Gasoline

The Bomber Gas Station

The Bomber Gas Station

In 1947, Art Lacey opened a small, five pump filling station along Highway 99E in Milwaukie, Oregon. It was the same year he had his biggest—and his best—idea: Why not mount a full-sized, four-engined airplane on top of a roadside gas station business? When he heard that the military was scrapping a few WWII leftovers that never saw any active duty, he hightailed it to Oklahoma's Altus Air Force Base to check out the grounded surplus. There, he laid eyes on the three-dimensional billboard he was dreaming of: a Lockheed B-29 Superfortress! When…continue reading →
Highway 66 Gasoline Revisited

Highway 66 Gasoline Revisited

Combine the mileage driven on routes like Highway 66 to those traveled on the major interstates and you'll discover that road-trippers rack up over 2.5 trillion per annum! To maintain this statistic, the U.S. motoring market consumes 146 billion gallons of gas every year. With so much refined petroleum being bought and then pumped into the tanks of cars, one might conclude that the Highway 66 motorist is entitled to a quantity discount. Unfortunately, today’s road trip enthusiast has no such influence. The prices at the pumps are outrageous and continue to climb.…continue reading →
Al Bell’s Flying A Station

Al Bell’s Flying A Station

During World War II, Allen P. Bell was transferred to the Air Base in Kingman, Arizona to work his tour of duty as an aircraft mechanic. On his 21st birthday, he stepped off the train, walked down old Route 66 a bit, and observed the desolation. “What is this God-forsaken place?” he asked himself. He made his mind up right then and there that once discharged from the Air Corps., he wouldn't return. Operating a service station—much less living there—was the farthest thought from his mind. Nevertheless, the two-lane twist of concrete designated…continue reading →