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C.
K. Brown started delivering by mule drawn wagon
Photo courtesy Mel Brown
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Editor's
Note: The following letter from Mel Brown, author of Chinese
Heart of Texas, furnished us with these two photos and the accompanying
story, which will begin a new series in TE entitled Texans at Work.
At
age five, I went to live with my grandparents in San
Antonio. My grandfather, C. K. Brown was nearing the end of a 35 year long
career with The Humble Oil & Refining Co. as a truck driver and was then marking
time daily by running errands for the regional depot. For most of the previous
three decades he had delivered Humble petroleum products throughout South Texas
and all over San Antonio first
by mule team, above, then motor transport. But for that first year before entering
grade school, I became his pint sized partner running around S A with him to the
various Humble stations in a '49 Chevy pickup truck. We delivered tires, parts
and products, picked up extra cash on hand for bank delivery, took orders, etc.
and I had the time of my young life. "CK" was well known and loved by all, so
at each stop the garagemen vied for my attention by offering me cold soda pop,
peanuts from the penny vending machines, or candy bars etc. And naturally, there
was always the omnipresent bell in the office to ring by jumping on an air hose
laid across the driveway for customer's tires to hit. Those were needed to alert
busy or inattentive gas station workers to customers needing service in the years
before Self-Serve came along. |
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| Anyhow, my very dim
recollection is that the old station featured as "The
Last Humble Gas Station" was out on either South Nogalitos or Flores streets.
Whichever it might have been, it was a delightful surprise to see it again and
still standing. |
| That's
"CK" on the right with his assistant driver in the photo which was shot at the
old Humble depot on El Paso St. just west of downtown. His truck was decorated
for the annual Battle of Flowers Parade of 1930 because in those days the historic
event included a commercial section made up of businesses, merchants and vendors
from all over town. - Mel
Brown, Austin, June 11, 2007 |
C.
K. Brown (right) and
assistant driver
Photo courtesy Mel Brown
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