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