Fill 'er up!  A phrase from a by-gone day or is it?  Motorists can still get full service at Polk Oil Company's South First Street location. It's a perk that the company feels ties it to its beginnings - as a garage in the small Cherokee County community of Wells. Customer service was the foundation of HC and Hazel Polk's garage when they opened it back in February 1937.  As their business and family grew, they moved to Angelina County and opened their second garage and service station at 1422 South First Street. That was in 1949 and it's been full service ever since!  Carl Ray Polk, Jr. says, "My grandfather, my father and I all worked there.  Customers could get any kind of work done that they needed - replace a fan belt, change out the battery, rotate the tires.  In 1974, we strictly went to fuel sales."

Though the fuel brands have changed through the years, from Premier to Skelly and from Mobil to Exxon, the service hasn't. Customers drive in, fill up, have their fluids checked, their windshield cleaned and their tires aired up without ever getting out of their vehicle.  Polk quips, "I started washing cars and windshields at seven years old and worked every summer until I was 14.  I learned what I know about customer service selling gasoline. That was a huge learning experience."  Polk is now the president of Polk Oil Company.
 
In a day where the "do it yourself pay at the pump method" is the norm, Polk  Oil Company still prefers to do it for you -at least at one of its 29 locations!  Leon Moore has worked at the station off and on for more than 35 years.  His brother Joe manages the station.  Leon says, "One lady told me she'd traded here for so long she felt like she owned the place." 

This gem does more than provide full service at self-service prices!  Loggers pull up to the side to buy off road diesel to power their equipment.    People stop in to buy kerosene for their lamps and heaters or five gallon buckets of oil.   Most come for the service and the reassurance that someone knowledgeable is checking under the hood and eyeballing their tire pressure. 
A recent customer reports, "It reminds me of the old days when everything was full service. I appreciate the human touch. That's something you don't see much of. There's nothing like filling up your car on a cold, wet day and staying dry and warm while the fellows at Polk do the work!"

Leon Moore says they get a real mix of customers.  Though the clientele skews a bit older, folks of all ages are among his regulars. Moore considers every customer his friend!

The South First Street Station is open Monday through Friday from six in the morning until nine at night.  On Saturday they close at 8 in the evening.  You'll have to pump your own on Sundays and holidays because they're closed!  Stop in on a cold, rainy day and let them spoil you. You'll never want to pump your own gas again!