“I’ll have people that will walk in and say I remember when I used to buy gas here.”
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “If these walls could speak.” Inside what used to be the Garison Filling station, they do.
Several pictures hanging on the wall provide a vivid snapshot of what used to be.
“Dave Garison bought this piece of property in I believe 1917. He had a furniture store on Main Street, but then sold out his half to his brother and decided he’d have the filling station, so he built this in 1920,” said Sandra Grizzle, current owner of the building.
“You know, they did everything. They pumped the gas, cleaned your windshield and everything you needed done. "As I’ve understood from people, Mr. Garison gave a lot of credit out and you just wrote your little ticket and whenever you had the money you paid him.”
When Mr. Garison got older he decided to lease the station out.
“And at one time it was leased out as a lawnmower repair shop. There are people who remember that.”
Sandra Grizzle married Dave Garison’s grandson and later decided to buy the unique building on the corner of Main Street and 967.
Today it houses the Shops on Main, which includes Buda’s Red Door, Little Blue Bird, and Old Main Street Station.
“When Dave Garison and his wife passed away back in 1959, everything that they owned was put into a family estate. Dave Garison had two sons and two daughters. In 1995 one of the daughter’s had passed away. So that only left three children, but several grandchildren. So in their wisdom they decided that they better settle the estate and start selling things off, so it didn’t become just a family castle. So that was when I decided I wanted this corner. “
At first, Sandra leased the old filling station out to a real estate office. After they gave it up, she opened her own shop.
“I was lucky enough to have Sue Gage-Verver to decide that she wanted to come in with her flower shop. And she was in our building for 11 years. She and I worked together. She decided to leave and go into wholesale business. That’s when I had Margaret Goebler with her Little Blue Bird and then Red Door followed soon after.”
The long brick building in the back of the property housed a number of different businesses, including a blacksmith shop. In the 1920’s Mr. Garison sold new Chevrolet’s out of the building.
The Garison’s also built a hamburger shop next to the station called the Tiny Tavern, which is no longer there. They even built a miniature golf course behind the station.
“I like the idea of the fact that we could keep it in the family. I’m a real history buff. My side of the family, we don’t have a lot of the history that I can fall back on. So when I married into the family that had so much history, I guess that’s why it meant so much to me,” said Grizzle.
"Buda Back in the Day" is a new monthly series we are kicking off. It will profile stories emphasizing the history of Buda. We would love your ideas. Please send them to dmarino@ci.buda.tx.us.
You can watch the video version of the story by clinking the link below:
Buda Back in the Day - Garison Filling Station
All photos in this story are courtesy of Sandra Grizzle.
