Illinois Route 66 - Shea's Gas Station

     There are vintage gas pumps and relic garages all along old Route 66, but this wonderful 66 attraction came with the stories and recollections of Bill Shea, owner of a gas station turned museum in Springfield. Bill had caught me and my camera wandering around the mementos piled all over his yard, popping out of the garage dressed in his blue, no-nonsense Marathon Gas overalls and looking meaner than a junkyard (or gas station) dog. Before I could escape to my car, though, Bill gave me a friendly 66 greeting and invited me in. 

     Inside the garage, I was treated to Bill Shea's version of old 66. A World War II veteran, Bill opened the station in 1946, operating it as a Texaco before switching 10 years later to the Marathon brand. He stopped pumping gas in 1982 and later turned it all into the museum it is today, an easy transformation for someone who claimed he never threw anything out. Bill showed me more of the antiques he had on display, recounted his own family history, and then described what the Springfield area was like when he first opened up for business after WWII. For me, it was a typical and priceless Route 66 encounter. 

     Bill was as nice a fellow as I would meet on the old highway, but he never came close to a smile during our conversation, lengthy as it was. And that was just fine with me. Longtime small businessmen have no time for such niceties.