The Cunningham family, who have been fixing cars and selling gasoline on the Saanich Peninsula for 98 years and through five generations, have pulled down the bay doors and shut off the pumps.
The station on the Pat Bay Highway near Elk Lake was sold to a Vancouver buyer this month who will redevelop the site into a Chevron station, likely by September, says the family.
“It’s been a long, long haul, and there comes a time for a change,” said Charlie Cunningham, a fourth-generation operator of the service station.
“There’s lots of history here, but it was time to let go.”
The Cunningham family’s roots runs deep on the site. Out behind their FasGas station, the original log cabin still stands where founder George Cunningham built the business under the Imperial Oil banner in 1923. The roof caved during snowfall last winter, but the thick walls remain as stout testament to the family’s long-time commitment to their business.
And the records are all still there in grease-stained bound volumes, including an entry in October 1925, when a Mr. Colin Campbell traded two chickens for a gallon of gas.
Cunningham’s station was rebranded to Shell in 1928 and a new building with four mechanical bays was erected in the early 1950s, when the current Pat Bay Highway was built. It was changed to FasGas in 2010.
For Al Cunningham, 77, it’s a bittersweet departure from the business he has operated since 1983. Many of those years were spent working alongside his wife, Val, who operated a coffee bar. She died in 2003.
“I’ve spent 56 years here. We raised our kids here and their kids … it’s all I’ve known,” he said Friday. “Now I’m going to stay on the farm and do some chores.”
Cunningham has an acreage in North Saanich with horses, so he’ll continue working with his hands, but at a slower pace.
“It’s time. Running a service station, it’s like having another wife — you’re married to it 24/7. Now I’ll move on because times are changing.”
Service stations run under oil-company banners today require strict design and efficiency layouts. The Cunninghams have had the site listed for sale for the past few years, saying site tests and reconfigurations were costly and difficult.
“It’s not that we wanted to sell, but the corner there really needs to be upgraded,” Charlie Cunningham said.
He said the family will leave the site with a proud history of having serviced thousands of vehicles, employed an estimated 350 people over the years and served generations of regular customers, many of whom they got to know.
“We had lots of times when someone would get gas and forgot their wallet. We’d say see you next time,” said Charlie. “We had a very loyal customer base. It’s always been a real family-run business through the years.”
Charlie has been there his whole life, and started running the business in 2003. His sister, Laurie Cunningham Rowlett, was involved at the front end and ran the coffee bar. Her mechanic husband, Rick, was an employee from 1981 until last year and now has his own shop, James Bay Auto.
Another front-end worker, Aaron Petrie, worked there for more than 32 years.
The business started with George, was handed over to Charles Sr., or Chuck, then on to Al and to his son, Charlie. Charlie’s son, Jordan, also grew up at the station and apprenticed as a mechanic there.
“The family tradition was when you turn 16, you get a car, but you had to know everything about how it worked,” said Charlie. “The car went up on the hoist and you got underneath and got some lessons.”
Al Cunningham said the family business supported softball and basketball on the Peninsula.
His mother’s name is on the Gladys Cunningham Diamond at Lochside Park in Cordova Bay.
