Stinker Stores

The Greedy Giants
call him the Stinker
Farris Lind, the man behind the Skunk, considered himself to be a real Stinker. He opened his first gas station with the promise of keeping fuel prices down to undercut the “Big Boys” high prices. Quickly he became known as a real “Stinker” in the gas industry, so, what better way to identify the station causing all the stink than by naming his stations; Stinker. Everyone who pulled into a Stinker station knew they were getting the same quality gas as the other guys, but at a real cut-rate price!

Lind opened his first Stinker Gas Station in Twin Falls, ID in 1936. The first Stinker in Boise opened at 16th and Front Street. Soon after, stations started opening up all over Idaho, Utah and Nevada.

The brilliance of Lind’s marketing mind was illustrated by the many road signs he put up along the highways of Idaho. What started as an idea to cover the “other side” of his advertisement board, quickly turned into an opportunity to post humourous sayings. These billboards combining the power of humor with advertising became an instant hit for Stinker. They were widely known through the Northwest and well received by travelers on the long stretches of sage brush lined highways of Idaho.

Lind was quoted as saying “I’ll do anything for a laugh - and for a few dollars, I’ll get hysterical.” He thought up most of the sayings but he also offered to pay 50 cents to anyone in his family who came up with a good line or two. At one point there were 150 signs between Green River, Wyoming and Jordan Valley, Oregon. Today you’ll find a few old standing signs along with some new ones!