "Fill 'er up with regular."
I also remember once when we were in Oregon and my husband jumped out to pump the gas. A man came up, quickly stopped him and said in such a serious voice, "Sir- you're in Oregon." It was so hilarious we still joke about to this day!
pearl -i think the dinosaur was sinclair gas stations......hmmm.
Oh !! That was an enjoyable period I still remember those days of filling gas on our own.. I right now using GPS,got just a month back.It is very helpful and safe even when you don't have a passenger with you.
Ahhh... Yosemite Faith, that does ring a bell for me ~nodding~ Thanks, and I've made a note to myself to "Google" Sinclair... Love walking down memory lane!
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