Richard Hyatt: Fueling friendships for 60 years

You can fill up your car all over town, but there is only one Buddy Helton.

He has been pumping gas since he was 14 years old and gas was 23 cents a gallon. He opened his first service station on Summerville Road in Phenix City in 1955 and moved to Victory Drive in 1961, but the vehicles Buddy has serviced these past 60 years aren't as important as the friendships he has fueled.

This Bear Bryant disciple relocated to the corner of Veterans Parkway and 13th Street in 1982, offering gas, oil and warm smiles even to the occasional Auburn fan that stopped in by mistake.

Buddy has survived gas shortages, price wars and competitors on every block, but he can't compete with old age, and at the end of December he shuts his doors for the final time.

"I'm 85 years old. I've been trying to do this for four or five years. There comes a time to quit and I believe that time has come. I just can't do the work I used to do," he said.

An era is ending. His is one of the last full-service stations in town. You can pump your own, or Buddy will pump it for you. He'll change your oil, rotate your tires or give you change for a cold drink.

Should you want to talk football, you've come to the right place. Just don't say anything bad about his favorite team, something I learned years ago. "You wrote something ugly about Alabama and it got my attention," he said.

Buddy loves the Crimson Tide and Jesus. His grandfather was a Baptist preacher who preached his first sermon in Phenix City on Dec. 7, 1941 -- the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.

When Buddy wasn't following football he was singing bass in a gospel quartet, learning rhythm by the thump of an uncle beating time on the kitchen table. He can still hit low notes too.

For years he ran a pipeline of talent between Central High and Tuscaloosa. That's why he's an honorary Crimson Tide letterman. He was inducted in 2005, right before the death of his beloved Patsy -- his wife of 55 years.

He leaves behind friends and a changing business landscape. "These days you gotta have groceries, the lottery and beer."

And for his ears only, I offer a "Roll Tide."

-- Richard Hyatt is an independent correspondent. Reach him at hyatt31906@knology.net.

This story was originally published December 20, 2014 at 7:28 PM with the headline "Richard Hyatt: Fueling friendships for 60 years."