Retro Petrol.

 

On our drive back to Florida a few weeks ago, we slipped into the past.

I stopped for gas in South Georgia. (pronounced southh Jaa’Ja)

Apparently it was South Georgia nineteen seventy something.

P1050234

No gas choices, no credit card slot, no nothin’.

I was waiting for someone to come out and clean my windshield and check my oil.

Apparently Mac the service station guy moved into the future with the rest of us.   

Take note, they were charging 2010 gas prices.  (2.59)

This was a first time sighting for my girls; the flip digits.

Do you remember when our alarm clocks were the flip digit style too? That was right after we upgraded from the rooster.

  

32 thoughts on “Retro Petrol.”

  1. Haven't seen one of those in a loooong time… and yes, I remember the flip digits. It was my very first \”real\” alarm clock.

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  2. I'm glad your girls got to experience it! 🙂 Every once in a while I come across these too…kinda neat cause it brings you back in time. Remember when self service gas stations first came out? Remember when it was the norm to pull up, and someone would put gas in, wash your windows and would check the air on your tires if you needed it? Rare now days but we actually have 2 places like this in my small town.

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  3. We saw one of those in a little bitty town that had one road and a grain silo. It felt really weird. But oh yes, I remember when that's what a pump looked like. And I remember the nice man coming out to wash my windows too. Sigh… : )

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  4. Good Morning,That is pretty funny…I like to tell my students stories too, and they look at me in disbelief…Like a rotary phone…we had a party line…and you had to dial 0 and tell the operator that you want to make a long distance call!Thanks for the memory! Have a worry-free Wednesday. ~Natalie

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  5. What a blast from the past! If an attendant had come out to service your car, he would have asked, \”check your awiol (oil) mam?\” Those flip digits on the old clocks would actually wake my sensitive ears up \”flipping!\”

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  7. how fun! crazy how we have forgotten it was really like that… i am shocked that no window cleaning was included though… and you actually had to go IN? makes me smile 🙂

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  9. There is a gas station in my home town that has a guy who still pumps your gas, and will clean your wind shield.. The pumps look exactly alike! We are about 50 years behind everyone else!

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  12. The little country market near our property is like that. You can have gas (single grade), diesel, or kerosene. No credit card slot. No digital numbers. But you can purchase chicken feed there:)

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  13. We encountered a similar gas pump in Virginia earlier this month. That station was also charging current prices. I do remember the flip digits, although I haven't thought of them for a long time.

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  14. A blast from the past! So funny, my husband encountered one of these the other day. He said when he got out of the car he just stood there looking at it ~~ not knowing what to do for a second.

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  15. We have lots and lots of these over here in the UK especially in rural areas, but very very few gas pumps here have credit card slots. It's very rare.

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  16. This is hilarious. I didn't even get it, at first. Doesn't take much to transport some of us back to the past, apparently! I'm so glad that you took the opportunity to show the girls the way things used to be. And glad that you taught us the true way to pronounce \”Georgia.\” xoxo

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  20. Must have felt strange having to figure out how to work the pump. How easy we forget. I actually remember the first time I pumped my own gas. I was so afraid it would overfill.

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  22. Hi Suzanne —-there's alot of OLD gas stations (charging current prices) in GA and TN–and even in VA…. And the gas goes into the car VERY slowly too…. Some people just don't want to update, or maybe they just can't afford it…. Besides they want you to pay inside –so that you'll buy a LOTtERY Ticket from them…. Did you buy one????? Cute post, my friend. And YES—I remember the flip thingees. That wasn't THAT long ago, was it????? ha ha Hugs,Betsy

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  24. Yup…. they still have those out in the country, down there in the hinterland :)I tell my kids stories like this: back when Daddy and I wanted to listen to music, we pulled out this thing called a \”record\” and inserted a NEEDLE into a GROOVE and it spun around, and there were pops and cracks and yes, MUSIC!Those were the days….

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  27. I have gotten so used to the card at the pump that IF I have to go into the store to get my receipt, it is really annoying. Flip digits – – – had forgotten about them. Fun.

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  28. lmao…. cute. yeah i remember those! shoot me in the eye but i remember when gas was just 17 cents per gallon!

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  32. Haha, I saw one of these a few years ago driving through rural New Mexico and I had the same reaction– I thought, is this the highway back in time and I am now in 1980 again? Please note, I wasn't driving in 1980, but I remember those old flip number dealios. Gotta love rural America.

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