is Gas Price Rollercoaster ready to roll?

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Worries about a possible disruption of oil supplies from the Middle East and resulting higher gasoline prices remind of previous gasoline shortages in our history. The above photo shows a typical Somerset-area service station during the World War II era when gasoline was rationed. Pump prices at that time were about 18 cents a gallon. Photo courtesy Rogers Photography

December 29, 2011

Rumblings in Mideast a reminder of the past

by Bill Mardis Commonwealth Journal The Commonwealth Journal Thu Dec 29, 2011, 10:35 AM EST

Somerset — We haven’t heard anything official yet, but Iran’s threat this week to block the Strait of Hormuz was an uncomfortable reminder of the early 1970s when an Arab boycott caused a nationwide gasoline shortage.

Even the possibility –– the U.S. Government initially declined comment –– a threat to shut off one-fifth of the world’s oil supply makes Big Oil nervous, and those folks calm their jitters by raising the price of oil. Oil topped $100 a barrel after the threat.

And, with that happening, before you can say “fill’er’up,” gasoline at the pump likely will jump in price. It goes up in generous increments, but the price comes down a stingy penny at the time.

The narrow Strait of Hormuz is considered one of the most, if not the most strategic strait of water on the planet. Through its waters, in giant ocean-going tankers, passes much of the oil from Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Bordered by Iran, Oman's Musandam Peninsula and the United Arab Emirates, this stretch of water is of obvious military significance, and subsequently, the U.S. Navy and others patrol its waters.

Iran allegedly has said it will block the strait if the U.S. and others attempt to stop its sale of oil as part of increased sanctions in an attempt to halt the country’s nuclear ambitions.

Most folks in their middle age remember gasoline shortages during the early 1970s. The scarcity was caused both by an Arab boycott and U.S. government regulations, including price controls.

Many service stations closed because of the shortage and stations with lights on sometimes had empty pumps. At one point, motorists were only allowed to buy 10 gallons at any stop. Prices at the pump, ranging from 43 cents a gallon for regular to 47 cents for ethyl, were beginning a rise that eventually would top $4 a gallon.

Gasoline shortages during the 1970s were not unprecedented. Thirty years earlier, during World War II, strict gasoline rationing made it almost impossible to fill your tank. Nationwide gasoline rationing went into effect November 1, 1942.

Nonessential drivers got an “A” book, limiting them to 32 gallons over a two-month period.

Motorists with essential occupations got a “B” book that allowed them to drive 470 miles a month if they could prove they were members of a car-sharing club.

A “C” book was given to most-essential drivers, those involved in war industries.

Worse, at least it would seem so, there was a nationwide speed limit of 35 miles an hour. That’s right, 35 miles an hour designed to save both gasoline and wear and tear on tires. Today’s interstate and parkway speed limit is 70 mph, apparently meaning if you go slower you’ll likely get run over.

Before the war, during the 1930s, gasoline sold for 17 cents a gallon. It was 25 cents a gallon during the 1950s, and, all the while, an attendant would check the oil, wipe the windshield and give you a starter on a set of dishes.

At today’s self-service pumps, a photograph of a state trooper stares as you pump. A printed reminder says if you pump and run, your driver’s license will be revoked.

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Features

Water Hazard
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James Gray, project leader for the hatchery, said there have been no recent accidents below the dam. However, last summer, sudden opening of a sluice gate overturned a boat and a man and woman had to be fished out of the water, he said.
Fishing from the bank and from boats is highly popular immediately below Wolf Creek Dam. The often turbulent waters are teeming with rainbow trout stocked from the nearby hatchery.
Continued operation of the nearby trout hatchery was in doubt last year because $6.3 million to operate the facility at Wolf Creek and eight other national fish hatcheries was left out of the FY12 budget. The money has since been restored, Gray noted.
The hatchery at Wolf Creek produces 1 million trout each year with an annual budget of $907,000. “We’re operating normally,” said Gray.

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Bricks and mortar on the face of the Masonic Building reportedly are more than 120 years old. The building at 104 North Main Street just north of the courthouse was renovated or rebuilt about 1890 when it was purchased by Somerset Masonic Lodge No. 111.
There are conflicting memories whether an old hotel building, called the National Hotel, was torn down and the existing Masonic structure was built at the site, or whether the building, reportedly in bad state of repair, was renovated by the Masons. Herb Stone, a Somerset plumber who took care of the building for 40 years, said the original building definitely was renovated.

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The offices of the Downtown Somerset Development Corporation hosted a couple of special visitors on Wednesday: Emily West and Heath Seymour from Elizabethtown, Ky.
Apropos to their town’s on-screen heritage (given the 2005 movie “Elizabethtown,” based on the western Kentucky community), the two were on hand to help share their own experiences renovating a deserted movie theater and turning it into something citizens can be proud of — the same thing Gib Gosser, executive director of the Downtown Somerset Development Corporation (DSDC), hopes can be done with the Virginia Cinema on East Mt. Vernon Street.
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Newest SPD officer Courtney Brittle took the Oath of Office during the meeting from Pulaski District Court Judge Jeffrey Scott Lawless with a generous number of family and friends in attendance.

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