Hampton Stores of the 40s, 50s and 60s Part Four

• Lowell Shull
Bob Shull reminisced about his dad, Lowell Shull. He said his dad worked long hours managing different gas stations. Bob recalled a close call his dad had when a mechanic lowered a car on a hoist too fast and it swung around and knocked Lowell into the adjoining pit. Luckily, he was not hurt too bad.
Because of Lowell’s long hours he didn’t always have time to eat a decent meal. Bob remembered many Sundays, after church when his mom would fry a chicken and fix all the trimmings. The family would load up the food and a card table, and head to the station. He especially remembers one station that had a tree nearby and the family would have picnics under it, giving Lowell a good meal and family time.
• Standard Station
Harold Meyer started in the business by working part-time for Melvin Lubkeman for five years. Melvin, who Harold said was a “peach of a guy,” taught him all about the station business and gave him the experience needed to operate on his own. Melvin wanted to retire so Harold took over the Standard Station. Standard Oil sent Harold to Kansas City to school to learn all about running a station, a requirement at the time. Two weeks were devoted to bookkeeping and two weeks were to learn about running a gas station.
Harold started managing the station in 1966, and worked there for 33 years. Lynn Sheeler worked for and with him for 32 years and three months. Lynn and his brother, LaVerne, ran a City Service Station across from Hampton Distributing for several years giving Lynn his background in the business. Harold talked about how Lynn was big part of his business success. He was very easy to get along with and they complimented each other well. When Harold had to be gone, Lynn could take over with ease.
Harold had a good business, which he enjoyed. His business was based on local business and carrying accounts. He was very fortunate to have many good customers including A.C. Benton and Don Yaden, so the building of Highway 35 did not affect his business. In 1997, he started thinking about retiring, as standing on cement for 30 some years had taken a toll on his knees, and in December of 1999, he turned his keys over to Verner Heilskov. Harold stated that he did not miss the station, but sure missed all the people.
• Conoco Station
In 1880, at the age of two, William A. Wright came to America from England with his parents, William and Cecilia Wright. He grew up in Dwight, Ill., and met and married his wife, Olive A. Fitzpatrick Wright. When their son, William Wright, was 12, they moved to the Dows area where Bill received his education. On June 22, 1922, Bill and Lexie Nedrow were married in Newton.
Bill went into the full-service gas station business in 1941, operating the Conoco station at the corner of Highway 3 and 65. At that time Highway 65 was “the highway.” Until 1970, the station was open 24-hours a day, with a full-time mechanic on duty day and night. It didn’t take long for travelers, salesmen and AAA to know that you could get gas, get a cup of coffee, get your car fixed or use the station as a rest stop, right in Hampton, in the middle of the night.
A stop at the gas station meant that the minute you pulled in the drive, an attendant would come out, fill the car with gas, wash your windows – all of them, check your tires, check under the hood – making sure the water level was correct and oil level was up. If you had a flat tire, the attendant would fix it for you. If you wanted, the attendants would put your car inside and wash, dry and detail the inside of the car – making sure everything was clean and polished.
Inside the station you could buy pop, coffee, cigarettes, a case or can of oil or grease and “use the facilities,” or get your car repaired by a good mechanic.
Bill Wright was known for his sense of humor. His good friend, Kenny Harrison, pulled in the drive one day and told Bill that winter was coming and he wanted everything underneath greased. “Now, Bill,” he said, “I want everything greased – and I mean everything.” He repeated this several times. Bill put Kenny’s truck on the hoist and greased everything underneath that needed greasing and lowered the truck. Then he took a small amount of grease and carefully greased the steering wheel. Kenny paid and hopped in the car, but when he placed his hands on the wheel, he knew he had been had. He spun out of the drive and went home without a word. Thirty minutes later he was back. He drove up, opened his car door and threw a sack on the driveway and left. Bill reluctantly approached the sack and peered inside. He had received a sack full of sheep “pellets.” They both enjoyed themselves over that prank.
Bill’s son, Neill, was a draftsman – drawing plans for Ferris Nursery through high school. He went to work as a draftsman for the Great Lakes Pipe Line until he went into the service in 1950, during the Korean War. In 1952, he was honorably discharged, returned home and started looking for a job. His dad suggested he work at the station while he decided what he wanted to do. He found he liked the job and that he and his dad worked well together, so he stayed on for 17 years.
Neill pointed out that there were 23 gas stations in the 1950’s and everyone made a good living and raised families. Today there are four dedicated gas stations in Hampton.
• Skelly Station
One gas station, the Skelly Station, on Highway 3 near Highway 65 and 3 stoplights had a small café. This café was noted for it’s “out of this world” chili soup. Kids liked to hang out at the café after school and in the evenings. The station was thrust into the nationwide lime light when a group of young men, played “chicken” with their cars west of Hampton ending in several deaths. The group had met first, before the crash, at the Skelly Café.
• Car-related shops
Besides the gas stations there were dozens of car-related shops throughout Hampton. For instance, you could get your radiator fixed at Emory Cooper’s Shop or Higgins Service. Archie’s Tire Shop would repair, vulcanize or recap your tires or sell you new or used tires for your car or tractor. If you broke your frame, chances are that John Van Horne would be the one to weld it back together. Bartering also went on, garage owner Dick Baker needed a landscape done and my husband needed an air conditioner put in our 1963 station wagon, so they traded and both were happy.
The building of Interstate 35, whereby Highway 65 was no longer the “main road,” had a drastic effect on the businesses in Hampton, especially the gas stations.