Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion First Posting!!!

Hi, This is my first posting. I found this website while researching info. on Tidewater Oil/Flying-A. My Dad worked for them out of East Boston, MA, during the 1950's. He towed a 40' "classroom" trailer behind a big green Mercury. Dad taught carburetor repair to Flying-A mechanics throughout New England and upstate New York. I remember as a small 4 year-old kid touring a brand new Tidewater Oil tanker ship docked along the Chelsea Creek behind the Tidewater office building on the Lee Burbank Highway on the East Boston/Revere line. I also remember going to a Tidewater family outing during this time. Does anyone remember my Dad, Jim Ross? jimjr

Welcome to Oldgas Jim....

You will find there are a number of Members here that have Tide Water/Tide Water-Associated/Tidewater items in their Collections....

By chance do you have any photos to share? We all like photos... LOL

If you haven't seen it and might be interested? Here is a link to a thread on Tide Water/Tide Water-Associated/Tidewater Oil I attempted to "put together", in Jan and Feb.

With the fantastic input of a lot of Outstanding Members here, I believe the thread has a fairly good History and some outstanding items from the different Company's associated with Tidewater... (but I am more than a little biased, with my opinion)

http://www.oldgas.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=382694#Post382694

Welcome to Oldgas.

What a wonderful story and great memory. Welcome to the site.

welcome to the site!!! very interesting story about you and your Dad..love it!!!
txs Alan

If you do get contacted about your dad as a pm (the blinking envelope you might get at the top of your screen) let us know. Do you have any pictures of him at work, or with his gear? If so we'd love to see them on showcase and stories...

Welcome!

Welcome to Oldgas.com!

Hello again, I don't have any pics of Dad on the job. I'm hoping someone out there may have taken classes from Dad and may have pics somewhere in their personal albums, etc. Dad would be a hard guy to forget: he was 6'4", about 225 pounds and had size 14 EEE shoes. He also wore glasses. He was born in Rangeley, Maine, took aircraft repair courses at Quoddy Village in Eastport, ME around 1935, enlisted in the Army Air Corps soon after and was a Tech/Sgt.. He served in the Pacific islands as an aircraft mechanic/crew chief and also spent some time in western Europe after D-Day. After the war, he entered Boston University School of Engineering (1st graduating class in that program), taught at East Coast Aerotech (Bedford, MA), Wentworth Institute (Boston) and then worked at Tidewater Oil. Boy, was he ever good at repairing and modifying carbs. !!! When he was working a second job at Logan Airport in the early 1950's, he would spend his lunch & coffee breaks tearing down carbs. and reassembling them. When he got stuck with a problem, he would call my Mom to look up info. in some of his manuals. She was probably good at carb. repair, too, but she never boasted about it! He went on into his own business (Jim Ross Tuneup Service) in Winthrop, MA in various gas stations and also managed the Town Line ESSO station on the East Boston/Winthrop line E.B. side of the Belle Isle Bridge. Anybody remember Duke's Diner? I guess I've been pretty long-winded about this all, but from your replies so far, you all give alot of moral support to new members, whether from collectors, gas/oil buffs or whatever. Thanks and looking forward to more replies! HAPPY MOTORING!!! jimjr.

Hi! Any updates on Tidewater Oil/Flying A stations out there ? I'm itching to find some pics, etc. RE: Flying A mechanics training. Thanks! jimjr.

Hi- It's been a while since I've jumped into the Forum. I found a Tidewater Oil "press photo" on ebay. Dad and three other Tidewater people are in the photo. They're standing just outside the mobile classroom/trailer I mentioned in my older posting. I also found out that Dad was the New England & Up-state New York training guy who instructed the many owner/operators of Flying A gas stations in this region. Sad to say, both Mom & Dad have passed away since my last posting. I'm pretty sure Dad went back to rebuilding carbs with Mom at his side making sure all is going per the old manuals. Any time I misplace a tool or need a certain bolt, nut, etc., I just ask Dad to show me where to look. He comes through every time! Of course, I inherited Dad' stock-pile of nuts, bolts, washers, Sta-kons, & a ton of other things which do clutter up the basement shelves (yup, he built the shelving too!!!), but I cannot & will not get rid of one single item in order to clean up. I do, however, give anything away for free if a friend needs what I have in-stock. I've rambled on enough. Happy Mothers' day to all the ladies who have helped make this country the best!!! Take care, jimjr

Hello again- I'm having a problem in down-loading the image of the photo. I'll try to resolve it & post it ASAP. Jim

sorry, about your parents. Its bad enough to lose one. I feel your pain.

Thanks so much! I'm comfortable with the great memories & that they're together in a special place. On another note, can I get some info. on how to post my photo? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks. Jim

Photo of Dad @ Tidewater Oil Training Trailer [img]https://imageshack.com/i/pmY7ZAiKj[/img] [img] [img]https://imageshack.com/i/pnfhjLZlj[/img]

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