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#335985 Sun Jun 24 2012 08:06 AM
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I was in a conversation with a fellow yesterday and a question came up about what the guys at a full service 1950's station would have made as a wage? You know, the fellows who would have cleaned the window, gassed the car, checked the oil, etc?

Were they paid hourly, daily, or by the cars serviced?

Anyone wanna shed some first or second-hand experience with this?

All my recollections are of 1970s stations which by that time only one guy did everything if you pulled into the full service lane.




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Before my time...

The minimum wage in 1950 was .75 for non-farm jobs... By 1956, it was a buck an hour.....

In 1965... I was getting $1.10 an hour while working at the Flying A station..... .03 raise in '66....


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Man, this question brings back some memories. In 1963 and 1964, I worked at the Hudson Gas Station in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Holiday Gas Station and Superstore in Iowa City, Iowa. I remember clearly that my pay was $1.25 per hour. We did the pumping, windshield cleaning, oil and tire air pressure checking, and money-handling, of course.

At the Holiday Gas station, I also had the privilage of cleaning the bathrooms and dusting all the damn general merchandise the "superstore" sold. I drew the all-night shift at this 24-hour station many, many times. No extra pay for nights or weekends, of course. No breaks...just eight straight hours of work. Of course, a paid vacation or insurance of any kind were unheard of.

My favorite companion on the all-night shift at the station was my radio, which was always tuned to the "mighty 1090", clear channel KAAY in Little Rock, Arkansas. I still remember the jock playing the Beatles NEW RECORD "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" for the first time. I believe he played it 20-some times in a row that first night. We didn't know it at the time, but we were living through the start of the British music invasion of the United States!

All-in-all, work at the gas station was still a great job for a kid just out of high school, who loved cars....and the pretty girls who many times bought at the station. We attendants sometimes "fought" over the opportunity to thoroughly clean the windshield for a good-looking girl. This was especially the case in the summer, when the Iowa heat meant shorts where the apparel of choice for many young women. Yes Virginia, most men are pigs!!! I can't believe I'm typing this. Thanks for the chance to relive some fun times from almost 49 years ago. John

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$1.00/hr in 1971 at Phillips 66. Good money 16 year old. LOL
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In Farmintgon, MO., in 1961 I worked at a Sinclair station. Two small Bennett pumps. I worked after school and on Sat's. my wage was .75 an hour. I was 17 so didn't matter much, it was spending money. ..warren

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1977 Grahams CHEVRON, $2.50 per hour, though I did get a raise to $2.65 after a while. And I got breakfast at Cleary's Restaraunt, AND a ride to work, when I worked on Sunday with the owner Bill Graham. I miss you Bill. Thanks for everything...

1981, at Monsour CHEVRON, $3.00 an hour as Lead Man, plus a small commision for anything sold at the island, and/or any shop services sold. Tires, LOF, Batteries, ect..


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By the 1970s the unions had organized service station workers in many cities. If I remember correctly I was paying my mechanics $5.00 per hour in 1977.

Jack Sim


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I worked at a tiny Texaco in the 75, 6 and 7 during high school, made about $2.30 an hour. We checked all fluids on every car, washed all windows, headlights, mirrors. The owner had been Texaco since 1950, usually had at least 2 people on every car, seldom got tips but it was a great place to work and had my car on the rack almost every night.

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Well, less see here . In 1967, I got a job as a frontman in an Esso station. The rest of the guys who were there I think were making between 1.50 and 2.00 an hour . I was cleaning the windhields , pumping gas and changing tires . I also had to cean the bays in the evenings that I worked . The next was a Sinclair station, they were re- capping tires so I learned about everything in re- cappin a tire from "Buffing " a core to actually applying the new rubber . That was some hot work . Paid 1.50an hour . I got on with a couple who had a Brand new Shell Station a year later . I was towing wrecks and there was where I guess found my "Niche ". They were doing Body work there . Shell got hot and shut them down , but not before I was offered a job doing the same , more money at an Atlantic station. There , ( 1970), I got 2.50 an hour . From there , I went to work at a Mercury dealership , oh towing cars and doing Body work . By that time , I was saving money to open my own place which I did in 1975.......... Ed Shaver


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I got out of the army in 1958, and went to work at a Cities Service station, part time for two years. I got $1.00 per hour and never got a raise the whole time.Of course it was full service and washing the windshield on a 1959 Chevy, or Pontiac with a hot chick behind the wheel was worth another 20 cents an hour. LOL


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Originally Posted By: eshaver
I got on with a couple who had a Brand new Shell Station a year later . I was towing wrecks and there was where I guess found my "Niche ". They were doing Body work there . Shell got hot and shut them down ...... Ed Shaver


Ed: funny you should write that. I came across some Texaco documents from a manager's meeting and it was telling them to look for stations that did body work as they didn't want "junk" cars parked at the station and "other work" meant the bays were full and then the stations were not doing oil changes or other things that kept them from selling Texaco products. They also talked about looking for non profitable stations and shut them down. It always has been and always will be about the bottom line...as it should be I guess.

Last edited by Alex; Sun Jun 24 2012 07:50 PM.

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In 58/59 I had a paper route at 12yo that finished near a Chevron Station at Beverly & Rampart in LA, CA. I would get a coke and fold up my paper bags and sometimes borrow a tool to fix my bike. About a year later Tom Hemmens said if I was going to hang around there I might as well work some so I cleaned oil bottles and bathrooms as well as sweeping and keeping the lot clean. I sold the route to another kid and went "full time" after school and Saturdays. I got a flat $25 a week and later $30. that was probably about25 hours/week. When I graduated I worked at a Flying A full time for $75-$80. Keep in mind rent was $45/mo and $10-12 would feed you all week.

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When I was working at an Amoco in one of the first locked booth stations in our area, I think I was making $3.10/hour

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80's-90's Nicole?

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1981, in my college town...but I was a veeeerrryyy young student! grin (I actually did graduate HS a year early, and was on the young age for my classes all througk K-12--there you go Dick, another clue to my vintage! shocked shocked shocked )

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