Farmer’s Service Station November Business of the Month
Farmer’s Service Station
Okeene Chamber’s Business of the Month
80 Years of Dedicated Service to the Okeene Community!
WOW! Not too many businesses can brag about that and it’s for darn sure, you can’t get owner, Lonnie Boeckman to brag about anything! Anyone who has known Lonnie for very long knows what a humble, easy going guy he is, so it took some work to even talk him into making a “ta-doo” over this great milestone for his families business!
Lawrence Boeckman built Farmers Service Station in the fall of 1929. The station had three driveways, hand-operated visible pumps, and was one of the only buildings on the north side of town at that time. South of the station was a tennis court, and the area north was used for croquet, and occasionally by traveling carnivals.
The building was later extended, and the three driveways were remodeled into two wider ones. Gasoline was originally delivered by railroad tank car, to storage tanks beside the tracks. Farm deliveries were made with ten-gallon cans hauled in a pickup.
The biggest change occurred when Lawrence’s cousin, Henry Huhman, arrived from St. Elizabeth, Missouri, and began working at the station in 1933.
Still today the covered awning makes filling up in wet weather much better.
In the early 1940’s, a two-bay garage was built, with an apartment where Lawrence lived. Lawrence also bought an electric gas pump, which was one of the first in the area.
Lawrence Boeckman(L) and Henry Huhman(R) posing with their new tank truck which still serves our community today!
The station was closed for three years during World War II, when Lawrence and Henry were both in the service. Henry became a full partner in the business when they re-opened the station in 1946. A new tank truck was purchased in 1949.
Lawrence and Henry became Mobil Oil Company dealers in the late 1940’s. When Mobil left the state in the mid-1970’s, they became Kerr-McGee dealers.
Henry Huhman retired in 1986, at which time Lonnie Boeckman became a partner with his father. Lawrence Boeckman worked at the station until he passed away in 1995.
Although Lawrence and Henry are no longer with us, their commitment to serving out community lives on through Lonnie, who still sells gasoline, diesel fuel, and performs most types of maintenance and repair work. and if you drive under the covered pump area you are quickly greeted, by either Lonnie or Alvin Rauh. It’s for sure you would have to drive a long way before you can find another place where you can still say, “Fill ‘er up” and without getting out of your car, your tank is filled and you are ready to head on down the highway.
Please join the the Okeene Chamber of Commerce in celebrating this great, 80th milestone with Farmer’s Service Station on Thursday, November 19th from 2-4.
Reception for Mike Sanders held at Dobrinski Chevrolet
Last night, the show room floor of Dobrinski Chevrolet was full of chairs, a nice table of munchie items and people. People who live in Okeene and are concerned about issues such as our Governments ideas on Healthcare, the new Cash for Clunkers program for appliances, compressed natural gas…how many other issues are we facing right now? Many, many more but these were the main issues discussed with Mike Sanders, District 59 State Representative .
Chamber President, Mike Dobrinski, wrote:
OK-You thought you’d been spared this year from any major political battle or election turmoil. However, the truth is that turmoil and the battle ahead is likely unprecedented. We have to prepare now to protect ourselves from the ever growing federal bureaucracy that is strangling small business and threatens the livelihood of hard-working Oklahomans like us.
Representative Sanders is working hard at our Capitol to preserve our rights and protect the freedoms and opportunities that generations before us have fought and died for.
We are seeing evidence every day that illustrates we can no longer just sit back and enjoy the ride. The bus is overcrowded and the passengers loading now don’t think they should have to buy their ticket. Let’s work together to do our part to control our destiny and preserve the future opportunities for our kids.
Pioneer Telephone, October Business of the Month
Pioneer Telephone Cooperative, is an industry leader in rural telecommunications services Read the rest of this entry »
Chamber’s Annual Feed & Auction
The evening of October 20th began with a delicious full, pulled pork dinner with a wide assortment of desserts. Frank Dunham, the Whea Esta BBQ Peoples Choice winner, prepared the meat and the Board Members baked and stirred up the rest of the meal. Read the rest of this entry »
What is brown and orange with a little bit of glue? Why a hand-made pumpkin treat bag!
The first arts and crafts day was rainy and drab but once inside the community building things came alive as 37 students enjoyed a snack provided by Homestead Bible Church and made three projects that included a squirrel covered in fall leaves, a painted pumpkin treat sack and a colorful leaf made out of tissue paper. Volunteers Hadley Gambill, Koby Smith, Lane Gambill, Clarissa Kraus, Mason Gambill, Kayla Fast and Denise Aldrich were great in keep things cleaned up and working with the younger kids. Our adult volunteers this month were Sandy Boeckman, Robin Swain and Linda Lipps. We also had a few parents that stayed and helped out.
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Add Your Blog to Okeene.com
If you have a blog of your own why not get added to Okeene.com’s Local Blog Links. It’s free and will help drive traffic to your blog. (No Social Networking Sites-Yet)
If you haven’t got a blog I’d recommend Read the rest of this entry »
Clean-Up scheduled for this Saturday (10-10)
Downtown Clean Up Saturday, Oct 10 meet at the 4 corners at 9am with willing gloved hands, your favorite yard tool(s) and warm hearts.
Moore’s Open House
The Grand Re-Opening of our local grocery store was held Wednesday, September 30 from 10-2. 132 people came by to sign up for the door prizes and take advantage of all the great bargains Moores Venture Food Store was offering. Owner Bobby Moore and Managers, Kale and Lori Giesick were all on hand to meet, greet, carry groceries and just enjoy being a part of our community.
Door prizes were drawn for at the end of the Open House, the winners were as follows: Delane Kehnemund, Denise Guidry and David Wilson all won Ice Chests, Dixie Aphold won a $25.00 Gift Card, Lois Seelke won a $50.00 Gift Card and Cindy Lamle won a $100.00 Gift Card. Congratulations to all of you and Congratulations, Moore’s Venture Food Store, we are happy to have you in Okeene!
Moore’s Venture Food Stores Open House September 30th
The Okeene Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce Moore’s Venture Food Stores as the September Business of the Month. It’s been right at a month since Kale and Lori Giesick took over managing our local grocery store and we all started trying to remember, “MOORE’s VENTURE FOOD STORE”. The new owner, Bobby Moore, I have not met as of yet but any time I’m in MVFS I’m sure to find Kale or Lori working and always with a smile. It was a labor of love Patricia Kubat put forth when she reopened Okeene Market and we were restored to a “civilized town” with a grocery store! I know it took a lot of hours and was, no doubt, a huge source of stress, so thank you Patti for loving and believing in Okeene that much!
The Chamber would like to invite everyone to the OPEN HOUSE on Wednesday, September 30 from 10-2. MVFS will be giving away door prizes throughout the open house, come on by and see all the changes taking place, inside and out!
Annual Feed & Auction scheduled for October 20th
Our fundraising for Christmas is about to begin as we start gathering auction items for this year’s Annual Feed & Auction. This event has become known for a nice meal followed by a lot of laughs and some great bargains. Tickets are available at the chamber office or from any Chamber Board Member:
Mike Dobrinski, Dobrinski Chevrolet
Shelly Dunham, CEO, Okeene Hospital
Mike Buchanan, Buchanan Insurance and Tag Agency
Rae Dixon, Mountain Country Foods
Stacy Lee, Stacy Lee Photography
Bessie Becker, Grandma Bear’s
Maria Nease, Nease Insurance
Ali Milligan, Al’s Hair & Body Repair
Robert High, Wilkinson Mortuary
Janel Parrish, Pioneer Telephone
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