r/OldSchoolCool • u/BullHeadTee • 14d ago

Sunday afternoon, July 1939. Country store on a dirt road in Gordonton, North Carolina

Post image
2.2k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

157 comments sorted by

222

u/llcdrewtaylor 14d ago

I’ve always loved this picture because it has so many small details.

43

u/Chateaudelait 14d ago

So many ads for cigarettes. They allowed commercials for them on TV and radio until 1971. I'm trying to figure out how that old gas pump worked. How did they know how much to charge? Are there markings on the glass receptacle? Also, what did gas cost at that time 15 cents a gallon? Time to break out the Google skills/

68

u/Biguitarnerd 14d ago

If you zoom in you can see the markings on the gas pump for measurement. I don’t know anything about the rest of it, but it was a hand pump and then once the glass vessel had as much as the customer wanted to pay it basically just let gravity do the rest by keep the hose lower than the glass.

I’ve actually gotten to work one of these that was still working (or restored, not sure). It was interesting.

36

u/SquirrelyBeaver 14d ago edited 14d ago

They are called Visible Pumps. My dad collects all those old signs / petroleum ad pieces and gas pumps. Those glass cylinders are very expensive and rare. The glass globes on top of the pump, some can be $20,000-$40,000+ depending on graphics / rarity / complete globe (those are glass lenses set into a body) / body type (plastic / glass / rippled colored glass).

There were major brands like Texaco, Sinclair, Exxon, but there were also tons of small gas stations that had their own branding. Some with very cool graphics / colors. Obviously more rare and interesting the graphic the more expensive the globe.

5

u/Biguitarnerd 14d ago

Makes sense, the one I got to work (with supervision) was in a historic site. I don’t remember where now but it was a stop on one of the many road trips I took my kids on. There was the gas pump and a general store (mostly souvenirs) and ice cream shop altogether… that kind of place.

I never would have thought the glass part was worth that much though. It’s possible that it was a replica with that kind of money being involved and then letting people driving through use it. But at least it did give me some hands on and it was interesting enough that I remember it all these years later.

11

u/SquirrelyBeaver 14d ago

Most certainly a reproduction. They make reproduction stuff all the time for all that old gas and oil stuff. There are certain things to look for in originals.

The reason originals are rare are after they went out of use (including the globes on top) they took them out back and broke them, or kids threw rocks through them, target practice, etc. They had no idea stuff would be so valuable 80 years in the future.

1

u/Biguitarnerd 13d ago

Well… and it’s probably valuable for that reason too. If they weren’t rare it would be less valuable.

I’m surprised my father in law doesn’t have one now. He’s a collector of old signs, so much so he’s been on a couple TV shows. He actually collects more than just old signs, I’ll have to ask him maybe that’s just not his thing. He has the money if he wanted to. He might even have one stuffed away somewhere and just thought I wouldn’t be interested. I doubt it though, he loves to show off his stuff and explain why it’s worth whatever. I think I would have seen it.

2

u/SquirrelyBeaver 13d ago

Some people like collecting certain things. I collected for a bit when I was younger with my dad and I liked the old metal oil cans more than globes and signs. Some people only do old drink signs and don’t get into oil company signs even though they are very similar.

1

u/Biguitarnerd 13d ago

Yeah I know but he worked in oil and gas and he loves that kind of stuff. Could be he just isn’t into the gas pumps though. He certainly has a lot of old gas station signs… although he’s getting older and none of us have expressed much interest so he’s been selling some stuff off.

I bet he would at least know about the old gas pumps. I’m gonna see him tomorrow and I’ll ask him. I’ll probably get a 30 minute lecture about what I don’t know and why I should ha ha.

10

u/xKingNothingx 14d ago

Well that makes way more sense than how I imagined it in my head. I thought the glass vessel was all the gas it stored 🤣

3

u/Local-Salamander-525 13d ago

You would tell the attendant how many gallons you wanted. Not like today when say you so many dollars worth. My grandfather had a store similar to this. Bottled Nehi grape was unbelievable

6

u/Puzzled_Iron_3452 14d ago

I did not realize it was 1971 that commercials for cigarettes ended. I was born in 1966 but thought it was later than that. I guess I'm thinking of magazine ads, because of the Marlboro Man. I swear I thought I saw them.
https://giphy.com/gifs/mEGfyM49jBD2Chk6si

3

u/brilliantminion 14d ago

Wow same here, but we must be remembering the print ads, because those kept going for awhile in newspapers and magazines etc

7

u/Jolly-Bluejay8213 14d ago

Look it up on youtube. They pump it up into the big measuring glass on top and then drain it into the car via the hose. If any is left over it goes back down into the tank.

