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GasBuddy News Article


Fixating on fuel
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Ottawa Citizen -- I remember looking at a long-abandoned gas station with fascination while in elementary school. The price of gasoline was frozen at the moment that someone named George Noseworthy had ceased operations several years earlier at 39 cents per Imperial gallon.

But memory is a funny thing. Noseworthy's 39-cents-a-gallon price was a figure tossed to me from the past, almost without context. When people paid 39 cents for a gallon of gasoline, what were they paying for milk? Cars? Cheeseburgers? Sweet Marie candy bars?

Would I have had to drive a Ford Futura if my father bought one for me?


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JT
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Message Posted: 7/25/2008 9:38:02 AM  Ignore JT Report Abuse
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Ottawa Citizen -- I remember looking at a long-abandoned gas station with fascination while in elementary school. The price of gasoline was frozen at the moment that someone named George Noseworthy had ceased operations several years earlier at 39 cents per Imperial gallon.

But memory is a funny thing. Noseworthy's 39-cents-a-gallon price was a figure tossed to me from the past, almost without context. When people paid 39 cents for a gallon of gasoline, what were they paying for milk? Cars? Cheeseburgers? Sweet Marie candy bars?

Would I have had to drive a Ford Futura if my father bought one for me?

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REPLIES (newest first)
POLELANE
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Ohio

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 11:14:27 AM  Ignore POLELANE Report Abuse
slow news day, eh ?
357revo
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Pittsburgh

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 7:08:18 AM  Ignore 357revo Report Abuse
First bought gas at .19/gal in early 60s. Corrected for inflation and taxes, it's no different now.
rtw777
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Florida

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 7:07:26 AM  Ignore rtw777 Report Abuse
It does not matter what other products cost--it is gasoline and diesel that brought them to market.
bbreff
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Atlanta

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:53:55 AM  Ignore bbreff Report Abuse

As long as we are going down memory lane, the least I ever paid for gas was $.159 per gallon in Wapping Conn. 1966.
org_elizard
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Greensboro

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:49:31 AM  Ignore org_elizard Report Abuse
So
brutus
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Alberta

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:48:20 AM  Ignore brutus Report Abuse
Cigarettes where 35 cents a pack then, now they are $9.00 to $10.00 a pack here now. That makes gas half price per gallon in comparison.
LeeFree
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Detroit

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:47:12 AM  Ignore LeeFree Report Abuse
While we're all going down memory lane, my first tank of gas was 53 cents/gal. Times sure have changed!
Razzincain
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Kansas

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:46:06 AM  Ignore Razzincain Report Abuse
When gas was 39 cents. The Griffs hambugers were 10 for a dollar I bought Many a sack of them. I bought a 1958 Chevrolet 6cyl for 1700 dollars. It seemed tuff to make it back then to me
TeachR06
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Raleigh

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:45:34 AM  Ignore TeachR06 Report Abuse
How true. Prices have gone up faster than our incomes but gas has really shot up and so have things like college tuition and property taxes, etc. You wonder why things got so crazy. NAFTA? Other foreign trade? It's almost as if we're pricing ourselves out of the world market.
tizbowwow
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Illinois

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:42:38 AM  Ignore tizbowwow Report Abuse
interesting article.
MiJeff
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Grand Rapids

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:41:47 AM  Ignore MiJeff Report Abuse
i started driving when fas was 35 cents a gallon
Outie
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New Brunswick

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:41:27 AM  Ignore Outie Report Abuse
I remember 39 cents a gallon too, those were great days.
TheThing
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Quebec

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:41:01 AM  Ignore TheThing Report Abuse
OK
tarbaby1
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Twin Cities

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:39:07 AM  Ignore tarbaby1 Report Abuse
My first job was $1.20 an hour, gas was "on sale" at a station for $.249 - regular or premium...
Now what...
Everything goes up, it seems...
Freedom to ...
Metroman
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Philadelphia

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:37:25 AM  Ignore Metroman Report Abuse
Ok, I remember it was $.33 a gallon when I started driving is that news?
Austin1850
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Austin

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:33:19 AM  Ignore Austin1850 Report Abuse
Oh, the good old days :)
olcowboy14
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Spokane

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:33:17 AM  Ignore olcowboy14 Report Abuse
I remember that too, I also remember that I was making a dollar an hour, don't know what milk cost, as I was milking the cow,new cars? They were for the rich, Copenhagen was a dime, candy and pop a nickel. Then I joined the Navy and took a pay cut, but I did see part of the world.
WonderfulMI
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Michigan

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:32:50 AM  Ignore WonderfulMI Report Abuse
What makes this humorous article so poignant is that all too much of it is true.
Hawkeyejd
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Ontario

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:32:06 AM  Ignore Hawkeyejd Report Abuse
OK
WWWCW
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Riverside

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:22:40 AM  Ignore WWWCW Report Abuse
milk? don't know, is it delivery by milkman. Cars? around $2,000 new. Cheeseburgers? 15 cents at McDonald.
RLH68
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Orlando

