back to the future

Oct 13, 2015

TIME CAPSULE TUESDAY!

Back in the day… before Facebook… a handful of my friends and I ran a Crothersville community website. It’s since been converted into a website for the town, but I still have all those old files. I used to share something now and again but I haven’t for a very long time.

This appeared in October 2004 and was written by a gentleman who requested to remain anonymous, using the handle ‘Old Timer’:

Have you seen the movie with Michael J. Foxx called Back to the Future? There is one scene in the movie that reminds me of OLD Crothersville every time that I see it. You know the scene… the one at the gas station where the car pulls up to the Texaco station, the delivery bell rings and a whole herd of people rush outside to service the auto. That’s the scene that brings back fond memories for me of Crothersville.

Do you remember how many “service” stations Crothersville used to have? Bud Marshall had the Mobil which is now BP; Arnold Hien/CJ Masters had the DX; Shorty Breedlove sold Mobil fuel oil from his Ford Dealership; Lewis Forister and Walter Pevlor had the Texaco which is now Subway; Herb Hillenburg was Phillips 66; Buck Cutshall had Standard Service; Smear Kennedy sold Gulf Products which is now Erwin’s; George Crawford, now Charlie McIntosh’s Auto Repair, sold Sinclar products and Pappe Nay, (I can’t remember his fuel brand) sold something that maybe someone else may remember. Wow! What a list, and I may have even missed somebody.

Don’t you miss pulling up for gas and somebody else getting out in the rain, snow, cold, freezing wind or relentless heat to pump your gas, clean your windshield, check your oil or air your tires? Doesn’t it also seem that you only need gas when you’re already dressed up to go someplace? Even if you only pump the gas, your hands still stink. But in the old days, you could pull up to the pump and 2 or 3 guys would come out to service your auto and pump gas for you. And what did you pay? Why… you got around 5 gallons for a dollar! What are we paying today for gas that we pump ourselves in the worst of conditions? About $1.97 a gallon and don’t think anyone is going to rush outside for anything unless you forget to go inside to pay your bill.

Now this is truly ‘days gone by’!

-Old Timer

The Old Timer rarely submitted photos (I wonder if he even owned a camera), so the photo below is one from my personal time capsule from 2004. It was taken in Mexico by my late sister-in-law, Sheri.

back to the future