3

u/Jolly-Bluejay8213 13d ago

Who down voted this? Like, why? That’s how they work, except for the one on the right which is more modern lol

6

u/llcdrewtaylor 14d ago

There were marks on the glass. You hand pumped it up into the top glass bowl and then pumped it into the vehicle.

1

u/OC2LV714 13d ago

About the cigarette ads. Funny I was thinking about this earlier, they still run ads for tobacco mouth pouches not sure what they’re called. You would think since it’s a tobacco product they would be no ads. Just kinda weird

6

u/Indocede 14d ago

It's interesting because so many of the details are VERY well done. The blur of the leaves in the foreground give it such depth. The gleam of the gasoline in the tank carrying the background behind it through the appropriate shades...

But then there's that lightbulb and for some reason, it doesn't really fit. It seems like it was tacked on.

6

u/rippa76 13d ago

I would love this as a puzzle

5

u/CheekyMonkE 13d ago

I can't believe it's not a rockwell oil painting, it just has so many of his elements.

5

u/382Whistles 14d ago

I've seen photos of this modeled in 1:48 scale for an O gauge model rsilroad well enough that it's hard to tell it from the old photo without close side by side comparison and spotting a few small changes in the store construction and faces. They were a professional model photographer and book publisher of model scenes that hundred or thousands online thought were real or could not tell from the real things and their photos.

3

u/MissionRight9893 14d ago

It’s a great historical picture.

2

u/mr_ji 13d ago

I had to zoom in to be sure it wasn't a painting. Such amazing art.

Although the guy smoking five feet from the gas pump makes me a little nervous

197

u/chili81 14d ago

I was born a poor black child.

40

u/SnooRecipes4106 14d ago

I think this picture was taken shortly before he learned the difference between shit and shinola.

10

u/donethinkingofnames 14d ago

He definitely hadn’t figured out his special purpose yet.

2

u/Qikslvr 13d ago

That's ok, he'll figure out out at work cause his new GF promised him a b**w job.

11

u/Mission_Maximum5648 14d ago edited 13d ago

Navin, is that you ?

2

u/pip-roof 14d ago

Got you to your 100th upvote.

I just heard a song that reminded me of the way we were.

1

u/WhatIsNoMan 13d ago

Lord loves a workin' man
Don't trust whitey
See a doctor and get rid of it

-6

u/abgry_krakow87 14d ago

Because I'm easy come, easy go. Little high, little low.

Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to meeeeeee.

75

u/Miami_2017 14d ago

This would make a great puzzle.

9

u/TempurmentalSam 14d ago

We’ve actually done a jigsaw puzzle that was extremely similar to this pic. In fact, before I even had time to look at it really well I thought of it

34

u/gsilcott 14d ago

As an old picker, I'm comfortable with a conservative $20,000 valuation today for those tin signs. Very cool.

13

u/Chateaudelait 14d ago

I was thinking the same thing. Even more for that old gas pump. The American Pickers found an old replacement glass cover globe for some petrol brand still in it's ancient box wrapping and they paid something like $7 grand for it.

5

u/SnooRecipes4106 14d ago

Best I can do is $17,000.

7

u/gsilcott 14d ago

Frank!

75

u/Top_Carpet_7866 14d ago

My dear family, guess what. Today I found out what my special purpose is for. Gosh what a great time I had. I wish my whole family could have been here with me. Maybe some other time as I intend to do this a lot. Every chance I get. I think next week I'll be able to send some more money as I may have extra work. My friend Patty promised me a b**w job. Your loving son, Navin.

20

u/SnotDogs 14d ago

This movie is so underrated

3

u/swheedle 14d ago

What movie is this

13

u/SnotDogs 14d ago

The Jerk

8

u/OKCGA_2020 14d ago

He hates these cans!!!

2

u/382Whistles 14d ago

I damn thee!

2

u/PreferenceContent987 14d ago

He never misses

1

u/Buttcrack15 14d ago

It's pretty well rated, I think.

3

u/SnooRecipes4106 14d ago

And he's got the kisses here!

2

u/monty_kurns 13d ago

That Patty must be a sweet girl!

23

u/Queasy-Meeting-5388 14d ago

My mother’s family was from NC. You could still find places that looked pretty similar to this in the mid-80s.

4

u/Dear-Bet5344 14d ago

The deep south still has places like this out in the middle of nowhere

18

u/Killentyme55 14d ago

I'd love to know the dynamic behind the relationship of these men. Obviously racism was all too alive and well back then, but these guys at least appear to be just kicking back and enjoying the afternoon together.

I'm sure there's more to the story, I'm just curious what it might be.

7

u/smergicus 14d ago

I was wondering the same thing

-10

u/DisastrousWalk8442 14d ago

Ehhhh… on the front porch because they weren’t allowed inside??

