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Refueling the Past: A History of Service Stations in Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles, Illinois

2021

Synopsis

Refueling the Past will take you back to early blacksmith shops and general stores selling gasolene and horseless carriages up through the nostalgic 20th century service stations, garages, and car dealerships, triggering great memories from a bygone era.

There have been a number of publications on the subject, but they have been lacking the historical perspective from those who actually experienced all of the nuances of the American dream of small business ownership, the actual service station operator.

It will become apparent there is a universal application to anyone’s hometown as it is a comprehensive compilation of local business history relative to the automobile. The incentive for Archie Bentz was to capture and share this microcosm of the service station industry as it applied local business history of his hometown area of Batavia, Geneva, and St. Charles, Illinois including surrounding communities in central Kane County.

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