Hep-Ur-Sef Photos
A rare Hep-Ur-Sef sign, discovered nailed to a pine tree
somewhere in Georgia in 1970 by Will White.
Sign measures 15 x 38 inches. It is metal with two boards
attached to the back. Photo by Will White.
I found this entry from a listing of people in the De Ann Cemetery in Prescott, Arkansas:
(De Ann Cemetery, Prescott, AR)
George Hamilton Christopher, Jr. (1906-1992)
George Hamilton Christopher, Jr., the son of George, Sr. by his first wife Maud Hamilton, founded the Christopher Oil Co. in 1937. Christopher was a major employer in Prescott in the late Depression, supplying fuel to the Army during the big military maneuvers in southwest Arkansas and northwest Louisiana in August 1940. His company transported fuel from the refineries at El Dorado to such government installations as Oak Ridge in eastern Tennessee both before and after the start of the war. His drivers often converted log trucks to fuel trucks by welding tanks to the trailers. When World War II broke out, Christopher entered the army as a colonel and was involved with supplying fuel to the armed forces in North Africa. He established the Hep-Ur-Sef Oil Co. in Prescott in 1965. The latter was an early example of the self-service gas station, then an innovation. At one time, the Hep-Ur-Sef stations were in eight states. They included Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas. At the peak of its success in 1972, Christopher had about 108 stations before he sold out. He died on August 11, 1992.