I believe Daddy really enjoyed operating the station. He would open early in the morning and close late at night, seven days a week. What with the customers and checker players, there was almost always someone there.

The Coke machine was located inside just to the right of the front door. It was a water circulating thing, with about six inches of water in the box.  The water being pumped through the cooling unit in the bottom and back into the box. The cokes, pepsi, itc. were stacked in the water in the box. Modern at the time but not seen anymore. Daddy always keep milk in it as well as soft drinks The milk helped to sooth his ulcers.

Coke sold for 5 cents a bottle, candy 5 cents a bar, cigarettes for 12 to 15 cents a pack and gasoline for 16 to 18 cents a gallon, Even those few cents were not easy to come by. Many was the times I sold  two gallons of gas at a time.

Those were the times a customer could, without asking, get his oil checked, windshield cleaned, tire pressure checked and all for free.
That is why it was called a "Service Station" instead of the present day "Gas Stations".

Daddy sold gas, changed oil , did grease jobs, and fixed flats. The hardest job there, though, was repairing a large rear tractor tire. Some almost as tall as I was and 4/5 full of water. Water was put in the tractor tires to add weight and improve traction in the field. I don't know how heavy those tires were but it took all I could do to lift one to drain the water.

Once the water was out, then came the hard part, breaking the tire loose from the rim and opening the tire up. No modern tire
changers that we see today. A sledge hammer and tire tools were all we had.

Repairing a tractor tire was at least a half day job and when you were finished you were ready for one of those water cooled cokes.

MR.  JIM AND GORDON 1952