Fill 'er Up!

When I was very young, there was a Richfield service station on the corner of 41st and Rucker in Everett, near our home.  It wasn't called a gas station, it was called a service station because, well, they served you!  The uniformed attendant would come out to the car and pump the gas and, if you wanted him to, he'd check the water and oil levels.  He'd also wash the windows.  Has anyone done that for you in the past thirty years??

Regular Glen worked at our service station.  I know it's an odd name, but my brother and I were convinced that was his name because, whenever he'd come to the window to check on us, Dad would say, "Fill 'er up with Regular, Glen."

Once they introduced self-service they dropped the price by two or three cents if you'd pump the gas yourself.  It wasn't too long until full service stations were a thing of the past.

A few months ago I was in Seattle and stopped for gas at a Chevron station at the corner of 25th Ave NE and NE 65th Street.  It was about 8:00 in the morning.  I pulled up to the pump and before I could get out the owner was at my window, asking me if I'd like him to fill my tank!  Indeed, I would, thank you very much!!

Another day, when we were driving through Sedro Woolley, we stopped at a cute old Chevron station on Ferry and, once again, the proprietor filled our tank for us.

There's one other station I want to give kudos to.  It's the 76 station on the corner of 196th and Alderwood Mall Parkway.  One December day I stopped by to get just enough gas to get me to my favorite three-cent-discount-per-gallon station (Fred Meyer in Marysville), but when I saw the enormous nativity scene prominently displayed on their property, I happily filled my tank to the top.

I just thought these uncommon occurrences should be noised abroad.  Next time you're in the neighborhood, you might want to drop by and give them a little business, just for old time's sake!