Orange Crush, Phillips 66 At Kent, Oregon

[Keep the Show on the Road!]

The semi ghost town of Kent, Oregon sits beside the California - Banff Bee Line auto trail of 1924 (US97) 95 miles north of Bend, and 40 miles south of the Columbia River. There are two old abandoned service stations on the highway. The most interesting is an old Phillips 66. It was operated by a local couple who eventually closed it because the wife was left there alone when the husband had to work the fields.

 

Old Phillips 66 Station at Kent, Oregon

 

The building is a common gas station / cafe design typical of the 20,s through the late 30’s. The gas pumps have only a 3 position counter, which means they were used when gasoline was under a dollar (the rightmost position was used for the silly 9/10 cents).

 

Gas Pumps at Kent

 

Phillips 66 premium gasoline had the name Flite-Fuel between 1953 and 1959. Those were the days of high compression engines, and the premium gasolines of the time were usually 100 octane or even a bit higher, the same octane as aviation fuel.

 

1950’s Flite Fuel

 

Those pumps are mighty familiar to this chronologically gifted former Flying A station employee of the fifties. I can almost perform the counter reset turn and counter turn of the handle in my sleep. The Flying A premium grade was just called “100 plus” but we were told to compare it to aviation fuel.

 

The Orange Crush sign is a nice touch for an old station.

 

Ah, Orange Crush!

 

The big EAT sign on the roof has just about disappeared.

 

EAT on the Roof!

 

Business in downtown Kent is a little slow....closer to stopped. The only enterprise open is the Post Office.

 

Buildings in "Downtown" Kent

 

More of this two lane trip will follow in additional posts, with other ghost towns, and a great old alignment.

 

Keep the Show on the Road!