Olden Days: Gasoline Alley

When I met Dale Mohler several years ago at the Panda Garden Restaurant I told him our boys still like to talk about the fun they had as kids buying penny candy from him down at the famous “Gasoline Alley,” just a couple blocks east of grandma’s house at 611 N. Third Ave. E. All the kids in the neighborhood loved to go there with coins jingling in their pockets. Dale and his partner Lloyd Strong leased the business shortly after World War II. While the official name was Square Deal Oil, it was always known as “Gasoline Alley,” even back in the late ’30’s when the boys’ mother was a little girl. She also used to walk the same couple blocks with her brother Harry, each with a big penny for a special treat. Those were the days when you could g