How A Gas Station Became A Childhood Favorite

People that grew up in small towns across Oklahoma have many things in common, like being raised in a supportive community or quirky hometown traditions. These towns may also have a favorite local restaurant, or even a gas station.

When I was in sixth grade at Frederick Middle School, we got off-campus lunch, which meant we had the choice to either eat at the cafeteria in the neighboring elementary school or we could walk home or to a local restaurant. Frederick isn't very big, but not everyone had enough time to walk home, eat and then walk back to school, and not everyone's parents could pick them up for lunch.

My dad gave me $2 every day for lunch. In today's world, it's almost impossible to eat anywhere for $2. But back then, circa 2004, I could easily get a drink and bean burrito from Dad's, the local gas station within easy walking distance from the school.

Groups of kids would walk from the middle school to Dad's for lunch.

Looking back, a deep fried bean burrito may not have been the most nutritious lunch, but it didn't matter. Dad's was the place to go for lunch when I was in middle school. I'd usually get a bean burrito and a medium Dr. Pepper. If I had any extra money, I'd get a side of melted cheese to dip it in. Or if I had more money than usual, like if my grandma gave me $5 for an obscure holiday, like Halloween, I'd get chicken fingers or a crispito.

You'd think after eating Dad's for lunch almost every day in sixth, seventh and eighth grade would tire me of the place, but you'd be wrong. In high school, when I could finally drive, I would pull in the Dad's drive-thru daily for a Dr. Pepper and a burrito or a crispito for lunch or an after school snack.

When I was in college and visited home, I would plan a special trip to Dad's for my old middle school lunch order. And now as an adult, my sister and I will often get a Dr. Pepper and a crispito as an appetizer before dinner at our parents' house. Our husbands don't always understand our love for Dad's, but they happily oblige us with the drive thru anyways.

Even a little gas station can be a beloved symbol of nostalgia.

Not much has changed about Dad's since I've been going there for over 20 years. They did some rearranging on the inside, spruced up the outside with paint a time or two, changed their hot sauce packs, and discontinued making Dr. Pepper slushies.

But the bean burritos, the crispitos and the fountain drinks have remained consistent. You wouldn't think a gas station could have that good of consistency with food and drinks, but Dad's does. And it may be the nostalgia, but for me, it always taste like home, and for a moment, I'm that 11 year old girl again who's spending her lunch money on her favorite gas station meal.

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