Behind a Route 66 icon

Phil and Debbie Becker’s custom 1946 Ford station wagon is prominent on the replica billboard that overlooks the Route 66 rest stop where their restored Texaco gas station attracts Route 66 tourists from around the world. Courtesy of John Lee

Phil Becker grew up just down the street from the Ambler Texaco station in his little home town of Dwight, Ill. Nothing remarkable about that except that the station had been strategically located where State Hwy. 17, which cuts through Dwight from east to west, intersects with U.S. Hwy. 66. Yes, that Route 66, the one established in 1926 that stretched 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles and was fast becoming the major path for travelers migrating to the west.

Built in 1933 and located 80 miles southwest of Chicago, the Texaco station was a convenient early stop for motorists heading to California or a last fill-’er-up for those nearing the end of their eastward journey. After taking over management of the station in 1938, Basil “Tubby” Ambler would operate it as Amber’s Texaco until 1966.

Already the neighborhood car nut, Phil started hanging out at the gas station in his free time to watch the cars whiz by, and especially the few that stopped to take on a fresh tank of gas. Many wore license plates from distant states, even California. Phil occasionally pitched in with a helping hand when business got busy. When he turned 13 in 1964, Ambler hired him to pump gas and help out with myriad tasks such an operation needs to cover. Phil went full-time after graduating from Dwight High School.

After marrying his high school sweetheart, Debbie, the couple bought the business in 1970 and renamed it Becker’s Texaco Service. Their wholesale supplier switched from Texaco to Marathon Oil products about a year later, and the couple continued the operation as Becker’s Marathon until 1996. At that time, they closed it down and leased out the building as an auto repair shop.

Now restored as a tourist rest stop, the Ambler-Becker Texaco station serviced Route 66 travelers for more than 60 years. It was the oldest still pumping gas on the historic highway when the Beckers hung up the hoses for the last time in 1996. Courtesy of John Lee

When the station was certified by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2001, Phil insisted that the citation be listed as Ambler-Becker Texaco Service. “We had to include “Tubby” Ambler, because he was the pioneer,” Becker said. “He ran the business for half of the time it was in operation.” The Beckers donated the building to the village of Dwight, and a $10,400 grant was obtained from the U.S. National Park Service that allowed the town to develop the site as a rest stop and interpretive center as part of the Historic Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program.

Many community volunteers joined in to repair and restore the original 1933 frame gas station and concrete block service bay that had been added during World War II, at the corner of what is now maintained as Old Route 66 and State Route 17. The modern freeway, Interstate 55, is routed a half mile farther west to carry the through-traffic volume that would overwhelm the two-lane Route 66. After interior and exterior repainting in the station’s 1940s Texaco color scheme was completed in May 2007, the station reopened as a visitor center.

The air was always free at the Ambler-Becker Texaco station. Courtesy of John Lee

A lit, vintage-style billboard bearing the image of the Beckers’ custom 1946 Ford woodie wagon overlooks the rest stop site. Further furnishings are a picnic table, informative signage and art sculptures.

Throughout the years of running the gas station, Phil had continued the hobby he’d adopted while in high school — building hot rods. That enterprise eventually moved out of the station and into a shop built next to the couple’s home. In their retirement years, the couple has turned out a string of award-winning street rods, including a 1932 Ford Victoria that won the prestigious Ridler Award at the Detroit Autorama.

A 1914 Model T Ford fire truck is displayed inside the station’s service bay, along with a full array of vintage furnishings and supplies. Courtesy of John Lee

Phil related that before the station was shut down, the folks at the local Hampton Inn did some research, and one day “the manager showed up and gave us a plaque for being the oldest station still pumping gas on the original Route 66.” The plaque now hangs inside, to be seen by hundreds of visitors a year. The Village of Dwight recruits volunteers to keep the door open from 10 to 4 every day from May to October.

So, how do you get your restored or customized pride and joy on a billboard on Route 66?

You own the billboard!

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