Model T era gas station safety

[John kuehn]

This must have been a higher end gas station. Most stations probably didn’t have a no smoking sign.. lots of folks smoked in those days and didn’t think anything about it.

[TXGOAT2]

A few people used a kitchen match to check the fuel level. Not many did it more than once.

[TXGOAT2]

Is that an oil dispenser the attendant is using? I've never seen one of those.

[TWrenn]

Is that an oil dispenser the attendant is using? I've never seen one of those.

Looks like it. Check out the dudes nice white clothes! Might just be a high-end station as previously suggested. Wonder what they looked like by the end of his shift!

[TXGOAT2]

They probably had a kid on hand to man the grease rack.

[Moxie26]

Reminds me of the Shell gas station back home in the early '50s before new pumps were put in... And regular gas 27.9 cents per gallon, ethel was 32.9 cents per gallon....

[John kuehn]

Yes. The station looks really clean and the concrete doesn’t look oily. Maybe it could nave been a promotional photo of an opening. When I first saw it the no smoking sign was the eye catcher. My father-in-law ran a Gulf station over 40 years where my wife worked part time growing up and she said Gulf never had any no smoking signs.
In my high school days in the 60’s I don’t recall ever seeing a no smoking sign but maybe I wasn’t looking. Interesting for sure.

[Norman Kling]

I worked for a garage while in high school back in the 1950's. One of the mechanics used to sit on a 5 gallon bucket of solvent which we used to clean off some of the parts. He sat on it while he smoked! Even dropped ashes in it!
Norm

[Art M]

In those days, gasoline was often used as the cleaning solvent. And they smoked while cleaning the parts.

Art Mirtes

[Dave Sullivan]

"No smoking stop your engine" was a common sight in in Washington State, in my younger days, like 40's into the 70's
Also note the shiny "swingspout" oil can.

Dave in Bellingham,WA

[Russ T Fender]

I worked in a gas station on Long Island in the early 60's and routinely smoked while pumping gas. There were 3 gas stations at the intersection and gas wars often sent gas prices as low as 13 cents a gallon.

[martinola]

A few people used a kitchen match to check the fuel level. Not many did it more than once.

He struck a match

To check his tank

Now he's called

Skinless Frank

- Burma Shave

[ModelT46]

Pan American Petroleum Co. was formed in 1916. Much of the company was merged with another oil company by mid 1920s. The last of the company lasted until 1954.

[TRDxB2]

dispenser of oil, it is

[FundyTides]

Yes, that is definitely an oil dispenser. I took over the lease, in 1962, on the oldest service station in our city. It was a Texaco station and still had the oil drums, full of oil, in the basement with pipes running underground to the gas island. The dispanser was long gone but the concrete pad where it was mounted was still there. Some of us drained off some of the oil in the drums and tried it in our cars. It must have been awfully light oil as it produced lots of blue smoke. Maybe it had degraded since the 30's or whenever it was used. One good thing I found in one of the cabinets in that Service Station was 2 NOS 21" Goodyear tubes. Coincidentaly, my Dad has just bought a one owner 27 T Touring (which I still have) so the tubes went to good use. About the same time, I found a new 21" T tire in another station that a guy has just taken over. He sold it to me for $5.00 as he didn't think anyone else would want it. He was probably right, at that time.

[BarnesvilleT]

Did some enhancement using an app in our studio.

[NY John T]

Great photo enhancement. Thanks. I think that he's blending different grades of oil. There must be different spouts for different grades, right? Very cool.
John

[jiminbartow]

The lowest I ever remember seeing gas go is 29.99 cents/gal. That would have been in about 1960, when I got old enough to notice such things. In 1960 I would have been 6. Jim Patrick

[Bryant]

I wonder what oil he is putting in the T?
I also wonder if the oil dispenser collapses downward when it is time to close up shop for the day? Probably would look like a trash can
Nice picture
Bryant

[John kuehn]

This has to be a high end station I would think.
Installing the “exclusive” oil filling pumps/ dispensers would be out of the question for country gas stations and those in small towns. They had bulk oil delivered to them in 50 gallon drums and oil was dispersed by using a simple hand pump on the drum to an oil can.
My father in laws Gulf station was using oil in drums from Gulf until the late 70’s and it was oil in quart cans from then on. Things were changing as time went on.