Type: Print
Size: 11x17
Price: $25.00

Where I was raised, (South Louisiana) things seem not to change very fast. I recall a time when fueling the family car we used a pump very much like this. What are so vivid are the tumbling balls as gas was pumped into the glass container at the top. I was not more than six when my father let me do the pumping. That was a job for a little guy like me, but like a child I worked hard at pushing the lever back and forth. I remember that it took all my effort and I could not look up to watch the balls tumble at the same time. That's my story but this picture was done for my mother.

When she was eleven her father sent her to town to get a part for some equipment he was working on. Now town was only two miles away from the farm, but for an eleven year old that must have been a tense two miles. After getting the part the shop keeper gave her instructions on how to turn around in order to go home. These were the days, no insurance, and no driver's license and gas ten cents per gallon.

Now in 1923 ten cents was a lot of money. When our gas prices started to look like three dollars a gallon I was reminded of this story my mother told about her first solo trip to town. I am a very fortunate man to still have my mother so I ask her to tell me how much she paid for gas back then. You guessed it "Ten Cents", just about the same as today's three dollar mark. I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did finding it and capturing this for the memory.