{"id":2578,"date":"2026-09-28T17:06:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T22:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/?p=2578"},"modified":"2026-09-28T17:06:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T22:06:07","slug":"the-nite-owls-1938","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.early1900s.org\/notes\/2026\/09\/28\/the-nite-owls-1938\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nite Owls – 1938"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Click on the image above for a larger view.<\/span><\/strong>
\nColorized photo of a family-owned gas station in North Texas. The man and the woman are pointing to the high-water mark from the May 18, 1935, flood.\u00a0 The original image can be found here<\/a>.\u00a0 Based on clues provided by descriptions of other photos in the same collection, as well as 1938 aerial photographs, it is highly likely that the station was located here<\/a> (opens in Google Street View), just north of Ponder, Texas.\u00a0 Assuming that is the correct location, the underpass to which the station’s name refers can be seen in the Google Street View and in this photo<\/a>, which was most likely taken by the same photographer. The Traffic brand gasoline advertised on the pumps was a lower-grade gasoline made by Gulf Oil, which sold for 2 to 3 cents less than Gulf’s next-highest-grade.\u00a0 It was popular with cash-strapped Depression-era motorists, especially those driving older cars that did not require the increased performance of higher-grade gasoline. However, to prevent it from cannibalizing sales of its higher-grade products, Gulf only distributed it to certain regions.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
“Beale Street Blues”<\/strong>
\nThe Nite Owls; Luke Owens, vocal<\/strong>
\nMay 12, 1938\u00a0 (Vocalion 05203 mx DAL 507)
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<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Who’s Sorry Now”<\/strong>
\nThe Nite Owls; Bob Burgess, vocal<\/strong>
\nDecember 2, 1938\u00a0 (Vocalion 05203 mx DAL 676)
\n