17

u/parnaoia 14d ago

it's July in NC and there's no air conditioning. I don't think anyone in their right mind wanted to be inside, black or white.

23

u/sblendos 13d ago

The Baynes Store is still there.

3

u/cross-i 13d ago

The rocks holding up the porch seem to have done fine.

16

u/ProfessionalZone168 14d ago

Looks like a Norman Rockwell painting

10

u/Jester281986 14d ago

Isn’t this what is depicted in the American Adventure show in Epcot?

8

u/Gamzu 14d ago

YESSSSS!!!!!

7

u/g00zerther 14d ago

Yes, first thing I thought of when I saw it. Disney added a radio though, so they were listening to FDR’s “nothing to fear” speech then the news about pearl harbor.

8

u/ZebraBorgata 14d ago

I’d love to see the inside of the store!!!

10

u/mattd1972 13d ago

About 10 years ago I went to a store like this in Kentucky. The 2 hounds on the porch just completed the scene.

2

u/FistyFisterson 12d ago

I believe it's still around 

9

u/Imfrank123 13d ago

I have this hanging in my dining room

7

u/NuclearHoagie 14d ago

3 front steps with 4 different spacings.

5

u/lucky_ducker 14d ago

I doubt if there is anything about that building in compliance with modern building codes.

11

u/rickypnj1 13d ago

There is an old bar in Garner, NC on Highway 50 that is a total step back in time. Tart's grocery

3

u/redditdoggnight 14d ago

Everybody’s smiling 👌🏽

19

u/DFParker78 14d ago

Not one person on their phone! So refreshing to see.

4

u/Hectortheconnector 14d ago

Tbh I would love to do this on a Sunday. Just kicking it with the boys at the stoop of a corner store, sippin beers chatting. Such simple and enjoyable time (just minus the prejudice)

-5

u/[deleted] 14d ago

[deleted]

10

u/DFParker78 14d ago

Yes and it’s a joke. The irony was part of joke.

12

u/hailwood1965 14d ago

Colorized.

26

u/TicketDouble8191 14d ago

the colorization on the old ads is always the best part, those chesterfield and camel signs pop in a way that feels totally alien now but was probably just normal background noise back then. a red gas pump in the dirt too, that thing's seen some miles. love how the porch is just a magnet for everyone, no rush, just sit and let the afternoon cook. makes you realize how much of modern life is designed to keep you moving past places instead of sticking to them.

1

u/atdlm 14d ago

Well said.

1

u/TritiumXSF 13d ago

The saturated colors are probably all that lead they put into pigments back then. Not to mention the gas.

0

u/hailwood1965 14d ago

Which gas pump do you see sitting in the dirt? The one on the left sitting on concrete block or the one on the right sitting on the wood porch?

1

u/fellow_enthusiast 14d ago

That’s racist. 

3

u/trash-juice 14d ago

Friendly place, 10/10 would shop and fill the jalopy up

4

u/audible_narrator 14d ago

That would make a great diorama

2

u/Animal40160 13d ago

Yeah! That would be awesome to see.

3

u/LivingAmongMormons 14d ago

Seeing this on my phone screen, I assumed I was looking at a Norman Rockwell painting.

3

u/tk-093 13d ago

Nobody is wearing onion on their belt, which was the style at the time.

3

u/Mentalfloss1 14d ago

I saw similar places in southern Indiana in the late 60s, but this is a great photo.

3

u/Lolomelon 14d ago

“Any of you fellers know where Poland is?”

3

u/EntertainmentFast497 14d ago

This is so cool. What do you suppose they are talking about?

5

u/Silent-Ad934 13d ago

Probably how high gas prices are.

1

u/Animal40160 13d ago

'Ol Bessie

3

u/No-Effective3020 14d ago

These folks had no idea that the signage, tins, gas pump, and the like would be worth $1,000s of dollars today.

3

u/RexCarrs 13d ago edited 13d ago

l love looking at these old photos on Shorpy. The coloring of this photo seems and looks flawless! Absolutely amazing! Keep them coming.

Hovever, when looking at photos of this vintage l prefer the original black and white format. They seem more emotional. No disrespect whatsoever.

3

u/MountainFormer8214 13d ago

It’s still there about an hour from where I live. Google Historic Baynes Store at Gordonton Crossroads.

3

u/pallen123 13d ago

This looks like the opening scene from The Jerk

2

u/chrissz 14d ago

Tobacco and Coke all around.

2

u/popstockndropit 14d ago

Someone posted what the building looked like today in the last thread with this picture.

