Parker County Today August 2016 | Page 78

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ber a time when motorists could
drive from one city limit to the other
in less than five minutes. 
Don didn’t start his career at the
station as the business owner; he
started working there when it was a
Gulf service station in 1972 owned
by Curly Williams. When Williams
retired in 1978, Don went from
employee to owner and in 1987
changed the gas station’s name
to Don’s Chevron. It was a good,
successful business for 44 years
before closing its doors. The station’s
closing had nothing to do with a
decline in business or a cash-flow
problem, or any of the usual business maladies. What is Don’s secret
for staying in business so long? Three
simple factors: good service, being
honest with the customer and, of
course, friendship. So why close?
It’s simply that Don has had
enough of a good thing. He operated
his business on his own terms for 44
years. 
“There were three phases in my
life: the teenage years, adult years,
and the senior years. I’m in my senior
years; I’m just ready to retire,” he
said. It’s been nearly half a century
since Don bought the place, and he’s
ready to start a new chapter in his
life. 
“It’s probably 90-percent stress,
5-percent work and 5-percent fun,”
Don said. He has been married for
47 years and works six days a week.
The last time Don and his wife spent
an entire seven days together was in
1978. “Somebody probably needs
to pray for us,” he said with a goodnatured chuckle. He doesn’t need to
worry because love is a strong bond
and it’s shared with Parker County.
A benefit of being in business so
long is that you’re bound to make
memories. One December, Don
made more profit than in any other
month since. Summer months are
usually best for business. “I have no
explanation for it,” he said. One of
Don’s fondest memories was when
he helped a customer, a lady, with a
problem that had little to do with fuel
or engine issues.
“A lady pulled up one day for a
state inspection. I was in front of the
bay. She pulled up right there, she
was in a pickup and a copperhead