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From pecan
logs to pine logs
When everyone’s patience had worn thin, their bladders were full and the boat-sized Chevy or Ford started to suck fumes, the family knew it was time for a pit stop at what was then the icon for cross-country travel stops – Stuckey’s. But Stuckey’s experienced economic upheaval over the years to the point where the trademark blue-roofed gas stations that sold pecan logs and other confections along with souvenirs have vanished in many states. The blue-roofed stores, however, were built to last. Not only do they remain standing, in some cases the buildings defy the bulldozer and wrecking ball as is the case with the old Stuckey’s building on Interstate 25 at the Hoehne exit near mile marker 23 in southern Colorado.
“Land is cheaper here,” Aubuchon said. “The site sits up on a hill where everyone can see it. This is the only direct access off the interstate between Denver and Albuquerque without going on frontage road - so I’ve been told.” Aubuchon said that the previous owners were out of Cañon City, Colo. They had planned to use the location as a fireworks distribution center, but then the state laws changed where that was no longer a business option. “We actually bought it with the intention of tearing the building down,” Aubuchon said. “Once we got in, we found it was a structurally sound building. The floors are 13 inches of concrete with a 36-inch deep by 12-inch wide stem wall all the way around. For a cinder-block building to not have any cracks in the joints or blocks is very unusual.” Aubuchon said the store was built around 1968. At the time of purchase, Heartwood wasn’t aware of the building’s condition, because the inside was such a mess. They got to looking around at the walls, examining the cinderblocks and roof trusses and everything still looked good. Heartwood soon realized that it would be more cost effective to just remodel the building instead of tearing it down. The project took slightly more than a year to complete.
They left the existing trusses on the overhang porch and just added the heavy timber look to it. They put two-by-two furring strips on the outside of the cinder block, which Aubuchon described as having an insulation value of zero, then insulated with foam boards and did the same on the inside. The old heating system was replaced.
“It will be known forever as the Stuckey’s building,” said Aubuchon who was born and raised in Colorado and has lived in the county since 1976. “I used to come here when it was Stuckey’s. Gas used to be cheaper here than it was in Trinidad. Just the local people that knew it was a Stuckey’s recognize it now. A lot of people that come in now ask about pecan logs.” The Stuckey’s chain of travel stores began in the 1930s as a single roadside stand to sell the Stuckey family’s pecans in Georgia. Ethel Stuckey began creating various pecan candies in her kitchen and the now-famous pecan log was created. Later, a restaurant, souvenirs and gas pumps were added to offer a full-service stop.
The challenge of building these stores fell upon Taylor Jordan of Eastman, Ga. – the same town where Williamson Stuckey started the family business. Despite all those stores, Jordan remembers this Colorado store. “Whatever the frost line was, we went below that,” Jordan said. “We certainly built those stores to last. It was just good general construction. They were built according to the local weather.”[3] Jordan said that Stuckey’s built the stores using their own crews out of Georgia. They’d take a crew from Georgia to Colorado or Texas and construct them as quick as they could. The process of using the same crews to build stores across the country proved very efficient.
Mike Bolin, Stuckey’s vice president of business development, said that there are still three dozen of the traditional Stuckey’s stores still operating from Florida, up to Kansas and out to New Mexico.[4] Today, more people are likely to encounter one of Stuckey’s more than 160 outlets inside travel plazas such as Tiger Mart. Bolin said that the travel plazas are now offering as many products as the original travel stores.
“It probably would have cost double to have torn the old building down and rebuild,” Aubuchon said. “You still see the buildings around. Some are steakhouses. There’s another one in Loveland that I know of. I know there are some on I-80, I-70 and I-40. They were like truck stops are now. They were just ahead of their time.” To learn more about both companies, visit: _____________________________________________________________________________ [1] A wet Willy is where you put your finger in your mouth and then stick it in your victim’s ear. [2] Heartwood operates another center in Ozark, Mo. [3] Actually, Jordan pronounced the word “weathah”, like a true southern gentleman. Speaking with Jordan over the phone was a kick. You hear plenty of Texas accents in Colorado, but not too many from Georgia. [4] Taylor Jordan actually owned the Stuckey’s franchise stores in Tucumcari and Santa Rosa, N.M. until he sold them in 1985. |
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Those
who grew up in the ‘60s and ‘70s remember family road trips in
the good ole days where seatbelt use was optional,
air-conditioning meant rolling down the window, passing the time
with crossword puzzles lasted until motion sickness set in,
torturing your sister with wet Willys
Dan
Aubuchon and Heartwood Lumber Sales acquired the old Stuckey’s
property in 2002. The building had been vacant for 15 years.
Heartwood picked the site for their western states lumber
distribution and service center
“We
got a crew in to totally gut it down to bare walls,” Aubuchon
said. “The electrical and plumbing weren’t up to code and were
totally redone, except for the sewer system. We just had to
clean that out. Compared to our usage it was well over designed
for our systems.”
The
crew changed the roof line from a double to a single transition
and changed the original 10-foot flat ceiling into a cathedral
tongue and groove ceiling. But to those who grew up with
Stuckey’s, the true identity of the building remains clear to
see.
At
the end of World War II, when sugar rations had been lifted,
Stuckey’s franchises were sold and stores popped up across the
south. Then, with the construction of the interstate highway
system, Stuckey’s eventually expanded to more than 300 stores.
“We
used to build them in about five to six weeks,” Jordan said. “We
were in California, New Mexico, Arizona, Tennessee - all over.
We were in 40-some-odd states. The major push was ‘65 till about
‘75. One year we built 48 stores.” 
Back
at exit 23 in southern Colorado, the original asphalt poured by
one of Jordan’s crews can still be seen. The old gas tanks have
been removed, but you can still see where the gas line ran from
the side of the building to the site of the old pumps, marked by
the cement blocks that used to anchor the canopy pillars.