I recently posted a picture of my Grandpa's old shell station in "Great Old Pics" and promised to share if I found more.
A little history... He was machinist's mate during the war and piloted landing craft during D-Day. After the war he decided to put his mechanical skills to use. His station was at the corner of Cummings St. and Clinton Ave. in Irvington, New Jersey. Originally, it was a single bay garage with an additional lift outside. In the early 60's the station was remodeled to a double bay garage. This allowed my Gandpa (Charlie) and Uncle Walter to work simultaneously without one of them having to work outside in the snow, which is how it was done until then. Uncle Walt lived in the 3 story apartment building on the other corner of Cummings St. and Clinton Ave. Charlie lived at 10 Cummings right across from the station, later moving to 22 cummings. They serviced all the vehicles for the locals on cummings street.
Side story, my Grandpa would go work before breakfast. On one day he left the Schrader valve open on a tire he had to replace and went home for breakfast. When he went back and popped in the tire spoons in he didn't realize the air hadn't completely emptied. The resulting bang sent the steelie into his face. Uncle Walter heard the bang at home and ran over and slowed the bleeding until the ambulance got there. Shattered all the teeth in the left side of his mouth, broken jaw and gash from below the eye to the bottom of the jaw. He survived after doctors called the priest for last rites twice. After that he was bit of local legend and the resulting scar likened him to Capone.
