Full service fun

Frontiersman

Since 1982, Knik Goose-Bay residents have become accustomed to filling up their gas tanks at Knik Texaco, where they could get a cup of coffee and plenty of conversation. When former owner Herb Rosencrans retired earlier this summer, it appeared to be the end of an era.

It turned out to be a temporary hiatus. Gone is the Texaco name - the station is independent now - but that same down-home feel will remain forever, said new owner Kevin Peterson.

&#8220It's one of the last old-time service stations around, where the ladies don't have to pump their own gas, you can buy tires and have your truck serviced,” Peterson said. &#8220Of course there will be some small changes, but for the most part, we want to have the same feel as when Herb was here.”

Most of the staff is back at work, now that the station is up and running once again. Girls still come out and pump the gas for customers, and other than Rosencrans' larger-than-life presence being gone, not much else has changed, which is good news for the customers, Peterson said.

&#8220We've had some of the ladies up from the senior center say they didn't even know how to pump gas because they've been coming here for years,” Peterson said. &#8220Well, they don't have to learn, because we'll still do it for them.”

Peterson has been a contractor in the Valley for more than two decades, and he said that while owning a service station is a new experience, he's &#8220having a blast.”

The station has the only full-service bay in the Valley, where people can get their oil, antifreeze and other fluids checked in addition to filling up with gas.

&#8220We're not a gas station,” Peterson said. &#8220We're a service station. People come here for the service, and we'll never change that.”

And they also come to catch up with the latest news. In the lobby, there are comfortable chairs, a few magazines and newspapers laying on the tables. Coffee percolates in the corner, and there's always a Styrofoam cup ready to hold your java. It's that &#8220coffee and conversation” atmosphere that made Rosencrans' station so popular in the first place, and Peterson is trying to continue that type of community feel at the station.

&#8220A lot of fishing and hunting reports get talked about here,” Peterson said with a chuckle. &#8220That's some of the most important things that get talked about.”

Peterson grew up in Wasilla and has been building since he was 18. In the spring, he pulled into the station to fill up, and talked to Rosencrans, his old friend, who said he was closing it down.

&#8220I thought, ‘Let me see how much money I've got,'” Peterson said. &#8220Places like this shouldn't close. I've been in business since I was 18, and I know how to run one, so it seemed like a good idea. We're having a good time.”

Customers will also benefit from the station's independence, Peterson said - as if the hunting and fishing reports weren't enough.

&#8220Our gas is the same price as in town, and you get more service here. Because we're an independent, we can shop around for our fuel, and I'm not locked into buying at one price from one supplier. I can shop around for the best deal,” he said.

Contact Casey Ressler at 352-2265 or

valleylife@frontiersman.com.