Judging this to be from the late 60's/early 70's, Coonen's was so familiar to me since I lived at 2nd and DePere. From my earliest memories, this gas station in its various incarnations was in the background of so many family snapshots as well as being my father's first resource for getting the ol' Chevy serviced.
I spent a lot of time over there myself in those bays and if the day is right, I can still recall the sounds and the smells of the gas and oil and rubber tires, not to mention the consistent ringing of that hose you'd drive over when you got gas. It was my source of free air for my Stingray bicycle as well as a quick run to the cigarette machine (remember those?) for my Dad before the era of convenience stores attached to gas stations. There are very few stations like this anymore.
Mr. Coonen patched our inner tubes for our bikes for free. (Who does that anymore?) They had a great pop machine too.
ReplyDeleteMuch later on, after Coonen's changed to present location, the service shop became home to the Menasha Men's Club; an informal group of retirees that got together there mornings to drink coffee, eat donuts, and discuss how to save the world. I used to wonder how any work got done there.
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