Another coincidence occurred a few months ago. I was visiting the Santa Ynez Historical Society in my quest for pictures and discovered that they were in the process of creating an exhibit to celebrate the 85th birthday of Buellton. Their collection of Buellton images was small and by then I had collected several hundred pictures as well as a wealth of local historical information about the development of the Coast Highway through town.
I offered to help them in their endeavor, knowing that it could ultimately benefit me in my quest for more pictures. Initially my involvement was going to be telling the story of the service stations and the race track in Buellton. That quickly expanded to include the story of the highway, the motels, diners and Andersen’s Pea Soup. After several months of hard work our exhibit opened on July 10th, coincidentally the same weekend as Jack Mendenhall’s memorial service.
I had planned on dedicating the racing exhibit to Jack months before, not knowing how grave his condition was at the time. Fortunately this proved to be a fitting tribute to one of our local legends and a timely one at that. Our exhibit attracted the largest crowd for an opening that the museum has ever seen, which was interesting since Buellton was the last town established in the area and considered by some to be the least historically significant.
So now that you’re convinced that I’m an egomaniac that only likes to brag about my accomplishments, let me get back to my point. None of this would have come about were it not for this site and the encouragement offered by some of our members. I was motivated to do something constructive as a result of understanding that what I was contributing here was sometimes “destructive” or at least not productive.
Far beyond being able to share some stories of local interest on Oldgas, I have been able to contribute something positive and productive to my community, all because of an interest in gas stations and memorabilia.
When I first visited this site I was not a writer, I could not even post pictures. I knew very little about service station history or local history. I had never helped create a museum display or anything like it. By profession I am a general contractor and a real estate broker.
So here’s the real point. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you do, or how much knowledge or money you have. You can contribute something positive and productive to this site, to Petroliana, and perhaps ultimately your community because of your hobby.
There is certainly nothing wrong with getting involved in a discussion here. That’s the beauty of this site. You don’t have to wait a month for your next issue. You can offer up your opinions and ideas daily if you like. All I suggest is that when you do, think about whether and how you really are “Helping the Hobby” as well as respecting the other members ideas and opinions.
