Gary's Gay Parita; What Is It? Where Is It?

1948 Ford Super DeLuxe at Gary's Gay Parita Sinclair Station in Ash Grove, Missouri.
All images made with a Fujifilm X100VI.  (click any image to enlarge)

About 25 miles west of Springfield, Missouri, if you keep your eyes open while driving Historic Route 66, you will see Gary's Gay Parita Sinclair Service Station.  A fascinating place.  There are several buildings on the premises, as well as the old gas station and store.  Everywhere you look are signs of times past.  Old trucks, old cars, old farm equipment, old gas pumps, old coolers, old...everything.  It is a photographer’s paradise!

I think this old 1948 Ford Super Deluxe Sedan stopped to fill up with gasoline and just stayed for decades!  Lol.

(click to enlarge)

I was wondering what Gay Parita meant and how the place got its name.  Here is a bit of information I found online:

"Gay Parita" refers to the original name of a Sinclair gas station built in 1930 on Route 66 in Paris Springs, Missouri. It was named after the original owner's (Fred Mason) wife, Gay, with "Parita" meaning "equal" in Spanish to signify she and her husband were equal partners in the business. The original station was destroyed by fire in 1955, but a replica was built on the same site by a Route 66 enthusiast named Gary Turner.

While visiting, I met kind of a grizzled gentleman.  I won't say old as he looked younger than me.  He was sitting inside the old store.  We struck up a conversation.  He is a very interesting fellow.  His name is George and told us he and his wife are the owners.  Grizzled is used in the best sense of the word, describing his outward physical appearance and not to take away from his intelligence or accomplishments in life.  In fact, from what he told us, his experiences in the military and elsewhere are quite amazing.  I walked away with admiration of the man's accomplishments and wished him well with his establishment.  

I found this place to be rich in photographic opportunities, if you like to photograph this sort of subject matter.

Here are a couple of more of the dozen or more photos I made while wandering around the property:

Even the sunflower appears old and worn out!

Google’s Gemini AI site tells me this is a 1936 or ‘37 Dodge truck.  It even provided the 
most likely model.  The informational resources we now have are quite remarkable. 

The emblem from this 1936 or 1937 Dodge Brothers Truck is enameled.  It has held up
for almost 90 years—outside!  Now that's quality!

If you are driving Route 66 or just happen to be driving west of Springfield, Missouri and like this kind of subject matter, I would encourage you to stop for an hour or so and make some photographs.  I found it well worth my time.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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