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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

Awesome story!!! I for one would like to hear more!!!

It doesn't take me much to talk about myself, so I will pick this up tomorrow (Saturday night). A little bit each night for a few nights.

Jack

Looking forward to hearing more

Awesome story Jack! I want to hear more, and I'm sure everyone else wants to hear it too.

More, More!

Yes... More! Thanks Jack.

Ray

More more more more more.

Can't wait to hear more Jack.

Michael

LOL, I usually don't read longer posts, feels like homeowork to me, but decided to read this one.
I'm right there with you 25 years ago and I'm a sucker for hooks, so ya, I wanna hear more.

I will go ahead and share the story of one my best finds. While I always had an interest in old gas items, it wasn't until 2006 that I decided I was going to get seriously involved in the hobby. I signed up for Old Gas, more than likely became one of the "annoying newbies" getting my feet wet in the hobby. My Dad had some Petroliana in the shop when I was growing up, and I remember hitting one of my Dad's Sinclair Aircraft signs a lot as a kid, as it sounded like a big gong to me! Needless to say, I no longer hit it when I see it, lol.

Anyways, I had been collecting mostly cans and smalls when about a year in I decided it was time to look for a pump. I always took notice of any pumps in the wild, but figured if they were still there they probably weren't for sale, so I just started word of mouth advertising, asking people if they knew of anyone that might have a pump for sale. I never realized how close I had been to one all along. I mentioned to my female co-worker what I was looking for as her husband is a farmer. She said we have one in the barn, I'll ask Russell about it. Within a day or two Russell stopped in and said, "I hear you are looking for an ol' gas pump. I got one in the barn, if you want it, you can have it. Dad and I pulled it 25 years ago and threw it in the corner of the barn when the EPA was getting on farmers to pull underground tanks and it's sat there ever since."

I'll admit I wasn't all that excited as I figured it was going to be a run of the mill 1950's pump, like a Tok 300 or a M&S 80, but since it was free and I didn't have a pump, I was going to get it regardless. Within a few days I headed out to Russell's place in my boss' white Sprinter, feeling just like a picker! First Russell took me to a scrap metal pile as he still had a set of doors off the diesel pump he had scrapped a year or two before. I was extremely sad to see a set of Tokheim 36B doors laying on the pile.....she had went to the scrap yard. The doors were free for the taking, so they went into the Sprinter as I knew I could sell them no problem as they were nice and had perfect bezels. I just wish I could have been taking the whole pump home, but it wasn't meant to be.

Now it was time to check out the ol' pump in the barn. I almost fell over when I turned the corner and saw a Wayne 866 sitting there! I was able to contain my excitement well, but I knew from what I had learned on this site in that first year that this was one of the really desirable pumps, but I honestly had no idea the pump was as collectible as it was. Russell asked me in his usual slow speech, "So, you want it?" I of course said yes, I would be very happy to have it. I had brought my camera with me to document my first pump find, so below is a pic as it sat in pieces when I first saw it, and a pic after I got it home and reassembled it. Needless to say, I still haven't restored the pump, but hope to someday when I have the space to work on it. Moral of the story is you might still be pleasantly surprised by what is sitting in barns and other places. I know I sure was!
Darin

Great stories guys. Love to hear the rest Jack.

Darin--absolutely wonderful story! Its these kind of events that will stay in your memory forever! Especially the moment that you rounded the corner and saw that pump sitting there!
Only problem is that it will be with you to the end, cause you'll never want to sell it, and like all pumps do, it will multiply! One is never enough, so make sure you have plenty of room, because it will soon be full!
Congratulations on a tremendous find!

Like Paul Harvey said we need the rest of the story . I really enjoy reading these stories. Jack . And Darin thanks for yours as well.

I've had several finds through the years but this one is the most memorable. There's a small town 25 miles North of our home. In 1992 Nancy and I were in a alley behind a old long closed drug store. I thought I'd look through the window and see if anything was still there. The drug store was on the left and there was a old falling down building on the right. Nancy noticed a Amalie sign hanging in the window. I went to the City hall and asked if anyone knew who owned the building. Sure enough the lady knew who owned it. I tracked the owner down in Kansas and got permission to look in the building. I took a nail bar and got a piece of tin off the opening and in we went. There were two Wayne 70's,a Wayne 60, a Gull wing Pepsi cooler, a RC cooler. I called the lady and she said she'd take two hundred dollars for them. When we went after the big stuff, we took time to really look the place over. I called her 2 weeks later and told her I'd like to buy the remaining stuff. She told me her and her daughter had went and looked inside and didn't see anything but cob webs. She sold me the remaining stuff for $100. I ended up getting two NOS Wolf head signs, 3 Texaco pump signs and one Tex no smoking. Numerous quart cans and hundreds of bottle caps. it wouldn't be much by today's standards, but it was a big deal then.