Friday's Internet Edition, 7:50 PM, July 4, 2008.
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| An era comes to a close.... Spanning 66 years and two generations, the Lomax business on the corner of Broadway and State Highway 54 will close it’s doors tomorrow. Here, Charlie and Ruetta Lomax stand before the business that has been a bedrock in the community. |
- A two generation family-owned business will be closing its doors tomorrow, Friday June 27th. It has occupied a prominent corner of Broadway & Highway 54 for sixty-six years and it is hard to imagine not having Lomax Oil Company (better known as Lomax Shell or Lomax Texaco) as one of our ‘hometown’ businesses.
It was in 1942 that Joe and Mildred Lomax opened a Texaco service station and garage operation in Van Horn. Around 1950 they added a Studebaker dealership which they continued until 1956, at which time they built a new facility which was basically as it appears today. The March 15, 1956 issue of the Van Horn Advocate stated, “The new station will be known as the Joe Lomax Service Station and is ultra-modern in every respect and a big improvement on Broadway.”
The Lomaxs were prominent and respected business owners in Van Horn while also raising their three children here - Jomilee, Charlie Bob, and Becky. It was in 1969 that Charlie came back with his wife, Ruetta, to join his Dad in the operation of the business.
It was in 1974 that they purchased the business from him. Joe retired from that business but continued to see after a second business, the Lomax Laundry, a coin-operated laundry facility. He passed away in 1993, preceded by Mildred’s death in 1977.
The Texaco station became a Shell station when Troy Greaves sold them his Shell Distributorship in 1979. Then in the late 1980s they purchased the Texaco Distributorship from Gene Wells of Sierra Blanca. It remained Texaco until January 2004 when Chevron bought out Texaco. They went back to Shell at that time, investing in a new, attractive face-lift for the station with Shell’s colors and logos.
Several months ago Charlie ventured into a new career when he became employed by Daugherty Ranches overseeing their vehicle maintenance. As for Ruetta, she said, “It’s just time to retire.” They remain open to any possibility of a purchase or lease of the business “We are extremely grateful for the patronage of this town over the many years and would hope that someone else might take it over so that it can remain a viable contribution to the commerce of Van Horn,” they stated. “We love this town where we have lived, conducted business, and raised our three children over the past 39 years.”
