Alas, another entry without an illustration. If I could have found ANYTHING about gas station freebies, I would have posted it (with the owner's permission, of course), but this one is really obscure, it seems.
In the 60's and 70's before the Oil Crisis, gas stations would offer you cool stuff free for filling 'er up at their places of business.
That seems strange today. Most of the time, you pay at the pump with a credit card and never see a human. Or perhaps you walk up and pay (in advance) some surly guy behind bulletproof glass.
There's not a whole lot of hope that he's going to give you a free dinner plate for filling up.
But go back to the 1960's and earlier, and service stations (as they were known) tried hard to get your business. In fact, they bent over backwards.
In addition to doing all of the work of filling your car, checking your oil, and making sure your tires had sufficient air, they would give you a gift out of sheer gratitude that you honored them by purchasing their gasoline.
I guess times have changed just a tad.
I remember most of the giveaways being dishes and glasses. And they weren't bearing the name of the station or oil company that provided them, either. These were completely generic items that you could set out for company without them ever knowing that you obtained them free of charge, well NEARLY so.
The stations that offered these tantalizing baubles usually charged two or three more cents a gallon than the ones who MERELY filled your car and checked your oil and tires.
Hey, that was quite a difference when gas was less than 30 cents a gallon.
But it was nice being viewed with gratitude when we pulled in for a fill up, instead of being glared at.
Comments (5)
This is such a great site! Nice job.
We had a Standard station near our house that used to give away NFL football player stamps. I had a big book with all the teams and their line-ups and every time my mother would go shopping, I'd try to coerce her to stop by for some gas- which, back in those days- it didn't take long to use up a tank of gas with those monster vehicles our parents were driving.
But, oddly enough- stopping by that gas station was the highlight of my day 'cause I would get to collect player stamps and fill my book of NFL players.
What memories!
Posted by Ken | February 19, 2007 11:08 AM
Posted on February 19, 2007 11:08
Thanks for the compliment, Ken.
I remember Texaco had a mega-cool truck you could buy at a discount with fillups, but dad wasn't a fan of the gas.
Posted by Ron Enderland | February 19, 2007 8:09 PM
Posted on February 19, 2007 20:09
Yeah, I barely remember stuff like that--I do remember getting SH Greenstamps, thought, until Blue chip stamps replaced them. Let me see, was that at gasoline stations, too? Hmmmm, I must be getting senile...
Posted by bob | May 12, 2007 12:26 AM
Posted on May 12, 2007 00:26
Anyone remember the silliest premium, namely styrofoam thingies you placed on your car antennae? Most of the time, they were orange balls, but they morphed over the years into other things. Also remember christmas album givaways during the holidays(courtesy of your local shell station owner in big letters on the album).
And, darrnnnnn, how about those great free maps? We collcted them on long family road trips. And, oh year, remember when Shell gave away state stickers, that you could only get in the state that bared the stickers' name? And, finally, the great dino the dinosaur inflatables and plushes from the great Sinclair(still in business, believe it or not).
Posted by scott | July 20, 2007 6:13 AM
Posted on July 20, 2007 06:13
I remember getting a green plastic dinosaur from a Sinclair station. (The Sinclair logo was a green dinosaur.) What made it cool is that you made the dinosaur yourself from a plastic injection molding machine. I think the machine was right next to the pump. Watching the machine make the toy was a real thrill to an 8-year-old.
Posted by marsha | November 8, 2007 5:09 PM
Posted on November 8, 2007 17:09