Hudson Dollar/Coin Gas Pump Memories Cruising1960's Nevada Mo. (Picture by Kaye)

 By Richard Carpenter Wednesday, June 3, 2020, Revised and updated from a column in 2008 archives)  

       

Hudson Dollar Pump

Tuesday the 2nd of September will be the 52nd anniversary of the first Automated Teller Machine (ATM).  We have come a long long way since then.  After reading about this milestone on the History Channel web site, I did a little reminiscing about those days, and the changes that have happened since.

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As a kid growing up in Nevada, we were quite familiar with vending machines.  The ones we used most were machines that dispensed soda pop, candy bars, and cigarettes.  Here are few notes about those machines.  

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First, they did not accept dollar bills, only coins.  They could make change even if you used a large coin like the now rarely seen or used fifty cent pieces.  They didn't take bills, but we carried a lot of change back then.

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Secondly, the cigarette machines usually only held a handful of brands.  They cost in the mid to late sixties, about twenty-five cents a pack.  You put in your quarter and pulled the knob under the brand you wanted.  Today the very idea of a cigarette machine that kids could use to buy cigarettes, well it simply isn’t allowed.

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The pop machines were huge edifices.  Some had levers that after pulling dropped a bottle or can, others had doors that let you see the end of the bottle you wanted.  My particular favorite was the one that was about the same size as a deep freeze, with bottles hangin in racks.  You put in you money, then you could slide out a bottle of your favorite soft drink.

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None of these machines had computer chips.  They operated on gears and slots that allowed you to use real coins.  All that changed for the first time for me in the mid to late 60’s when the Hudson Oil Gas Station put in their 1st self service pump.

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Hudson Oil was located where the Hot Spot Convenience Store is now located on east Austin close to 3M.  Hudson had regular pumps where attendants would fill your tank, wash your windshield, check your oil, and air your tires, all in one stop.  

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On the east side of the station lot, they put in the first self service pumps.  At first, we were all a little curious and suspicious.  In time we discovered that the self serve pumps were cheaper and faster as you didn't have to wait for service.

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You could still put in coins if you wanted, but most of the business was by dollar bills (no credit or debit cards).  Remember that gasoline was about the same price per gallon as cigarettes were per pack.  So if you put in a dollar bill in one of these new pumps, you could get about four gallons of gasoline.

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The rest is history.  Now days, there is hardly a station anywhere that is not self service, and all allow credit or debit cards.  If you want to pay by cash or check you have to go inside the store.

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It’s not just cash purchases that have become automated.  Most of us now do a lot of business either online or by automatic payment.  I have almost all of my bills set up this way now.  It has changed so much, that now when I am required to write a check, I find it very difficult.  When you only sign you name maybe once a month at best, you sort of feel like I did back in Alta Gordon’s 1st Grade Class.  She was never satisfied with my penmanship.  I was always in a hurry and wanted to get done.  Neatness was not high on my list.  My current rare attempts at script writing these days are pitiful at best.

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My computer and cell phone are my writing tools of these days. With the advent of the smart phone I have become "thumb" proficient in texting.  Some of my friends don't even bother with that, they use voice controls like Siri to send their texts.  These phones are so efficient they correct spelling errors, but sometimes they send uncorrected words, and that can be embarrassing.

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Yes it has been just 51 years since the advent of the first ATM.  Sometimes we just don’t take time to stand back and look at all the changes that have taken place in our world.  

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In that same year of 1969. you could only find things like “communicators,” “scanners,” and “tricorders” on a show like “Star Trek.”  If we had tried to explain an MRI, a sonogram, a cell phone, or a computer scanner to someone back then, they would have had a room ready for us at the State Hospital #3.  

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It makes me wonder where the next changes will be. Since I wrote this column in 2008, we now have thumb ID and eye scans.  Someday they will put a chip in me!!!!

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Yes the world is changing, and it is sometimes a little frightening.  I remember when the self serve pumps at Hudson Oil were new and unique.  These days they would be antiques.  

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While on vacation this past July (2008), I was surprised to see that they still require gas pump attendants in Oregon.  Even if you have a card for the pump, they require a real person to come and do the work for you.  They still clean the windshield.  

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I have only one gripe about the pumps at the stations these days.  Why can’t they make them all the same.  Just about the time I get one of them figured out, the next station has one that is so different, I have to read the directions to use it.  

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Maybe the day is not too far away when the pumps will be manned by robots.  Crazy you say?  Wal Mart has those checkout stands that have no checkers now.  Just imagine pulling into a station and the pump starts talking to you.  Where will we be in another 40 years?