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:22:22 AM  Ignore RLH68 Report Abuse
'weenerdog,' we're showing our age. I too remember 29 cent/gallon gas.
winggnutt
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Detroit

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:09:42 AM  Ignore winggnutt Report Abuse
A pack of smokes was 35 cents back then.....
weenerdog
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Detroit

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 6:04:27 AM  Ignore weenerdog Report Abuse
I remember 29 cent gas
MightyDude
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Minnesota

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snif
racerdj
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Indianapolis

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:58:28 AM  Ignore racerdj Report Abuse
It shows my age, but I paid 29.9 for my first tank of gas in my first car.
lpj
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Georgia

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:55:43 AM  Ignore lpj Report Abuse
in n.c. gas stayed at 29.9 until i came back from the army !!
DebRist
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Akron

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:54:45 AM  Ignore DebRist Report Abuse
Yes but, if it's selling for .14 a gallon in Iraq I can see it being somewhat higher here as it's imported but not to the point we are paying.
Jeannemarie
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Las Vegas

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:54:22 AM  Ignore Jeannemarie Report Abuse
Be as old as I and recall gasoline at $.12 per gallon and hear everyone then discuss how high it was. Of course everything else was in that same boat and many were using horses. Of course then one has to clean up the streets afterwards. During WWII many horses came out of semi-retirement and worked as gasoline was so limited by rationing and besides many people could not afford cars at all. Enjoy your present luxuries - don't complain so much - life is too short for that stuff. We are very well off in most of the world - think about the poor people in Africa or other places who are lucky to have clothes for their backs and a cup of rice to eat. Gas is very dear here in France - $15.83 today for an American gallon...... Wait'll your pumps hit that to complain. Find another way to travel. Use biodiesel - no cost after the conversions there. I have a Prius and can hardly wait for the batteries they currently have in the production lines. Lighter and more powerful -----less gas too.
tomvan
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Bridgeport

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:42:57 AM  Ignore tomvan Report Abuse
I remember waiting in line for gas with my dad during the gas crisis in 1974, the price going from 49 to 59 cents.
meteorologist
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Knoxville

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:27:11 AM  Ignore meteorologist Report Abuse
I remember 30 cents a gallon in 1970.
HDUltra03
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Oregon

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:26:03 AM  Ignore HDUltra03 Report Abuse
SO?!
DirtDigger1
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Buffalo

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:25:27 AM  Ignore DirtDigger1 Report Abuse
What a waste if print.
robertsss
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Hamilton

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:21:14 AM  Ignore robertsss Report Abuse
Those are hard comparisons to make...consider gas prices two years ago.
AuburnTim
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Indiana

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:12:58 AM  Ignore AuburnTim Report Abuse
People will look back and think 4.00 was cheap back then....only difference will be that will be in just a few years instead of a few decades
ED6
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Riverside

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:10:14 AM  Ignore ED6 Report Abuse
Those are just memories. The reality right now is a pain in the gas pump.
Gellin
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Michigan

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:04:21 AM  Ignore Gellin Report Abuse
I remember a corner in my neighbohood when I was a kid that had 4 gas stations. When they had a gas war it went down to 19.9/gal. Boy was that a long time ago.
hooky
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Michigan

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 5:04:10 AM  Ignore hooky Report Abuse
Just a space filler, no value added!
krell58
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Missouri

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 4:47:48 AM  Ignore krell58 Report Abuse
Watch the Energy Non Crisis.
http://tinyurl.com/33l95c
fulldawg
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Georgia

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 4:46:57 AM  Ignore fulldawg Report Abuse
Pretty pointless article...

I do not understand the sarcastic humor? I guess...
Sigmundson
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Oakland

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 4:46:44 AM  Ignore Sigmundson Report Abuse
yes
Petrock
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Lexington

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 4:36:55 AM  Ignore Petrock Report Abuse
This has some interesting perspectives in a time we are all grasping for what reality really is.
Mr.Chips
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Michigan

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OK
UncleBub
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Dayton

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Yawn!
CaptRJO
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Texas

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 4:26:33 AM  Ignore CaptRJO Report Abuse
Are we this desperate that we call this news???
windowdude49301
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Grand Rapids

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 4:14:46 AM  Ignore windowdude49301 Report Abuse
news worthy?
rjn5851
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Florida

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 3:57:26 AM  Ignore rjn5851 Report Abuse
not good..........
fratt
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Grand Rapids

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 3:42:33 AM  Ignore fratt Report Abuse
Cigarettes were 45 cents per pack, bread was a quaeter.
jackson661
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Columbus

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 3:38:06 AM  Ignore jackson661 Report Abuse
High gasoline prices are bad for economy and is not a trend
today it is a need.
kfinto
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Texas

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 3:32:37 AM  Ignore kfinto Report Abuse
I remember my dad complaining about gas when it reached 50 cents a gallon back in the 70's.
pkhdonovan
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Maine

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Message Posted: 7/26/2008 3:17:58 AM  Ignore pkhdonovan Report Abuse
I remember my dad complaining at 33 cents a gallon but again he made about $4000 a year.
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