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Signs of Times: Gulf Oil sign is back 2011-12-30 - 1200 New Columbia Road, Columbia, KY - Photo by Ed Waggener. The Gulf oil sign on this store at 1200 New Columbia Road in Campbellsville, KY, brings back memories. For many years, motorists were staunchly loyal to Gulf, Shell, Standard Oil, or Texaco in this area, or the more local brands of Aetna, Ashland, Golden Tip, Sunoco, and Marathon. In Columbia, there were two Gulf Stations, one at 201 Burkesville Street, the location of today's Chamber Building, which was run by Mr. Frank Garrison and later Willard Cheatham and at 714 Russell Road, owned by Mr. Jones, who lived next door in what later became the Hannah Fowler house. Service stations predominated the retail scene in Columbia in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. There was one-to-three on almost every corner. Nobody had to worry about an empty tank. There was hardly a place where one couldn't kick the car out of gear and coast to one. At the intersection of Jamestown Street and Russell Road, there were three stations at one time: One a Shell, one an Ashland branded station, and the third, the oldest, carried the Standard brand. Just yesterday, I heard someone reporting that they had heard that there was a station where the new CVS Drug Store is slated to go, and said they couldn't remember it. It was one of the oldest. A Standard Oil station run by several people, Guy Moss and Charles Giles comes to mind quickly. The gas business started changing from "service" to "gas" stations, in Adair County when Mr. Jones, later joined by Mr. David Heskamp put in a cut rate, unbranded station where Glen Mary Street joins Russell Road, creating powerful arguments over which brand was the best. Then tanker drivers started spilling the beans: "It all comes out of the same tank at Kosmodale," insiders would tell us, and the beginning of the switch for sectarian brand loyalty devolved to a price driven market. Oh, the good fist fights we don't have today because, anymore, nobody cares whether the Pontiac runs better on Ethyl or not. And a footnote: The late Haskin Coomer, who ran the most memorable cut-rate gas station, said that Vernon Yarberry ruined the gasoline business with unfair competition to the business, currying customer favor with free windshield cleaning. -EW Permalink | Comments?

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