Gas Jockeys........Who's part of the alumni?

[Monk]

Picked up this theme from another thread.

Who's pumped gas or worked at a gas station back in the day.

Spent one Summer at a Gulf station......it was on Highway 61.......main highway to and from St. Louis.
Lots of boiling radiators and bug filled windshields.

Worked full time after I got out of the service at a Phillips 66 station.
Sold Firestone tires and ran road service for tractors tires out in the field.

So who's part of the alumni and what's your story?

[min301]

Me too...L&L Mobil, worked in the shop, but when busy...even we had to pump gas...

[Brian Lohnes]

Three years at the Abington Shell station working as a gas guy, mechanic's helper, and after hours hot rodder in high school! Lots of great stories which will probably translate to every car guy who ever worked at a gas station. A proud part of my gearhead development. It's where I learned how to swing a SBC engine out the door of a van!

Brian

[67pete300]

My Dad ran a few stations for a while and I worked at a brand new one when I was 15. Still orient all my bills in the same direction and in order just like he taught me.

There was another guy who worked there who had a pet wolf (or part wolf). That thing scared the crap out of me.

[Monk]

At the Gulf station I created my own profit sharing program.

Every Saturday afternoon the owner would go down into the
basement for a nap.
I'd pull the '49 Chevy around for a fill up.........yeah I was a little
shit head back then.

[DanStokes]

Hank Beyer's Skyway 66 in St. Petersburg, FL. No shennanigans at Hank's station - he wouldn't have it. As I was an unknown commodity it was just pumping gas. I'd been working at the Buick dealer in MI for a couple of years by then and I tried to convince Hank that I had talents he wasn't using but he wasn't interested.

I only worked there for a couple of months and got a slightly better off at the Aetna Erecting Company in Jacksonville, FL. Yep, that really was the name. No, it wasn't a urologist's office (they fabed and erected steel for buildings).

Dan

[Brian Lohnes]

Monk, there may have been some slight differences in our numbers at the Shell station too. John, the owner was OK so long as the number was within 60 gallons per week. Thankfully, my car and my co-worker Brian's (seriously) held 52 gallons combined.

[Monk]

Monk, there may have been some slight differences in our numbers at the Shell station too. John, the owner was OK so long as the number was within 60 gallons per week. Thankfully, my car and my co-worker Brian's (seriously) held 52 gallons combined.

I wasn't that smart to think of that.......he probably knew and
was letting me slide.
It normally took about $2 to fill it up.

[abadwillys]

I was 16, pumped gas, full service at a Power Test station in the Bronx nites and weekends, the owner, a friend ..of my dads, use to let me do a few jobs on sundays when the shop was closed, you know a regular gas station with service bays.. i made some mistakes but learned along the way and led me to a career of fixing cars.. some years later at 25 years old i opened a gas station of my own, along with repair bays and did well, however it only took me 2 years to realize that renting was throwing money away, and purchased a shop without gas pumps ...but im still fixin cars and i am proud gas jockey alumni !!

[squirrel]

I missed out on that experience....but a friend of a friend had a dad who owned one, and I hung out there a little bit. The kid robbed is dad blind.

I got to work at a junkyard instead.

[Grumpy]

I worked at 3 different Texaco Stations all owned by the same guy, he always told me if there was a hold up to give them the Station keys and let them help theirselves, he said he hated to visit Hospitals and Funeral homes. I was single and worked of an evening plus I had my day job, most of that money went to Berwyn, PA.

[Monk]

Summer time was the best and worst time to work.

Cleaning them damn bugs off of the windshields......in the Summer they were all over the damn place.
We'd even clean off the headlights.

Boiling radiators........can't count the times taking a scalding hot radiator cap off and hosing it down.

On the other hand..........got some good shots while cleaning the windshields off.

[Dan Barlow]

I worked for a United gas station. It was just out of the cruise curcuit of Indy. (Madison ave to.....well, past the K mart. Anyway I was just south of there. Anyway I had to make up any shortages unless I was held up. Well I think the manager waqs ripping me of some how. nFinally I told them I couldn't afford to work for them any more.

[Bob Holmes]

I worked at a station in Fairfield Ca. Still did the windows and checked the oil.

[John Brewer]

I had a side job working in a gas station when I was stationed at Homestead AFB, Fl. in 1968-1969. Worked 7-2 and then did my AUSAF deal from 3-111pm. Pump gas, service, minor tune up, and general stuff.The owner wanted me to have my tools sent from CA. to FL. to go to work for him when I left the service in 1969. He didn't want to sponsor my race car deal so I went home to CA. and back to my life in Drag Race Heaven!!!