http://www.FarmCollector.com March 2016 27
road, they draw in passing drivers. “People pull in and The signs are not hidden away. Clearly visible from the
gawk,” Hal says. “I have them sign my guestbook. We even
had a TV crew from Brazil here one time.”Rising on 20-foot pedestals in the driveway, a row of pe-
troleum signs – DX, Standard and Shell – keep company with antique gas pumps. Exterior walls of four sheds and an
old barn are nearly completely covered with signs. Several
concrete islands house clusters of signs, pumps and even an old drive-up pay phone with a rain hood. Purists might fret
about exposure to the elements. “Oh, the signs are getting
faded,” Hal allows with a smile. “But I’m fading too.” Inside the sheds are more signs. In one shed, a complete
and functional bar is surrounded by more signs than you
could count. There are so many electrical signs that the dimly lit area glows like a carnival on a summer night. Con-
veniently located sofas swallow up crowds. Hal likes to en-tertain, and his collection creates a congenial environment.
“I just like preserving Americana. I don’t have a computer or
smartphone,” he says. “I have signs.”
Signs from every source
up signs from every corner of the country. “The farthest I A career as a truck driver provided opportunity to snap
ever went for a sign was Winslow, Arizona,” Hal says. “That’s
where I got the Gulf sign. I was loading at a ranch when I saw it. The rancher said he’d sell it for a case of beer, so I
gave him $20 for it. I had to unload and reload that sign
twice before I finally got home with it.” He’s attended his share of auctions, and wouldn’t miss the
Iowa Gas show held every summer in Des Moines. “You can find anything there,” Hal says. Whether you can pay for it is
another matter. “I saw a Dixie sign at Independence, Iowa,
in 2014 for $900,” he says. “Then I saw one like it sell at Iowa Gas for $8,000. It’s just a matter of how bad you want
it.”
says. “And I found the Shell sign in a ditch.” Several have Some signs just turn up. “Friends give them to me,” he
local connections. An American sign came from nearby
Washington, Iowa; another relic is from a local elevator. Yet another promoted the Chicago Livestock Market. “It was on
five big posts. They were clearing the site and I knew the dozer would get it, but I didn’t have a saw with me,” he says.
“So we wrassled it to the ground.”
Making it look good
Most of Hal’s signs were in good condition when he bought
them. If a sign needed particular repair – say, electrical work- he has it done. “I’m all thumbs,” he says. “I couldn’t restore anything.” He’s also had a lot of electrical work done to ac-
commodate all the working lights. Using timers, the outside display is lit nightly from about 7 to 10:30 p.m. After he’s
gone, Hal hopes the collection can be preserved intact. “If
you took the signs down, the buildings would probably fall down,” he says with a grin. “Or at least there’d be a lot of
holes in the walls.”
antique oil cans. A 1930 International 6-speed Special truck The buildings hold other treasures as well. A collection of
he bought years ago for $105 (“That was three weeks’ wages
back then!” he recalls). A cutter, a grain drill and a planter so old it has wooden wheels. “There are a few things around
here that are older than me,” he says dryly.
Branching out to petroliana
cardboard cutouts of John Wayne and the Maytag man), Just as Hal’s collection takes all comers (including life-size
it has grown to include gas pumps. Some are the real deal;
others are reproductions. Hal began collecting pumps in the last 20 years. Today his collection totals 29. The pumps are a
sweet reminder of his youth. “I worked part time at a DX sta-
tion when I was in high school,” he says. On a warm, breezy night at summer’s end, Hal’s pumps and
illuminated signs glow against a velvet sky. I am reminded
of a small town I once knew. Decades ago, it was home to at least half a dozen independently owned gas stations, each
with a full-time mechanic. On summer nights, those that stayed open past supper (and none were open after 9 o’clock)
were bathed in an amber glow from the yellow bulbs thought
to chase bugs away. Teenage boys washed windshields and made small talk while they pumped gas. And the sign? “A&W
and DX: One-stop service.” FC
For more information: Hal Colliver,
1720 230th St., Keota, IA 52248; (319)
330-9729.Iowa Gas Swap Meet and Auction, for
collectors of gas and oil petroliana and auto advertising: Aug. 2-5, 2016, Des
Moines, Iowa; online at http://www.iowagas.com.
West Chester ✭Iowa3