I got published in the current Aug/Sept issue of the bimonthly Our Wisconsin magazine. This past January the editor sent me an email asking if I would be interested in writing a story about my old Clark gas station days in Milwaukee. I submitted about 1400 words, he liked it and allotted two pages for it. They edited it down to about 900 words to fit. The original manuscript is shown immediately below, with the edited final magazine publication following. I think the editor did an excellent job.
Stationed for Success (Original Manuscript)
Clark Oil was the Wisconsin innovator of modern mini-mart gas stations!
By Daniel S. Bridger
Early in February, we were escaping the Wisconsin winter in Gulf Shores, Alabama and pulled into a Murphy USA gas station to fuel. The station was busy as I navigated around the lot to find an open pump. Noticing, as I put my card in, only one hose and one type of fuel was dispensed at that pump, ethanol-free 93 octane premium. Since that was what I wanted, it was perfect. It also got me thinking about my Wisconsin Clark Oil days as a service station attendant while in high school and later on, a franchised Clark dealer throughout the1970’s into the 1980s.
The founder of Clark Oil, Emory T. Clark, was a building contractor in Milwaukee who built a gas station at 60th and Greenfield in 1932. The owner could not pay and he had to take possession of the property. Emory ran that station very successfully and started expanding throughout the years to over 1400 stations across the midwest by the 1980’s. Up until the early 1970’s Clark only sold premium gasoline. Selling the finest gas at a fair price, with exceptionally quick service was their forte. The stations were also radically different from the standard industry model that combined gasoline sales with mechanical auto service and repair. Clark stations did not have service bays, and had much smaller buildings with expansive (many with floor to ceiling) windows. Dealers could display convenience items that customers could see while the full service attendants were fueling their cars and cleaning windows.
A substantial percent of profits also came from tobacco sales. Racks of cigarettes enclosed in cabinets were fastened to the outside pump islands where attendants could grab what the customer ordered and hand to them at their car window. Attendants wore coin changers on their belts and had a wad of cash in their pocket to make change without having to run inside. In good weather, I would have a small table out between the fuel islands with a credit card imprinter to quickly handle credit sales. Many customers not needing fuel would drive in for fast and easy “carhop” service, with Clark becoming their primary go-to place to obtain smokes. During the late 1960’s an effort was made to introduce more and more convenience items such as ice, milk, soda and snack items like chips, Twinkies and HoHos. Of course, standard auto needs like oil, anti-freeze, window wash, snow brushes, etc were also available. Clark had their own brand of stamps, which customers would paste into a book and redeem for cash when full. Tuesdays were always the slowest day of the week for gasoline sales so Clark would offer double stamps on that day to increase sales volume.
I was a very fortunate fellow to come across Clark Oil and Refining in my teenage years. My buddy Ross had a job with a franchised dealer at Hopkins and Silver Spring in Milwaukee. Being only 16 years old in 1969, I had a summer job working at a small steel fabricating shop. It didn’t take long for me to realize I wasn’t cut out for that kind of work and my boss knew also, which resulted in me being fired. I was desperate to find something I could do to make money, so I asked Ross if he could get me an interview with Chuck Oleson, who was the Clark dealer. After going to see him, he said the only opening he had was for a third shift attendant. There were only two weeks before my senior high school year began, but he told me if I could cover it until school started and did a good job, he would work me part time during my last two semesters. My first couple nights starting my 10pm shift, Ross agreed to stay with me for a couple hours of training. I remember struggling and getting panicky the first few times making change for customers as I tried to subtract in my head the purchase price from the amount they gave me. Ross would say “Count up from the purchase price!”. It was so much easier, I had it figured out in less than an hour. Hooray! I made it through the first two weeks, although I got ripped off by a slick quick change artist on my last night before school started. I knew that guy got me for something and sure enough, I was $20 short checking out. But Chuck understood and kept me onboard.
My first Milwaukee winter working outdoors fueling cars was certainly a challenge! But, they taught me some tricks of the trade, like making certain to have at least two pairs of decent work gloves. There were electric heaters in the station for heat and we would put one pair on the heater while outside pumping fuel. When our hands were nearly frozen stiff, we would race inside and exchange gloves to keep going. And, of course, we were always seriously busy the colder the weather!
And that’s how it started, I found a job that I didn’t hate doing and things were looking much better. I needed money to indulge my passion, which was driving and I had to pay for gas to do it! My dad handed off the old family car to me after he bought another but I was responsible for maintenance and the cost of operating it. Chuck was an absolutely great man to work for and I owe him so much. After nearly two years, he unselfishly recommended to Clark Oil that I would be a good candidate to get my own station, becoming a franchised dealer.
That came to be at the end of 1971 when I signed a lease with Clark Oil for the station at Santa Monica and Hampton Ave in Milwaukee. In those days you could become a franchised gasoline dealer with Clark for about $3,000. That included a $1000 security deposit as well as funds to pay for inventory. I would order gasoline by the truckload and have 10 days to remit payment. Being 19 years old when I took over the station, I certainly did not have that kind of cash and the banks had refused to even consider me. My parents didn’t have the extra cash either but an uncle lent me the money and I repaid it faithfully at $180 per month.
My career with Clark Oil lasted until 1982 and ended after I had moved to northern Wisconsin and into a new career as a truck driver. Emory T. Clark sold the company in 1981 to Apex Oil, dying in 1984 at the age of 78 from cancer. Apex and subsequent owners failed to keep up with the changing store designs and layout needed for the newer self-service station operating models and went through some pretty rough years, being sold off numerous times. The company is now known as Clark Brands and still owns a refinery in Illinois.
All in all, my experience with Clark had such a positive effect on my life. As a high school graduate without much life experience, I learned by watching, while also making mistakes along the way. The experience gained in running a business, bookkeeping and accounting principles, employee, customer and vendor relations helped me immensely later in life. Working for Chuck was great because he hired so many excellent employees that have become lifelong friends. Chuck knew how to handle people and his employees worked hard for him because they liked and respected him. He helped not only me but four other of his employees get their own stations. Unfortunately Chuck Oleson passed away too early in 2015. He was a great example for me and a man that helped me become a better person.
