Life in the 1940's as told by Don Morgan

[genealogynut]

This picture is my grandfather, Alfred Wucherpfenig's old gas station.  It is still there--located at the north end of the business part of Howard, across from the old Howard National Bank bldg. (or across the street from the Cox Bldg).  It is now a part of the Gragg museum.

I used to work there on Saturday afternoon and nights when I was a young boy.  This was about the early 1940's.  I got $2.00 for it.  I think gas was around 13 to 18 cents a gallon, then.  Most farmers and ranchers would come into town  to visit and buy groceries on Saturday afternoon and evenings.

The kids would go to the picture show, then after it was over, their parents would get their groceries at either of the two grocery stores on the east side of Main street.  The cars would be double-parked.  Then on their way home, they would stop in at the station and buy $1-2 worth of gas, some would have you fill the tank. But most of them would only get 1-2 gallons.  The station had the old style of pumps that you had to pump them up with a lever, then the gas would run out by gravity.    I had to wash the windshield, lights, check the oil and radiator.  There were 3 pumps; one was for regular gas, one was for ethel, and the third one was white gas that was used for Coleman lamps and lanterns.

White gas is what we used at home, on the farm, until the middle of 1950.  We had no electricity or phone until then.

Now...........there most likely is not a car on main street on Saturday nights.  Tis was back in the good old days.

[Teresa]

Oh my gosh~~
I can not tell you how pleased I am to see things such as this in our forum..
THANK YOU Don..Genealogynut's Husband.. LOL

I loved reading this and seeing the pictures. 

[genealogynut]

    I thank you very much for the kind words :)don

[Jody]

I wiah others woul post their memories of HOWARD IN THE SAME TIME PERIOD.

[Jo McDonald]

When I was growing up, we would come to town only on Saturday, usually in the evening.  We milked cows and Mama had chickens, so we sold cream and eggs, and that was what bought our groceries and gasoline.  While the cream was being tested - that had to be done at the cream station - and the eggs had to be candled to make sure they were fresh.  This was done by the person at the cream station holding the eggs over a light bulb and that would show if there were any spots in them, meaning they were NOT fresh, and while we were waiting for the money to be paid for our produce, we would usually sit in the car and just watch people walk up and down the sidewalks..and if someone walked by that we knew, then Mama and Daddy and we 3 kids would get out and the grownups would visit.  Then when we went back to the cream station and got the money, Mama would take Helen and I and Daddy would take Jack and Mama would do the grocery shopping.  She would give us each a nickel and we would go to McKee's variety store and take FOREVER to decide what candy to buy with our money.  Mr. McKee told me (after I was married ) that he believed I took the longest time of any kid that came in the store to spend my nickel.  But------you could get 5 packages of kit-kats for a penny, and 1 licorice cigar for a penny, or a licorice pipe, a package of gum for a penny, and lots of other kinds of candy 4 or 5 for a penny.  The licorice cigars and pipes had red sparkles on the end and on the top of the pipe bowl.  Now that was something, you got to put it in your mouth and pretend you were Daddy and hold it between two fingers..puff a while then blow pretend smoke out into the air.  Of course the pipe you just held in your teeth and puffed away on it.  There were also candy cigarettes -- boy -- that really made you feel big -- had a whole pack to yourself.  After Mr. and Mrs. McKee got our selections all gathered up -- we each had a small sack of candy.  I was soooo proud and I tried to make it last for two or three days anyway, and Helen gobbled hers up- or so I thought, and she would tell Mama, she didn't have any candy left - so I would have to share, then one time I caught her, she had hid hers under the things in the dresser drawer and was eating it secretly - plus helping me eat mine.  The little rat!!  Jack and I never shared with her after that.  LOL  But I remember Mama's grocery list aways started off with Tobacco - coffee, flour, sugar, salt and pepper.  25# sacks of flour and 10# sacks of sugar, crackers and cheese and bologna were bought if there was enough money left over after the HAVE TO things were bought, and that was one of the favorite things we looked forward to --- on the way home, Mama would give us all a 4 square of crackers, a slice of longhorn cheese and a slice of round bologna.  Ohhhhhhhhhh  that was so wonderful..and we got to eat it while driving down the road.  It was heaven for this little country girl.  Daddy always bought 50 cents worth of gas, and some kerosene for the lamps.
  Daddy's Mother lived with us for 13 years, Grandpa Workman died when Jack was a year old - so we had Grandma. 
  Well, I didn't mean to write a novel --- I could go on and on here, but probably better quit.

[Diane Amberg]

Please tell more. I love it.

[Roma Jean Turner]

Great to hear those memories Jo.

[Wilma]

Jo, I have a brother like your sister.  In our preteen days we would go to the 5 and dime in the next town, each of us had some pocket money.  He would wait until I had made my selection of funny books, then decide those were the ones that he would have selected and since I had already bought them, he didn't need to.  He always had more money than I did and still does.

[Ms Bear]

Wilma, I'll bet you have more friends than your brother does.

[Wilma]

Thank you for the thought, but I doubt it.  He has spent his entire adult life as a radio and tv repairman and knows a lot of people.  The only ones he takes care of now are the old people that call him more for his company than that they need repairs.  He knows everyone and talks to everyone.  He can talk his way out of anything.  Takes after our mother's brothers.