Business Info

Business Address

335 S Main

Business Name

Bennett 66 Service

Business Type

Filling Station

Date First Seen There

1940

Notes

Present day address is 331. From Billie E Bennett Guilfoyle: My Dad William “Bill”Bennett had the station for a few years until he left for the war in 1942 and at that time my Grandfather William “Will” Bennett Sr took it over for him to run till my Dad returned. When my Dad returned 4 years later my Grandfather continued running the station until his death in 1967 at age 82. He loved his customers and many remembered how they would sometimes pump their own gas and even go in and write down their gas on a ticket then pay Granddad when they got paid., very different times. It was a Phillips 66 station from at least 1955 to 1967. I was to young to remember the 1940s & I don’t ever remember it being any other brand My Granddad was a barber by trade when he married my Grandmother in 1912 and the shop was in the old Miami Hotel building on North Main and sold Ford cars , Model A. When Will Rogers was to appear at the Coleman Theater in the 1930s , Rogers pilot , Wiley Post , had engine problems while on the way to the Miami Airport. He put down that Sat morning in a field toward Afton Granddad that morning was taking a new Ford to try to sell to a customer and saw a plane go down in the field and went to help. He ended up driving Will back to Miami to the Coleman. My Grandmother, Great Grandmother, Dad and half of Miami were at the Coleman to see Will Rogers show when Granddad pulls out front and drops off Will Rogers and then heads right back to meet his car customer. All the town dignitaries were waiting at the airport to meet Will Rogers . Apparently my Grandfather was added to Will Rogers show. He told how he was zoomed into town at top speeds and the ride was scarier than the plane problems. My Grandfather always told that he had to hurry to get a car sold. It was tough times in the 30s . He sold that car that day too. At my Grandfather’s funeral at the sanctuary of First Christian Church , his friends and very loyal customers filled the church to remember this wonderful man. Memories from Billie , his loving Granddaughter

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