Friday, December 21, 2012

Pete's Service, Pine Bluffs, Wyoming

Gas pump, Pete's Service, Pine Bluffs, Wyoming. 
(Click images to view larger) 

I've driven through Pine Bluffs, Wyoming before, but never stopped there, and it seemed like a good destination for a photo trip, so I woke up this morning at 4:30 a.m. after worrying about waking up at 4:30 a.m. for most of the night.  I picked up Ed Sherline, a photographer friend, at 5 a.m. for the 100 mile drive east.  Ed had been up late picking up relatives at the Denver airport and slept poorly too, so our coffee was gone before we passed Vedauwoo, fifteen minutes out of town.  

Pine Bluffs is a small town right on the Wyoming-Nebraska border.  I'll write a separate post on the town later, but a quick google search reveals only five "Frequently Asked Questions" about Pine Bluffs:

                        1.  What are the government office hours?
                        2.  What is the recycling pickup schedule?
                        3.  At what point is a snow emergency declared?
                        4.  Do I need a permit for a recreational fire?
                        5.  Who do I contact to rent a park shelter?

There's a giant billboard on the edge of town that implores passersby on I-80 to "Stop Obama Socialism (SOS)", though a website that google revealed lambasts the "liberal" town council for not allowing firearms to be carried around in town.  

I spent most of my time at Pete's Service (est. 1924), a former gas station near the old part of town that doesn't appear to pump gas any longer, but that hosts a vast collection of old pumps, presumably collected along the old Lincoln Highway before I-80 came through.  I don't know anything about Pete or why he collects pumps, but if anyone does, fill in info in the comments.  

Pete's Service along Highway 30.

A subset of the gas pump collection.

Paint detail from gas pump.

Phillips/Skelly paint detail.

Gas pump.

More gas pumps.

Old paint.

Glass must be full.


3 comments:

  1. This station was owned by Pete Carlstrom and was I believe a Texaco station right on Hwy 30 (the Lincoln Hwy). He had the first Ford Thunderbird in Pine Bluffs. I have no idea who collected all the gas pumps as Pete retired from the station before I left. I think Jack Hildebrand and another man whose name I can't remember ran the station for some time.

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  2. My family (both Good and Rinehart) is from Pine Bluffs, and I spent most of 1955 and 1956 there. I LOVED that flying red horse, and I'm sad that he is gone!! I now live near Dallas, and was so excited when I saw a flying red horse here.

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    1. Thanks for looking. I wish I had pictures of Pine Bluffs from the 50s!

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