A look back at Geneva's vintage gas stations

Who would have ever thought we'd have fond recollections of downtown gas stations from yesteryear?

At least that seems to be the case in Geneva. Since broaching the topic a couple of weeks ago about the lack of downtown gas stations in Geneva these days, readers have sent notes reminiscing about the numerous sites that were once gas stations.

This all started when I was reminded that the empty parcel at Fourth and State streets in Geneva was once a gas station.

Ron Rawson, a former archivist and historian at the Geneva History Museum, sent me a complete list of the gas stations that virtually filled the downtown in the past. His grandfather, Pete Armbrust, and Pete's two older brothers owned some of those stations.

Many stations came about in the 1910 to 1930 range because downtown Geneva was a significant stopping place for those traveling along the Lincoln Highway going north and south or the Roosevelt "concrete highway" coming in from Chicago, Rawson said.

County board member Drew Frasz seems to remember most of the stations as well, considering he's been around Geneva all of his life. So he took the time to share his thoughts as well.

They both confirm a Shell station at the corner of State and Fifth streets, where Private Bank now sits, as well as many suitors at or near where the Geneva Bank drive-through is now located - a Clark's service station, Union 76, and Pure Oil.

Brilliant Bronze gas station was located where Aurelio's Pizza now does business at 330 W. State.

Another Pure Oil was located at 602 E. State, where Lou's Jeep is located and the Purple Martin, a Clark Station, was in the spot Geneva Firewood now occupies.

There were plenty of others, but Rawson was sure to point out where his grandfather set up his Texaco station for business. The Armbrust & Berg Garage was at 27-29 S. First Street at the spot now occupied by Chazio's Salon.

In the meantime, his grand-uncles Matthias and Joseph Armbrust operated the Armbrust Brothers Garage at 1 S. Third St. in the 1930s.

And it's just as easy for area residents who filled their cars with gas to remember these spots as it is for those who had relatives running the places.

Reader Bernie Deutsch of St. Charles says that as a high school student heading to Marmion in the 1950s, he often stopped at that station at Fourth and State, and he remembers it being a Standard Oil station at that time.

Any way you tally the number of stations, it is clear that the downtown area was generally the only place people gathered. So, it was the place to be if you were in the petrol business.

Furniture and jewelry:

Some new retailers are bringing furniture and jewelry to Geneva.

Haven Interiors owners Bridget Carroll and Donna Sweet are opening a second location in Geneva, after 20 years in downtown Milwaukee as a high-end furniture and home design business.

"We are really excited about coming to Geneva," Carroll said of the 15 S. Third St. location she is renting from Mike Simon. "The space is approximately 2,600 square feet, and we'll show a lot of furniture, but it is important for us to have a design center. Our focus is really on design."

Carroll says the furniture design business is "in her blood," having been part of a family that did this type of work for 40 years in Davenport, Iowa.

Also, Sweet Natalie's Bakery is getting a neighbor on Third Street. Owner Ellen Oh of St. Charles is opening her Falmouth Road jewelry store in that spot.

Those busy families:

Author Jay Payleitner of St. Charles has quite a few good ideas for parents in his latest book "Quick Tips for Busy Families."

The book has plenty of solid advice, but two tips really jumped out at me. One was titled "Oil Their Mitt." It basically said not to send your kid off to his or her first baseball or softball practice with a new mitt. I felt sorry for those kids years ago when helping coach youth baseball.

Everyone should know that you could hardly catch a ball with a new mitt. It brought back memories of the hours I would spend rubbing in Neat's Foot Oil onto my Spaulding glove, smacking a ball into it to create a pocket and then tying a ball in place and leaving it overnight, or even putting it in an oven for a short time. A mitt has to be prepared to catch a ball moving at a pretty good clip.

The premise here is that if you take the time to show a youngster how to oil a new mitt, it might actually lead to playing catch, and the kid will show up to practice with something capable of catching and holding onto a ball.

The other tip was about getting teachers on your side. This also should go without saying, but so many parents choose to challenge a teacher at their very first meeting.

Payleitner says to remember teachers are only human and they are trying to build relationships with dozens of new families at the beginning of a school year.

An angry parent with a "zero positive track record" will get zero empathy and little cooperation, he said.

All for music:

Somebody had a great idea 50 years ago when deciding that it would be pretty impressive if all of the band students in Batavia public schools got together for an "all-band concert."

The All-City Band Concert has been humming along annually ever since. The 50th anniversary edition takes place at 7:30 p.m. April 4 at the Batavia High School gym.

Best of all, this time the students from grades 5 through 12 will be playing songs from the past 50 years. That means the Beatles and Beach Boys, and many others, are on tap.

dheun@sbcglobal.net