Although, my brother and I grew up on an orchard in Eckert, Colorado, our father owned and operated a gas station in Delta. He ran this gas station until I was fourteen then he sold the business but continued on with the orchard.
That’s Daddy, Lester Allen Doyle, standing on the bumper of his cousin’s cattle truck. John Doyle and Bill Hamilton (both cousin’s) owned and operated a cattle trucking business.
At this time Sinclair and all other gas stations were full-service gas stations—meaning they would wash your windshields, check the air in the tires, check all the fluids in your car and fill the gas for you. No woman’s gloved hand ever touched a gas pump nozzle; not when I was a child!
The best thing I remember about those times were getting up with Daddy before he left for work….he always got up at 4:30 in the morning, then he left for work around 5:15 to have the station opened and ready for business at 6 a.m.
We lived in Eckert, but the gas station was in Delta…the county seat and the largest town in our county.
Often times Daddy never got home until 8 p.m., closing the doors to the station around 7. If I didn’t get up in the morning I just wouldn’t have seen him until Sunday. Sunday every business closed, it didn’t matter what type of business.
Gradually over the years, the business grew so he could hire help, then he hired a manager, and he took over the deliver of the bulk gasoline and fuel oil and diesel. Gradually that increased so he had two trucks and a helper. Momma did the books for all the businesses.
In the summer my brother and I would ‘go to work’ with our Mother, spend the day at the office with her. This meant we would walk down to the library, check out books (four at a time) come back and read. We also took toys to play with. Our Dad would get us big boxes we could make forts and houses and ‘stuff’.
Ahh…memories!
Your friend,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
Linda, I loved hearing about your parents!! They were real workers and didn’t mind getting their hands dirty. You do have great memories!
Blessings!
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sounds like the american dream. wonderful.
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Yes our memories are sometimes all there is of our life back then and our family. Pictures of then are also more important now than they were years ago….I love your pic of the old gas station and the life of your dad.
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I immediately thought of this book : The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion, by Fannie Flagg. You might enjoy it!
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The good old days
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What great memories! I remember when we would go to my Grand Mothers house, we would have to stop at the gas station and go across that “ding ding” hose and here the guys would come out to greet you. And like you said, a full service. In Oregon, they have an attendant that pumps the gas for you.
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Indeed the book by Fannie Flagg was Great!
AND I remember stopping by the Sinclar Station in Delta when family traveled via Hy 50 from Gunnison to Paonia. Later on after I married my wife, her Mother married a man from Weskan KS who owned and operated a Sinclair Station. He also delivered fuel to the farmers in that area. His name was Barney Okeson.
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The photo of your Daddy’s Sinclair Station is a slice of history. I used to have a tin service station that I got for Christmas. I played with that for hours. I pumped a lot of gas in my imagination. Thank you for sharing your memories.
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Great memories Linda, thanks for sharing them! Times were different back then..better..maybe but our parents worked hard to make a living:)
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That photo looks like it was taken before Sinclair took on the big green dinosaur mascot.
Having a blog gives us a chance to put down things we remember to share with those that remember and with those that have no idea was it was like before they were born. I wish my grandparents would have had the time and the desire to write down a few more things. Those stories would be priceless to me now.
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What wonderful memories and what a neat photo. Times have certainly changed since your Dad owned that Sinclair station.
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Wonderful memories Linda.so vividly told that I could smell the fumes.
I also managed and partly owed a gas station in the late 80, s and early 90, s but now I am jusf happy to be retired, sort of!
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Linda, Thank you for this history of your Family. Love the picture. my family built and had a car dealership and also car repair ,etc. I found pictures and my cousin had not seen them,so we made copies. The building now sets empty.
We have 10 degrees now at 7:30 am, feels like -3. yesterday was 50, but the wind was roaring.It was a cold 50. Sharon Drake, south central Ks.
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Lovely memories! I wish I had old photographs, but they’ve disappeared with the death of each of my parents. I really have no idea where most of my childhood photos went.
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Ah memories indeed Linda. Aren’t we lucky to have had such memorable childhoods.
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Went on a day trip with friends Saturday and at a fuel stop we got to talking about gas stations in our youth — yup, women’s hands (even ungloved) didn’t touch the pump ever. But in Oregon, that is still true… it’s the only State (I think) that doesn’t allow you to pump your own.
Loved sharing your memories. (I sometimes “worked” in the summer at my mom and dad’s office too.)
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