R.I.P. Hess

Talk of Pathmark's days being numbered reminded me that a ubiquitous brand that's been around for 55 years has gone away. All of the area's Hess stations now carry the banner of Speedway, the retail name of Marathon Petroleum. Hess sold its retail operations to Marathon last May, and continues as an exploration and production company, which returns Hess to the focus of the Amerada Petroleum Corporation, with which it merged in 1969.

And before anyone asks, the trucks will be sold online. But everyone knows that's not the same. Another seeming constant bites the dust. But as Monty Python taught us, there's no place for sentiment in big business.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/11/hess_truck_2014_50th_anniversary_mobile_museum.html

In my younger days I lived for several years in Indiana where speedway was prevalent. I have fond memories of a variety of unhealthy snacks and hotdogs rolling on a metal platform from their convenience store Starvin Marvin 24 hours a da. Maybe not the warm fuzzy I got as a kid with the Hess truck but still fun.

On Finderne Ave in Bridgewater near Rt 28 is a Hess that just changed over to Shell. The green stripe around the building was painted yellow but only on the front side!