From the 3 stations I've worked at when I was younger, the "DING-DING" is still very vivid in my mind!
Here ya go! Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1916... In 1916 a man named Ernest Holmes modified his 1913 Cadillac with a pulley and crane and created the very first tow truck. It was known as the "Holmes Wrecker" and the basic set up would be used for years to come. This is a picture of a 1916 Holmes Wrecker courtesy of Jonas Brock.
Getting a tow by a 1913 Caddy? Now that's classy! At first glance, it almost looks like a Red Green job (sans duct tape, alas), but closer inspection reveals it's pretty well thought out. Thanks for that nice bit of history!
I love his beautiful mess! I bet he knows exactly where everything is. And when's the last time anyone was served at a gas station by someone wearing a bow tie?
That looks like something that could be an Atlas or Walthers kit. Can't miss that wraparound rear window!
Here are a couple of pictures of abandoned gas stations I found in the ghost town of Latham, Kansas, on a drive back in 2011.
Not a gas station, but too interesting to pass up. June 21 1955. Sam Gray, David Rutford and Fred Hallberg begin their cruise down the Mississippi river from Saint Paul Minnesota on a homemade raft. The raft was built of barrels and planks. Power for the propeller was provided by a 1939 Chevrolet they had paid $ 15 for. the car had 172,000 miles on it. The rear wheels of the car ran against another set of wheels which turned the propeller. The car's steering wheel turned the raft's rudder. In Saint Louis Missouri the men had a delay as the Chevy's valves needed to be ground. Outside of Memphis Tennessee a bearing on the propeller shaft burned out but the men were able to repair it with tools borrowed from a barge crew. The men ran low on food as they discovered a stowaway was eating their food. The stowaway was a rat. The men tried fishing for food but caught nothing the entire trip. Other problems encountered included mosquitoes, driftwood in the river and backwash from passing barges. On July 25 1955 the trio reached New Orleans. They planned to drive the Chevrolet back to Minnesota. Epilogue. The three men made it back to Saint Paul driving the Chevrolet in 49 hours. The car used five gallons of oil for the return drive. Photo Ramsey County Historical Society.
That is way cool! I bet GM didn't figure that part of the mileage traveled by this car in its lifetime would be as a Mississippi riverboat...
I don't know how much the "dust bowl" of the '30's extended up into ND, but that same scene would do for much of the great plains, from Texas on up into Canada.
