Shell Station, Man with Car

Here’s a roll of film that has been abused, but I’m intrigued enough by the fellow in the picture that I decided to toss it out here to see if anyone knows him, the car or which Shell station it was taken at. I don’t recall what else was on the film, but these looked like random photos taken for no particular reason. There’s no date on the film, either.

Mystery Shell station

Here’s a better shot of the car and the neighborhood. The car’s body isn’t really that ragged. The negative has all kinds of junk on it and I didn’t want to spend the time trying to touch it up.

I was probably the only male of my generation never acquired the ability (or the desire) to tell one car from another. Well, that’s not exactly true. I know this ISN’T a 1959 Buick LaSabre station wagon, because I had one of those. And it’s not a VW. After that, I’m hopelessly lost. I see an ornament that says it’s a V8, for what that’s worth.

21 Replies to “Shell Station, Man with Car”

  1. It’s a 1955 Ford Fairlane. My Dad had one, but I sure never got to drive it. I heard they were faster when the front bumper was removed.

  2. It was located on North Kingshighway by Huckstep’s Body Shop.The guy standing I think his last name is Lattimore.

  3. This is not relevant to the photo, although the fellow looked vaguely familiar. I have discovered that most everyone I see since I’ve been in my 5th & 6th decade of life, I have seen at least once! I noticed Matt’s note on your blog, & I’m happy to report I have recently shopped Amazon.com for Christmas gifts. It has been of great benefit to me, & so glad it is of benefit to you & your work. Thanks for all you do & Merry Christmas to you & yours!

    1. Libby,

      When I would go back to Cape in the early years, I’d always keep my eye open for former classmates. Rarely, if ever did I run into any.

      When I go back now, I will occasionally get a flicker of recognition when I see someone in line at the grocery store, then I’ll realize that the person might be the child or grandchild of one of my classmates, but it couldn’t be someone I went to school with.

    2. Libby,

      Thanks for doing your Amazon shopping by clicking through the link at the left side of the page. I’ve seen an increase in the number of transactions in the last month or so.

      To amplify what Kid Matt said, if you just CLICK on the link, I get a few pennies. If I write about something and you click on a link in one of my stories, then I get up to about 6.5% of the purchase price (at no additional cost to you).

      (My bike blog, which has a lot of product reviews lends itself better for the second type than this blog.)

      My reports show what items have been clicked on and which items have been purchased, but there are no names associated with them, so I can’t thank you individually for your support.

      Y’all sure do buy some strange stuff, though.

      1. To correct what Father Ken said, clicking on the link does nothing. If you click the link and actually buy something (anything), Father Ken gets a percentage — usually 4% to 7% — at no additional cost to the purchaser.

        It doesn’t matter what you buy from Amazon through his link, he still makes a percentage. The four featured items tend to be Cape-related but people have bought cat food and home tattoo kits from Amazon, too, and earned him a percentage.

        Cheers,
        Matt

        1. Thanks for clearing that up. I knew there was a reason you mother and I kept you around.

          P.S. Exactly what are you going to DO with that tattoo kit? (I was impressed that it came with “practice skin.” I’ve seen some tattoos that should have come with spellcheckers.)

  4. Ken, Gary should know, his boyhood home was on the hill to the west of the station and the body shop. The Hucksteps were neighbors and good friends of ours and fellow Lutherans. In the second picture, the house across Kingshighway belonged to the Valle family – daughter Bonita was in grade school at Alma Schrader with me. I’ve always wondered where they ended up, since they moved during the grade school years.

  5. Shy Reader sent this info:

    The 1965 City Directory lists a Delmar Latimore as an attendant at Davidson Shell Service Station, owned by Reuben L. Davidson and located near Arena Park. No street addresses that far north in 1965.

    His neighbors were Richardson Tire Service, the Blue Hole restaurant, and Glen F. Seabaugh.

    FYI: Huckstep Body & Paint was 1325 N. Kingshighway, and Davidson Shell would have been north of Huckstep.

  6. More info from Linda K. Gade Richards on Facebook:

    According to my husband Gary Richards: “If my memory serves me correctly, this picture was taken in ’67 at the Davidson Shell station on Hwy 61 near Hucksteps Body Shop. It’s Lynn Latimore (CHS Class of ’65) and the car is a ’55 Ford Fairlane sedan, was painted a light metallic green and was owned by Chris O’Gara’s younger brother who was about 19 at the time. Lynn worked at the Shell station.”

    I’m sure this was one of Gary’s hangouts while we were dating.

  7. Very cool shot of Lynn and the Ford…notice the racing stripe on the hood of the car. This very period on Hot rods of the 60’s…Carrol Shelby used this type of stripe on the Cobra’s and everyone wanted to look like that!
    Lynn was in Gym class with me when I was Sophomore and nice guy, in to cars big time…wonder what he doig these days…

  8. Mr. Davidson also had a Shell station just on Broadway which was not to far from the Blue Hole. If my memory serves me right, I think Mr. Davidson live on Dorothy Street. The Shell station on North Kingshighway was where the Klage’s Dairy Farm House was. I have an aerial photo of the area taken in July 1950. Note: I wasnt born yet. LOL

  9. Mr. Davidson also had a Shell Station just on Broadway, not to far from the Blue Hole. If my memory serves me right, I think Mr. Davidson lived on Dorthy Street for awhile. The Shell Station on North Kingshighway, was where the Klage’s Dairy farm house was. I have an aerial photo of the area that was taken in July 1950.Note: I wasn’t born yet LOL

  10. Could this possibly be the station that was located at the entrance to Arena Park located at Kingshighway and Cape Rock Drive? The location of the current Andy’s Custard? I’m pretty sure that station was a Shell and I’m not sure who owned it in the late 50’s and early 60’s but I believe it was later owned by the Voges family. I’m thinking this only because of the house in the background. It looks very similar to the one that still exists next to or a couple addresses north of the now closed Bank of America.

  11. Nope Patrica. The Shell Station was next to my Grandmother and Grandpa Huckstep which at that time they own Hucksteps Body and Paint Shop. The House across they street was where a Valle Family lived. The one by Arena Park was a Sunco Station, which was own by Raymond Voges a cousin of mine. I should know, that was my stomping grounds when I was A kid

  12. The Station was Dave’s Shell on Kingshighway. Victoria dr was across the street.

    The young man is Lynn D Latinate. He worked at Dave’s Shell. Lived on Kingsway Dr. About 2 -3 blocks from you Kenny.

  13. The Station was Dave’s Shell on Kingshighway. Victoria dr was across the street.

    The young man is Lynn Delmar Latimore. He worked at Dave’s Shell. Lived on Kingsway Dr about 2 – 3 blocks from your house.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *