The Service Station At Ford Road and Hwy. 11 Circa 1956

Same Site Nearly Sixty Years Later

I absolutely love old photographs from around Loudon County. I collect old post cards and photos of anything from here. But I especially love the old picture of the gas station at the top. This was Clyde Ford's Gulf Station.

As a youngster this was our community gas station. Daddy bought all his gas there. He would pull to the pump and tell the man, "give me five dollars worth or fill'er up which ever comes first. Had my first bottle of Dr. Pepper from the coke machine there beside the front door. Daddy was a truck driver when I was little and he would park his tractor trailer between the buildings when he came home. Me and my sister spent many hours looking out the window of our house watching for the lights of his old truck to come backing in. Mom would take us down to pick him up and bring him home.

As the years went by and the old station closed up, this spot became the center of activity for all us Ford Road kids. I would hate to guess how much time we spent on this corner. In the summer, a lot of the time, we all set up in the big tree beside the station. The faint remnants of our initials are still in the limbs.

In our teen years, it became quite a notorious location well known throughout the community. In my adult life, it became mine and Sarah's little fruit market and later my used car lot. Today, it's still there and still operates as a little business.  

I guess my fifty year trip down memory lane must end now. I sure appreciate the the lady who posted the picture on Facebook.