Simple Customer Service was the expected experience! Many folks today have absolutely no idea how wonderful going to the “Filling Station” used to be! Here’s the skinny! Most stations had just two pumps! You rolled in over a little hose on the concrete and that made a bell ring on the inside of the building. A guy would hustle out to your car in which you were seated. He’d say “Fill her up? Regular or Ethyl?”  The response was usually, “regular and just five bucks. Thanks.” If that pump went over five bucks worth then the attendant would pay the difference. Most of the time it was about 30–35 cents per gallon. Wait! There’s more! The guy would lift the hood and check your oil and fan belt. He would check the air pressure in all the tires. He washed all the bugs off your windshield. After all that, if he needed to make change...he did it right there! It was a carhop experience!!!! Off you went safe and sound! They were called service stations and they gave it to a customer! Air was free!!!!

Wait folks!!! There’s even more! You could get new brakes or new tires put on that they sold right there! Oil change…no problem! John Stoecker’s Phillips 66 even hand-washed your car if you had any service done at his place. Its home was Rome. No competition there... and he still washed your car! You also could buy and have snow tires put on as the winter crept upon us as a villain! 

Speaking of winter!  They were cold then also but we were not told that it was the end of the world. Big snowstorms were just called bad storms... not Arctic Bombs! Cold weather was expected; it was called winter. Summer was expected to be hot and sometimes dry sometimes wetter. No wringing of the hands and needing group hugs and special counseling. My own grandparents told me what to expect with the weather. I’m ranting, but I have had it with the hype of so-called weather experts looking for attention and a following. But in all this hysterical theatrics please remember to be thankful for your life in this small town. Hug those kids and love those neighbors. We all need to be encouragers in our present world. Carry on and smile!