Since thing are really slow here on OG during this time of year, I though we should just have some fun.
How about describing the best find you ever had. Was it a single item or was it what I will start out with my really first and best find.
It was about 1988, there was a radio show where people would buy and sell things. I went on asking if anyone had any gas pump for sale. About 15 minutes after I asked this I got a call. The gentleman was quite evasive, but I finally asked him how many gas pumps did he have. He said about 100.
At the time I was about 58 years old but I could deduct he was much older. He told me he owned a bulk plant in southern Illinois. I made appointment to see him on the following Saturday. Cindy and I went down the 100 miles it took to get there. The gentleman was a very nice man, but he just wouldn't get to the point. We discussed Democrats, Republicans, just about everything but gas pumps. Finally I asked him if we could see the pumps. He took us to garage after garage filled with pumps. No visibles, a few clocks (all 36B porcelain), but no mention was made as to price. We just agreed that I would come back the next Saturday.
We went back, and after discussing Democrats, etc. I asked him just what he wanted to sell. Well, he told me he had been a Conoco dealer, but he had switched over to Marathon and he had cases of Conoco oil cans and greases. Up in the rafters were boxes of Marathon tin signs (1950s), out in a field were about 75 of what you guys call lubsters, I call oil dispensers, there was a tanker that came off of a Model A Ford truck. All around the place were things like Conoco bases for tall signs, four sided, with the Conoco emblem embossed on them, no Conoco signs, but the six foot? holders of the signs, tons of Marathon paper signs, canvis signs and a lot of Marathon smalls, and....of course the 100 pumps.
Well we agreed to come back the next Saturday. We did, I had $900.00 in my pocket, I offered him $500 for all of it, he reminded me of the tanker, so I said $600, he reminded me of something else, so I said $700. Guess what, he agreed, I still have the very small receipt he gave me in my wallet today.
Well, we had just purchased a new Camery, but Cindy and I decided we would load as many of the Marathon signs in the back of the Camery first, well the bumper was just about touching the ground.
For some dam reason I told him I intended to gut the pumps, so he asked me if I would gut them before bringing them back to St. Louis, and I agreed. So, every Saturday, Cindy and I would drive 100 miles one way, gut about 10 pumps, load them on our truck and return to St. Louis. When we were done gutting the pumps we were so dirty and smelling of well you know what, we couldn't even go into McDonalds for a meal, we just ordered at the window to go, and as they say in Wisconsin "et" the meal in our truck.
We did this weekend after weekend. One weekend, the gentleman said he had something for me, he took me to a building I had not been in, and actually he never invited me to enter, and got a globe out. It was from a very small oil company even more south in Illinois, can't remember the name.
DB will probably remember this post, because I posted this about 10 years ago and actually the story doesn't end here, it gets even better the next six month after the purchase. If you want to hear more, let me know.
Jack Sim
Last edited by Jack Sim; Sat Dec 28 2013 01:35 AM.
