GET YOUR GAS - AND OTHER NECESSITIES - IN WALNUT COVE, NC (Mark)

The nice thing about being retired is that Friday seemed like a good day to take a drive, so we did.

Our first stop was to get some food at the El Cabo Mexican Restaurant.  Coming out, you see the old Walnut Cove Motor Company Building.  An ad in the newspaper from August 18, 1928 talks about getting your car serviced:

A block-and-a-half to the west is the Monitor Roller Mill.   The Mill has been family-run since 1910, is still in use, and has a Facebook page.  Lot of stuff on the Facebook page about chicks for sale, but we were amused by the free kittens they also posted about.

As we sat at the stop light, Cheri said "I wish there were some antiques here."  Sure enough, The Just Plain Country Store, which sat directly across from us, was as much an antiques store as it was a purveyor of "country."

Generally antique stores are great places for pictures; this one had a number of old fuel pumps

The current Sinclair Logo is a green Dinosaur.  I really like this logo from the late 20’s.

I am not sure if this pump was actually for aviation or automobile fuel:

The store had several Sinclair pumps with several of the logos they used through the years.

If you want the Cadillac of fuels for your car, well here you go:

I believe this pump dispensed gasoline not cola, but I do know some folks who drink fizzy drinks by the gallon.

This Gulf pump is a bit narrower than most of the other pumps which I found interesting.

I had never seen this brand before.  A little research and I now know the company began in 1938 in Cody, Wyoming. 

In 1946 the company moved to Canada in 1946.

If you want a more of an Island feel you can get your fuel at Polly Gas. 

The Wilshire Oil Company in the 1920’s used the Parrot to brand their product with a unique feel. 

During the 1930’s and 1940’s in Southern California, these pumps were easily found. 

By the 1960’s they were closing down and became collectors' items.

In 1900 a pipeline salesman named W.S. Porter, who worked in the Kern County, California area, convinced the five largest oil company owners to form a consortium, and the company became The Associated Oil Company, with the Flying A brand.

The company was headquartered in San Francisco, California and served the Pacific West Coast, Hawaii, and the Orient.

---

We finished our visit to Walnut Cove with a visit to Mitchell's Butchery, where I got some outstanding flank steak.  The carne asade I made the next day was a hit!

You can read more about the Mitchell's Butchery shops in Walnut Cove and King, and the ranchers that they buy from in this great Our State magazine article.  I'll be stopping in when I drive through again.

If you would like to be added to the list to receive email messages when we upload new posts to this blog - and don't already receive our emails - email us at [email protected].  (If you come from links on Facebook, you may not see all of our posts.)