Remnants of ‘The Bull’ Truck Stop are gone
Matthew Willingham (L) and Gary Ricks salvage metal roofing from a self-service car wash at the site of the former Bull Truck Stop and Restaurant on Highway 31, north, in Hartselle.
Do you remember “The Bull” Truck Stop and Restaurant on Highway 31, N. in Hartselle?
If you do, you’ll want to hang onto the memories-19.9 cents per gallon gas, free glassware with each fill-up, juke box music, hamburger steaks smothered in onions and a roomful of truckers smoking Camels and Lucky Strikes-because the last remnants of its existence have disappeared.
“The Bull” opened in the mid-1950s under the ownership and management of the late Leon Barnett and continued in operation under that name for about 30 years. Subsequently, the property was leased to two different oil companies, the most recent being Raceway.
Rowe Hauling and Excavating began removing buildings from the property about two months ago under contract with the current owners, Bill Barnett of Atlanta and Richard Barnett of Dallas, Tex.
“We decided to move forward with the demolition and put the property on the market for redevelopment after Raceway opted not to renew its lease,” Barnett said. “After the buildings have been removed, some diggings and testing will have to be done by Raceway to ensure that it meets the standards of the Alabama Department of Environ-mental Management and is cleared for reuse.”
Barnett said his father was operating the business in 1955 when he was six years old. At that time it was a popular fuel and rest stop for truckers traveling north and south from Birmingham to Nashville and was one of only a few businesses along that stretch of road that was open for business 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Earlier, his grandfather owned a service station and bulk oil depot at the corner of Highways 31 and 36, where Walgreen’s is now located.
“My dad and mom liked to go to Mexico and on one of their trips they purchased a wooden bull and displayed it at the truck stop,” Barnett said. “It caught the eye of truckers and pretty soon they were using the words” The Bull” to identify the truck stop.”
“I remember seeing “The Bull” painted on a window above the front door when I was a kid,” Ron Hammon recalled. “My dad and I dealt in used cars and we stopped there all the time. I didn’t know of another truck stop like it anywhere around.”
“I knew all about “The Bull” back in the 1960s when I was working the night shift at Fruehauf,” said Gary Ricks, a retiree who helped Matthew Willingham salvage some metal roofing from the car wash. “I’d stop there and eat breakfast after getting off work.”
“I remember church goers crowding in to eat dinner on Sunday because all the other restaurants were closed,” Barnett said. “Plus, gas price wars were a regular occurrence. In a matter of hours, regular gas prices of 19.9 to 24.9 could drop as low as 15.9 cents per gallon.”
