Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana Jack Mendenhall's Museum Showcase & Photos

Going to change my drool bucket...be right back.

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Hubba: GAS GEEK , OIL FREAK and humble moderator

This has got to be the BEST cyber tour ever! Keep 'em coming.

great job poor man JUST AWESOME. ALSO GOOD POINT JASON. CHEESE BBC MEMBER

Poorman- great tour of some awesome west coast petro items, cars weren't too shabby either!!!

Okay, it's time to start the tour again.

Just a couple of points of clarification first on some earlier questions.

I said that I thought that the Polly neon was original, but I was only half right. Only one side of it is original and the other side is a reproduction. Jack traded half of the sign to another collector who in return had the reporduction made and paid to put the neon on Jack's sign.

Also, the glass roll up doors on the big garages behind the lollipop signs were just installed last year. Mark ordered doors that looked like authentic service station doors for this display room.

Now for some pump plates and some more globes!

The pump plate collection is on the wall of one of the offices along the west side of the porperty. This side is mostly offices and Mark's working shop, but there is plenty on display in every room.



The globes surround the upper level of most all of the display rooms, but there are a couple of walls of globes too. Yesterday Mark showed me their store room, which is also full of globes and signs that haven't yet been worked into the display.

All I can say is "Unbelievable"!



This is a closer shot of the globe wall that I posted earlier so you get a better view of some of the globes.



And that's not all......more to come soon including a fresh photo of Jacks old Richfield station as it looks today!

I guess I promised some more photos so I better deliver. Hopefully this post isn't so fat that you can't downlaod it anymore.

Here's about the extent of the Mendenhall can collection. Actually, they have some more but not much on display.



And for the sign lovers, some more signs.





And just in case you didn't think that they had enough signs, this is the sign boneyard.



There are many more signs in storage and another whole room where the ceiling is covered with signs that you haven't seen yet.



[This message has been edited by the poor mans museum (edited 02-10-2005).]

That General globe is cool... anyone doing a repop?

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WANTED: Sunset Gas/Oil stuff!

YOU MEAN TO TELL ME "I" HAVE MORE CANS THAN THE MENDENHALL'S?

"WOW!"

LOVIN' THOSE SIGNS....SA-WEEEET!

DOC @ THE AMERICAN GARAGES

I agree Elvis ,That General Gas is a sweet globe.I think theres a General repro out there ,but it's not that style

Talk about multiple eyegasms!!! Can I say that? Great job Poor Man! Your photos, explanations, and ability to answer the questions is is great. You have really invested a lot of time in this story. Keep up the good work. I'm sorry that I did not get involved in this hobby a little sooner. Having grown up just down the road in Orange County, I never knew that this stuff even existed, let alone at this level. Keep it comin'!!! BTW, did that old dragster have a 6 in it?

outstanding poorman thank you much. cheese

The town of Buellton in it's heyday represented the best of roadside America. It was a haven of service stations and diners for travellers heading up the coast. Jack operated a towing service and Richfield station called Valley Automoitve. Eventually, moving Highway 101 off of the Avenue of the Flags, did in the service stations along this route. That and the oil embargos of the seventies. This is a picture of Mendenhalls Richfield today (actually two days ago). You can see the pole signs over the fence. Still being used for auto repair, but no gas.



This is a little ad that I scanned from a 1956 edition of the local newspaper. This is the first ad that I found that mentioned their affiliation with Richfield.



On September 17, 1954, the Santa Ynez Valley News printed a special "Sesqui-Centennial" edition celebrating the founding of Mission Santa Ines. In this addition they gave historical information about many of the local businesses, including the service stations. This is the one from Jack's station.



Here's a better view of the old station from the ad.



Currently, I am researching the history of the service stations in the Santa Ynez Valley from the 1920' to the 1960's and collecting photographs and information to post on a later showcase. I've found some great stuff.

Well we still have another whole room (or should I say ceiling) of signs to see so if you want more just say the word and we will continue with our tour!

[This message has been edited by the poor mans museum (edited 02-11-2005).]

I would like to see more thats for sure, Curt your doing a great job, keep it coming !!

Well, it's about time to wrap up this post. I've posted 40 plus pictures and I don't have any room left on Photobucket or Imageshack to post any more photos. These last photos are the ceiling in the "bar" area. I guess that they put them on the ceiling so that you could see them when you were done drinking. Actually they are on the walls and in the bathroom too.









I hope that you've enjoyed this tour as much as I did. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what there is to see at Mendenhalls. Hopefully you will have the opportunity to experience it in person one day, like July 15-16th when you come to the Solvang, El Camino Real Gas Bash!

Here's my personal favorite, the Minute Man from Union 76 saying goodbye.



A special thanks to Mark and Jack Mendenhall for sharing their collection with me and allowing me to share it with you!

Curt, you did awesome. Thanks for the tour for us guys who can't make it out to see it.

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Scott Shipers
WANTED: Imperial Refineries Items
Kansas City, Missouri 64151