Posted 9 years ago
Rattletrap
(915 items)
We've had two antique gas Stations on display for a long time now and don't have a No Smoking sign anywhere around because I just wouldn't pay $110-$150 for one. That seems ridiculous to me since they just aren't that cool. The other day while my son & I were on a trip to Idaho, we pulled off in the tiny town of Arimo to take a "drive thru" & see what the previous pickers might have left for us. It was very slim pickings but we did find an old gas station that still had this No Smoking sign above the entry door. My son assured me I'd never find the owner as the place looked pretty abandoned. We were in a hurry and left only to return on our next trip to Idaho where I began asking around on the door to door trick. Finally I got a name and with patience I even got a phone number. We again left when no one answered the phone but I did get a return call during the day which I missed, of course. With some patience & a few calls back I finally got through to the right guy & made our deal on the sign, which we stopped and removed as we were returning home that evening. We found the sign to be in unchipped mint condition with just a little paint on one corner. It will look great on the Texaco Station at the aaaLakeside Storage Free Museum. Yes, it would have been cheaper to buy it on EBay for $125 but we would have missed all the Fun of the Hunt! Keep on Hunting.
Great story ! and nice find
Thanks. We love the hunt and all the associated stories that go along with it. Every sign and every pump has its own very color filled personal story. That's a big part of the beauty of the Collection. The few things we have bought off of EBay are much less personal and less interesting to us, but it was the only way we could get a few of the cool signs.