Fill 'er Up: The Glory Days of Wisconsin Gas Stations

by Jim Draeger, Mark Speltz

Overview

Step back to the day when a visit to the gas station meant service with a smile, a wash of the windshield, and the cheerful question, "Fill 'er up?" Since their unremarkable beginnings as cheap shacks and curbside pumps at the dawn of the automobile age, gas stations have taken many forms and worn many guises: castles, cottages and teepees, Art Deco and Streamline Moderne, clad with wood, stucco, or gleaming porcelain in seemingly infinite variety.
 
The companion volume to the Wisconsin Public Television documentary of the same name, Fill 'er Up: The Glory Days of Wisconsin Gas Stations visits 60 Wisconsin gas stations that are still standing today and chronicles the history of these humble yet ubiquitous buildings. The book tells the larger story of the gas station's place in automobile culture and its evolution in tandem with American history, as well as the stories of the individuals influenced by the gas stations in their lives.
 
Fill 'er Up provides a glimpse into the glory days of gas stations, when full service and free oil changes were the rule and the local station was a gathering place for neighbors. More importantly, Fill 'er Up links the past and the present, showing why gas stations should be preserved and envisioning what place these historic structures can have in the 21st century and beyond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780870203930
Publisher:	Wisconsin Historical Society
Publication date:	10/07/2008
Series:	Places Along the Way
Edition description:	1
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	1,124,836
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jim Draeger is an architectural historian with the Wisconsin Historical Society with more than 20 years of historic preservation experience. From roadside architecture to North Woods resorts, Draeger celebrates the importance of ordinary buildings to our daily lives through his research, writing, and lectures. He shares a historic 1936 International-style house in Monona with his wife, Cindy, and son, Nick.

Mark Speltz is a historian at American Girl and is completing a master's degree in history with a specialization in public history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has worked as an independent researcher on exhibits for museums, including the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, and is active with several museums in Mineral Point, where he lives with his wife, Kari.
 

Editorial Reviews

"What an amazing collection of stories, images, and, of course, beautiful vintage gas stations! Draeger and Speltz provide gallons of premium detail that make for hours of fun reading and reminiscing." (Brian Butko, coauthor of Roadside Attractions: Cool Cafes, Souvenir Stands, Route 66 Relics, & Other Road Trip Fun)

"Current frustrations over gasoline prices cloud our memory of the central role gasoline has played in the development of Wisconsin. This is a fascinating book, reminding us all of the love affair we've had with the freedom afforded us by the automobile—all supported by the neighborhood service station." (Ed Jacobsen, Northwoods Petroleum Museum, Three Lakes, Wisconsin)

"Draeger and Speltz reliably guide readers back to the auto age in Wisconsin when travelers found the benefits of community along the way at gas stations. They also advocate for the preservation of these gas stations through which we can visit our common past." (Keith A. Sculle, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and coauthor of The Gas Station in America)

"Whether your interest is automotive history, architecture, petroliana, travel, culture, or any combination of these, Fill 'er Up will appeal to you. With the 'Your Guide to Hitting the Road' section, Fill 'er Up might more likely end up in your glove box than on your bookshelf." (Ken Nimocks, President, Wisconsin Chapter of the Society of Automotive Historians)

2009 Award of Merit from the American Association for State Local History
2009 Finalist in the Travel Guides Category from ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Award
2009 Finalist in the Midwest Regional Category from Midwest Independent Publishers Association Midwest Book Awards
2009 Finalist in the Regional Non-fiction Category from National Indie Excellence Awards
2009 Finalist in the History/Historical Non-fiction from Next Generation Indie Book Award
2009 Finalist in the Travel: Recreational Category from USA National Best Book Awards

From the Publisher