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Back in the thirties and forties we had several service stations in Crane. I do not use that term loosely. W. H. (Hayden) Wilmoth, Vance Martin and Herman Plate are three that come to mind. When you drove in the station here came someone with a whiskbroom in their hip pocket. They swept out your floor boards. They raised your hood and checked your oil and water. They washed your windshield. They asked if you would like your tires checked. After all this, they would fill your car with gas. by the way, they checked your battery for water level. Vance Martin was Humble Oil, now Exxon, Herman Plate was Gulf Oil, now Chevron. Hayden Wilmoth was Phillips Petroleum. Phillips had a very, very tall gas torch out north of town. It flared night and day up to a tremendous height. It was said that airline pilots used to use it for a directional point. |