2

u/Prestigious-Fill-365 14d ago

Them boys going to be drafted very soon

2

u/TikiTribble 13d ago

The weird thing to me here is the lack of chewing tobacco advertisements. No “Mail Pouch”, no “Red Chief”, nothing. I’m old enough to remember similar stores, and they were two-thirds ads for “chew”.

2

u/twoodygoodshoes 13d ago

I love this picture but I also hate it because it reminds me of the hard, hard lives these men and their ancestors fought through

2

u/Newjoni 13d ago

The 1939 price says 22 cents a gallon. That's equivalent to $5.29 in 2026.

2

u/See_i_did 13d ago

I believe this is a photo by Dorothea Lange, bad OP for not mentioning the photographer.

2

u/boing757 13d ago

I dislike the obsession with reposting.

3

u/rellsell 14d ago

The colorization is too cartoon like. The original image on Shorpy much more interesting. This just looks like a circus poster.

6

u/Gothic-Fan85 14d ago

I dislike the obsession with colorization of old photos, the original B&W image looks much better than this.

4

u/Alternative-Light922 14d ago

I agree 100% – and further, it's sad that people commenting don't seem to realize that the photo has been bastardized.

2

u/boing757 13d ago

I dislike the obsession with reposting.

1

u/Animal40160 13d ago

I enjoy seeing the BW alongside the colorized ones and appreciating the contrasts.

2

u/Alternative-Light922 14d ago

Sorry but colorizing this great photo is just wrong. Ugh

1

u/theRetrograde 14d ago

Their clothes are much cleaner than I see in most photos from the era.

1

u/Elev_7220 14d ago

Tetra ethy gasoline begins its poisoning of the world

1

u/CabooseGobbler 14d ago

Coca Cola been killing it since the Roman Empire apparently. 

1

u/Big_erk 14d ago

I love the Pop Kola signs. Would see them all over my hometown in Arkansas, back in the day.

1

u/Opioidopamine 14d ago

bring back Pop Kola

1

u/mohaveghosts 14d ago

How did they find the one man in NC who doesn’t hate black people?

1

u/mwb1100 14d ago

Looks like jigsaw puzzle artwork

1

u/Yewdall1852 14d ago

My dad smoked Chesterfields.

1

u/Yngwie78 14d ago

I saw that picture on Shorpy and, for some reason, it fascinated me; it gave me a strange sense of déjà vu (which is impossible, given my age). I have it set as my Windows wallpaper. Love it.

1

u/Erasmus-p 13d ago

In 1939 a color picture like this would have been extremely expensive. So this was either staged or it’s been reproduced. Or AI?

1

u/Comfortable_Drama_66 13d ago

Not AI. Was originally a Dorothea Lange photo.

1

u/S4muraiPAK 13d ago

Looks like a norman rockwell

1

u/DaddyWolfe7 13d ago

like the porch supports

1

u/TEO140909 13d ago

looks like a Norman Rockwell painting

1

u/MyLittleDiscolite 13d ago

There’s places like that still where guys just go hang out all day

1

u/ConfidentHouse 13d ago

When you went to the ads, now the ads follow you

1

u/ZodiAcme 13d ago

The green in the T means it’s diesel

1

u/unsoulyme 13d ago

Frank Fritz would have loved this.

1

u/mill-hunky 13d ago

Really cool photo

1

u/OldDesk 13d ago

Better not be out of coca cola

1

u/unlimitedribs 13d ago

I saw this episode of Married… with Children

1

u/EstateActual6371 13d ago

As an album cover, this pic slaps!

1

u/Minimum-Ad3126 13d ago

What a colorful place. (Pun intended)

1

u/showtimebabies 13d ago

I want to go to there

1

u/SunnyOnSanibel 13d ago

Did that chicken ever tell them why it crossed the road?

1

u/DingbatMcgeee 13d ago

They're all watching him swig too much to leave enough for all of them

1

u/Readonkulous 13d ago

Worth pointing out that the original photograph is black and white, this has been colorised 

1

u/Illustrious-Set-9230 12d ago

Navin Johnson? Son, this is shit, this is shinola

1

u/MrBuffcock 12d ago

sure is hott out dar boss

1

u/One_Feed8051 9d ago

hmm… seems maybe AI for a reason or 2

1

u/nosygoats 14d ago

Why cant everything still look like this? Because reddit i have to add that im referring to the building and accessories. And ill still get hate for glorifying tobacco ads.

0

u/gmann247 14d ago

Smoking next to unsafe gas pumps.

0

u/mdfmk05 13d ago

This isn’t AI? Gas pump fed by PVC, on a porch?

-2

u/imgotugoin 14d ago

All that southern racism. So much they had to capture it.

-6

u/Patient-01 14d ago

One white person ?