The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-09-15
OIL, GAS, SERVICE
Long Oil Company Has Big
Business in Topeka.
Huge Growth Since Opening
Here -Four Years Ago.

A. W. Long, of Manhattan, Kan, is {
the president of The Long Oil Com
pany He first started in business in
1915, when he purchased the Sykes-U oil
interests at Manhattan. He incor-
porated his business under the name
of The Long Oil company in 1917.
The firm books were opened at that
time by P. A. Fairbank, who became
a director of The Long Oil company,
and manager of the business in To-
peka.
Mr.. Fairbank came to Topeka De-
cember I, 1914, and opened the Of
fees of The Long Oil company which
later became the Winters Petroleum,
and the White Eagle companies Mr..
Fairbank was office manager for these
concerns, and secretary and treasurer
of the Winters Petroleum company.
He left the White Eagle company in
December 1913, when he Joined The
Long Oil company's interests. He is
president of the Kiwanis club and is
prominent in the work of the Cham
Der of Commerce. During 1920 he
was chairman of the membership
committee of the latter organization.
The Long Oil company began DIP
Grating a storage plant and warehouse
December I, 1918 in a building at the
corner of Curtis and Tyler streets in
North Topeka. There was storage at
that time for thirty-six thousand gall
Ions of gasoline and kerosene. Since
then the storage volume has doubled
and now has a capacity of seventy
two thousand gallons In this Ioca-
ton there is brick garage and ware
house from which four trucks are OPP
Grated, two in the country and two
in the city.
First Station in 1919.
On April 5, 1919. the Long Oil COM
pany opened its first filling station at
the southwest corner of Fourth and
Quincy streets.
On May "a, 1919, a second drive-in
filling station was erected on the
southwest corner of West Tenth ave-
nue. and Topeka boulevard. On jan
uary IT, 1920, a third filling station
avenue. This was the first filling sta
ton on the new hard surfaced road
from Topeka to Lawrence.
The Long Oil company is the only
one in Topeka that operates a gaso-
line service car for the benefit of its
customers. If a customer is stalled
for lack of gasoline in the town or
country all he needs to do is to tele-
phone to The Long Oil company and
the service car will hurry to his res
cue with no charge for the service
whatever.
This company was the first one in
Topeka to give free crank case serv-
ice. At any of The Long Oil company
stations the customer can have the
crank case of his motor drained and
oil. After this service was given free
by The Long Oil company other COM
panies have followed suit.
In connection with each of The
Long Oil company's filling stations is
a nicely furnished restroom for ladies
that is especially designed so that it
is accessible without entering the Of
flee of the filling station.
The quality of the gasoline sold by
The Long Oil company is strongly at
H. go nj
practically all of the gas used in the
aeroplanes of the Topeka flyers.
Beside the stations in Topeka this
company also operates DRIVEN fill
ing stations in Manhattan, Wamego.
Atchison and Solomon.
Aside from the regulation trade in gaso-
line and automobile oils, The Long Oil
company distributors for the Pennsyl-
tawatomie, Riley, and Atchison counties,
handling Vacuum Cup tires tires exclu-
The Long. OIL company also has the
agency for the Powell Oil company in sew
enteen counties in Kansas, distributing
In Topeka alone the Long Oil company
has sixteen employees.
streets is operated by Dewey Langley, for
merly with the Topeka OH company and
The East Sixth avenue station is OPP
Grated by G. P. Gill, who was formerly
township trustee Of Topeka township and
VINO conducted q IeeQ store on the site
used for the erection of this filling station.
Mr.. Gill handles all commodities at this
filling station, including gas, oil, tires
and accessories, on a commission basis.
The warehouse foreman is William Fol-
lick. The city salesman of the Long Oil
company is D. w. Osborne, who was con-
nected for several years with the Topeka
Oil company.
The West Tenth avenue filling station is
under the direct supervision Of the office
manager, Arthur Dubach, who was also
formerly with the Topeka OH company.
The filling stations of this company are
open one hour longer daily than any other
stations. The hours are, from a. m. to II
p. m. The reason for this is that there are
two men employed at every filling station,
averaging eight hour each day, whereas
the other oil companies employ only three
men to operate two stations.
The policy Of handling high grade COM
modfties and giving the customer every
thing possible in the way of service, has
proven itself a profitable one as the 1921
business of the Long Oil company shows
an increase of 40 per cent over the business
Of 1920.