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Standing beside Route 66 in Illinois, the mustard yellow vintage fuel pump in this 11x16 photograph waits, watching those still travelling the Mother Road. Handsome, cottage-y filling stations like this one--the Soulsby Service Station--used to be a common feature along America's highways; now vintage gas pumps like this yellow one are nearly novelties, enough to make people stop and take a closer look while they're on the road--whether they are rusty and crusty or glossily restored like this mustard Shell pump, purchased and placed in front of the station as another reminder of Route 66's heyday.

I was no exception to those unable to resist the lure of this lovingly restored Route 66 gem, and came close to tearing off the bottom of my car when I pulled off Route 66 to stop and enjoy a better look at this showpiece of not only Route 66 and Mt Olive, but historic preservation.

The sleek lines and great vintage yellow paint on the old Shell pump were matched by its polished, clean appearance; the neat state of the filling station itself are signs that Soulsby is yet loved and cared for. The knowledge that folks not only worked together to restore the historic filling station I was photographing but stayed around to help maintain it in its present pretty state added real pleasure and joy to my visit, and indeed, to my evening altogether. I could only wish that there were but a bit more sunlight for my photographs to make it perfect--next time (one of this photographer's mottoes!), perhaps I'll arrive earlier in the day!

This 11x16 documentary photo of the Route 66 gas station is a glimpse of the details, but I think I managed to capture some important things besides the handsome mustard-painted gas pump filling the left side of the photo's frame. A sliver of one of the station's original windows is peeking out from behind the marigold-orange Shell pump; just beside it is one of Soulsby's five windowed and white doors (this one new, made to identically match the other four, all original). Connecting these elements is the station's canopy, seen just overhead, beneath which many a Mother Road traveller stopped for a fill-up. And at the bottom of the photo, between the window and door, we can just see the red and yellow stripe--Shell Oil's colours--that races all the way around this noteworthy cottage-style filling station.

Behind the old Shell station with its cream-coloured Dutch siding, a gentleman on his riding mower--possibly even the current owner of Soulsby Service, Mr. Dragovich--was cutting the grass for what must have been the first time that year as the sun slowly made its way toward the horizon; someone whirred along Old 66 behind me on a bicycle as no-see-ums rose up from the grass beneath the trees. At this after-dinner hour on an April evening, the historic Mother Road filling station was quiet other than the sound of my feet crunching on the soil as I took my photographs. The peace and quiet at Soulsby Service Station this evening were probably a far cry from its busy days of operation between 1925 and 1991--but they were perfect for reflection and the opportunity to actually touch the past.

Professionally printed on archival-quality 11x16 photo paper, the actual image of the vintage yellow gas pump measures approximately 13.75 by 9.25 inches, bordered in white for ease of framing and to protect the image itself. Before shipping your photo, I sign, date, and number the back.

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The story of the Soulsby Service Station is one of the hard work, ingenuity and civic-mindedness of individual citizens all the way through--from founder Henry Soulsby's building the tiny clapboard station just before Route 66 came through in 1926 to his son, Russell, pumping gas until 1991 (when the EPA said the station was no longer allowed to pump gasoline) but sticking around to chat with Mother Road travellers until 1993.

Not long after Russell's death in 1999, the new owner engaged in a great effort to not only restore the historic filling station but have it listed on the National Register of Historic Places--and as you can see from my photographic slice of Soulsby, he was successful in the former and, I'm happy to tell you, the latter as well (the charming old gas station earned that status in 2004).

In addition to the individuals who ran this Route 66 filling station for 65 years, offering service with a wink and a smile, there were quite a few volunteers involved in the restoration of Soulsby Service Station to its 1937-1980 colours--but only after a local Ace Hardware helped with the rehabilitation by using a tool to determine the station's colours and donating paint to the project.

Considering the Soulsby family, who must have worked long hours while keeping their family business running for so long, as well as those who came together to make sure the historic filling station was rejuvenated to its present handsome state--harking back, of course, to the glory days of Route 66 and other road trips--gives me confidence in the future. This little cottage-style gas station and the people who built it not only survived, but stayed together for decades, through economic travails, wars, and major changes--including the loss of Route 66 traffic.

That both did so--even keeping their gas supplier, run by family friends since the birth of this small business, until the day the station stopped pumping gas--and that they made such a warm impression upon enough people that the station is now loved and cared for though it no longer provides fuel for passing cars, speaks volumes about the sort of people Americans are.

Kodak Endura photo paper, digital, canon, camera

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