Pregled posta

Marketing

Here is a true story about a Union 76 sign. In 1966, I had just flown back from Hawaii to San Francisco, California. I was young and foolish and had arrived home with very little money. My plane had been delayed 10 hours, and I had spent most of my last few dollars on snacks at the Honolulu Airport.

I mistakenly thought it would be easy to get from San Francisco over to the part of Oakland, near Berkeley, where I lived at the time with my roommate, Linda. Linda could not afford, and was not interested in driving clear across the bay to get me; or else I was self-reliant and didn't want to ask her to. Some pay telephone calls were exchanged between us; and we decided I would call her when I got sort of close to our place, and she would drive down and pick me up the last little bit.

I had not accounted for the weather. It was about 75 or 80 when I left Hawaii. I had a horrible sunburn, and was wearing only a sundress. It was about 50 in Oakland, close to midnight on Telegraph Avenue, and there I was all alone, carrying my suitcases. I was very cold and tired, and a bit scared. I called her from a great big Union 76 Station on Telegraph Avenue, roughly 12 to 18 blocks from our apartment. I used my last coins. She said how will I know where to watch for you. I said I didn't know the street corner, but if she would drive toward Berkeley, I would be by this huge, bright orange Union 76 Ball up on a pole in the sky. She couldn't miss it. It was light and bright. She said she would be there in a few minutes. I had no sooner hung up, and started walking toward the street from their phone booth so I would be easy to spot. After all, how many 18 year olds would be in a sundress with two suitcases in hand at night on Telegraph Avenue?
I was so comforted by the lights at the station. Ha! It turned midnight, and every light, including the big orange ball in the sky, went out. I was crestfallen.

I saw Linda go flying by in her ugly '55 Chevy Station Wagon that she affectionately called "Tractor Jet" (which later became my ugly '55 Chevy Station Wagon that I affectionately called the same thing, but that is another story). I tried frantically to wave her down, but she was speeding down Telegraph Avenue, on a mission to find a well lit Union 76 Station on an unknown street corner. I thought she would never turn around and come back and find me.

When she finally did, after driving what seemed to me to be, clear to Lake Tahoe, she was hopping mad about the Union 76 light. Like as if I planned for them to close the station and turn out all the lights right after I called her.

The trip home was in stony silence.





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Stemp and Weller of Alford Road, Cranleigh near Guilford Surrey purchased a new vehicle for their Timber Haulage bushiness in may 1927 .They ordered it through George Thurlow and sons of Stowmarket Suffolk. A new 5 ton 3 speed tractor was built by Charles Burrell and sons of Minstergate, Thetford Norfolk and supplied in August of that year. Stemps had other Burrell Gold Medal tractors so that when they ordered this one, it had some special features including a larger belly tank to increase the water capacity so that she could travel 20 miles. She was to be fitted with second hand rubber tyres and these were bolted on. The Burrell works was quiet at the time as they were in a recession at that period and the Build No. 4072 was given to this new machine. It was to be named "The Cranleigh Belle". The part exchange cost was ?736.00 and she was delivered to Cranleigh station by rail having left Thetford on 9 August 1927.