Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana Company of the Month - Chevron

Standard also did a fair amount of advertising. Considering that our local paper is and was very small, the put in some fairly consistent and large ads including this one in 1949.



In addition to the "Corporate" ads, there were also ads for the bulk plant.



One of the local station owners ran a series of cartoon ads to attract customers.

Some pictures of the stations from my local area show how signs and products were displayed.

This is the older Lunde's Chevron



In the mid fifties a new station was built across the street.

This early station was in the town of Buellton



Twenty miles south of Buellton on the coast was Gaviota.

Thunder asked for some photos of Chevron signs. Collectors of Standard Oil of California and Chevron signs know they are very hard to find. That's because the company had a "destroy" policy on outdated signage. And since there were less dealer operated stations than most other brands, fewer signs were salvaged over the years. Chevron porcelain pump signs are as rare as the proverbial "hen's teeth" (except the Calso signs). I've talked to old marketing men who never saw a Chevron pump plate in their entire career. The best I've been able to determine is that porcelain Chevron pump signs were used only in British Columbia and selected marketing territories of the northwest, like Washington and Idaho. The painted tin Chevron pump signs were used mainly in the former Calso marketing territory (as were the Calso porcelain pump signs).

Photos of the Standard/Chevron signs in my collection (the Chevron Supreme pump sign with hallmark in the upper right is extremely rare. It's porcelain, not painted tin)...







If you have a Standard or Chevron sign you'd like to sell, please email!!

Paul

[This message has been edited by Pablo (edited 08-13-2005).]

Thanks again for the contributions guys

Check out the door emblem on the oil delivery truck that Poor Man posted.



As Socal unified their brand designations in 1940, it carried on to their Calso brands also, as can be seen in Pablo's post.



Its easy to see the similarities in the two signs. I'll have more about the Calso story later.

[This message has been edited by Thunder (edited 08-08-2005).]

[This message has been edited by Thunder (edited 08-08-2005).]

Here is my Chevron collection. Just got the pump plates NOS still in the box. The globe book says there is less than 10 of these globes known to exsist. I dont know about that but this is the only one I have seen.
Thanks and good job Thunder.
Brandon

Pablo's right about destroying the signs. A buddy of mine worked for Chevron for about 40 years in the maintenance dept. He remembers throwing signs off trucks on back roads in Alaska so they wouldn't have to drive all the way to the dump!

Thanks Thunder, and all who have added to this Chevron history post, its fortuitous for me as I am redoing one of my pumps a tok 39SL in Chevron and have'nt seen a great deal of history of the company before. This is great! Oldgas is the best!!!

Scott.

Here's a few more signs from my collection...







Paul

[This message has been edited by Pablo (edited 08-09-2005).]

In 1928, the first Model A ford, owned by movie star Mary Pickford (but not driven by her), made its first stop at a Standard Oil Station in Los Angeles, where the attendant filled it with Red Crown Gasoline and Zeroline No. 5 Motor Oil, especially formulated for the new Ford.



For those of you who dont know Mary Pickford, Here's a little 1920's eye candy...



[This message has been edited by Thunder (edited 08-10-2005).]

In 1911, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil's holdings were to be divided into 34 separate companies. The companies that marketed petroleum products to motorists fought for use of the Standard brand, To settle the dispute, the Supreme Court ruled that each of the eight companies could use the Standard name in specific states. Outside set boundries, the company could sell products, but not under the Standard name.
So most of the Standard Companies invented names to use outside their home territories. As such, Socal competed against Jersey Standard after WW II. It did so under the name, Calso.



In 1946, Socal set up marketing and refining operations in the northeastern United States. For 12 years, it marketed its products under the Calso name, designed in typical Standard colors and typefaces, some with the Chevron logo (see Pablo's post) In 1958, Standard made the decision to convert all Calso Stations to Chevron.



While Chevron was repainting more than 7000 station pumps in a new color scheme and adding Chevron name plates, the company builds suspense by placing, over the Calso sign, a red bag, reading "Whats come over our Calso sign?"




[This message has been edited by Thunder (edited 08-14-2005).]

Here is 1 of 2 large signs I have.

This is the other

db

[This message has been edited by Dick Bennett (edited 08-15-2005).]

A 1936 discovery of an oil field in Kettleman City, California, led to the production of RPM Motor Oil. The oil field contained a waxy type of crude oil that allowed the manufacture of a parafin-based oil that offered good mileage and an ability to withstand the effects of high heat.


Thank you Curt at The Poor Mans Museum for the above photo...

DELO, an acronym for Diesel Engine Lubricating Oil, was developed in 1934 in conjunction with Catepillar's new high speed diesel engines.

Further advances in technology helped Socal lead in the lubricating oil industry. RPM DELO Special Motor Oil, allowed US Navy submarines triple their cruising range during WW II, by reducing wear and keeping the diesel engines cleaner.

Just a note: Socal, showed their support of the allied forces efforts, during WW II, by displaying wings on their Chevron logo. Here is a shot of my G&B 96C, currently undergoing restoration.



This tradition was carried on well into the 1960s. I'll have more on Chevrons contributions to the war effort soon...




[This message has been edited by Thunder (edited 08-13-2005).]

THE FLYING V

The flying V in the Chevron logo was a symbol of Socals support of the Allied War Efforts.



As the United States entered into WW II Drastic changes came to Socal. The Richmond refinery, for example, soon resembled a fortress. Searchlights and machine guns guarded all entrances. A torpedo boat even patrolled San Francisco Harbor.

Socal soon became a key supplier of petroleum pruducts for the Allied Forces in the Pacific Theater. Upgrades, and expansions were made to both the Richmond and El Segundo refineries, for the production of aviation fuel. The Bakersfield refinery was converted for almost exclusive production of the 100 Octane fuel.

Socals tanker fleet soon came under command of the War Shipping Administration. It's tankers soon becoming floating service stations. During the war, Socal built two new ships, the J.H. Tuttle and the R.C. Stoner.



Which were by far, the largest ships in the Socal fleet. At 18,000 tons each, they could transport almost 154,000 barrels of cargo.

War duties, took a heavy toll on the Socal fleet. The tanker, W.S. Rheem, was struck by a Japanese torpedo, August 31,1943, blasting a large hole in the port side.



"It was large enough to run a locomotive through it" according to Bernie Marston who served on the Rheem. None the less, the Rheem made port. Yet two other company ships failed to survive the war. The H.M. Storey was sunk in the South Pacific, with the loss of two men. The H.D. Collier, was sunk by enemy submarine attack in the Arabian Sea, taking with it, 30 men.



The company and its employees received this Certificate of Achievement for "exceptional accomplishment in behalf of the United States Navy"

[This message has been edited by Thunder (edited 08-14-2005).]

Got some new Chevron stuff at the Utah bash.
Thanks
Brandon