This old Mobil gas station in Peterson now lives on as an Airbnb

May 16—PETERSON, Minn. — Missy Meyer and Sarah Mensing invite people to live slower in the relaxing community of Peterson.

While their white and red gas station was simply a building with gas pumps outside for several years, people can now stay inside the "cozy" station called the Mobile Inn. The mother-daughter duo opened the space as an Airbnb in August 2023. It's a way to promote the community and the station's history, too.

"We have a lot of people that have come in and they remember the place as a gas station," Meyer said. The gas pumps display prices like 37 cents. "They would get their bicycle tires pumped up or get a candy bar (here). We had one little guy ask us if we still had candy inside."

The station first became a "weekend getaway" where her parents, Don and Carolyn Meyer, could gather with the family and enjoy the local towns' festivals. It wasn't necessarily the building that drew them there but the area. Don Meyer loved to ride his motorcycle and read books about the history of gas stations.

A piece of family and local history, Gordon Boyum opened the Peterson service station in 1925, and people fueled their cars, pumped bicycle tires and picked their favorite candy treat. The country's first service station opened in 1913.

As the building reaches 100 years old next year, Meyer said they hope to incorporate Boyum family history and host a celebration.

Don Meyer made it into a home in 1998. A collection of records, an old computer and other memorabilia carry memories of the Meyers who have died.

"Grandpa did a lot of the hard work turning it into a place where you can stay over. And he tried to keep a lot of the original things as he could," Mensing said. "We've got the original flooring still, it has oil stains on it."

The smell of oil no longer resides in the station, though. Don Meyer worked with scrapers, knives and mops to remove the years-worth of oil, Missy Meyer and Mensing described. Though, the outlines of those oil cans leave their mark on the hardwood.

"(A guest wrote) a little comment when they book the Airbnb and we had one guy say ... 'I can just smell that place by the picture of it,' and it's like oh, he's going to be so disappointed because it doesn't smell like a service station anymore," Meyer said.

There's still the charm of the old service station in the 650 square feet space. Meyer likens the space to a studio apartment filled with the "quirky" elements and comforts of Grandpa and Grandma's house. They offer board games, a VCR player and computer games such as spider solitaire. A TV and Wi-Fi are also available.

The mother-daughter duo has enjoyed the journey of working together and preserving history for people to see. A red Mobil Oil gas globe, gas can and the company's winged horse Pegasus logo are combined with vintage pieces. Some of the Mobil items are replicas.

"Now that people are in it, the building has come alive again," Meyer remarked.

With original hardwood floors, light fixtures and windows, Mensing said they've found plenty of projects to repair or restore. One project, replacing the light rods, started a conversation at Ace Hardware for a piece the employee hadn't needed to find for 40 years. The hardwood floors are now level where the tire service once was in the kitchen area.

"We've got original lighting and some of the original heating that they had so it's been a learning process learning how to repair all these things," Mensing said. The original fuse box was marked Nov. 11, 1949.

At Ernie's Station in Whalan, Ernie Johnson keeps the history of gas stations alive with a museum. He started restoring the former gas station in 1993, and he loves sharing a history lesson with every story. He enjoys seeing people follow the trail to the station or park their fancy cars outside for a memorable photo.

"There's no longer a gas station in Peterson, a working one," Mensing said.

People enjoy biking on the Root River Trail, which connects to towns such as Whalan, Fountain, Rushford and Harmony, and fishing on the Root River. The trail and river are a block from the Airbnb. Meyer and Mensing said their family enjoys tubing and kayaking on the river. The station itself is an enjoyable sight for people on their motorcycle or car club rambles through the bluffs.

While sitting outside on the porch, people can find beauty in the peaceful quiet like Lighting McQueen's journey to appreciating Radiator Springs in "Cars." In the town of 234 people, Meyer and Mensing said they recommend people enjoy the quiet and wave to their temporary neighbors.

"Every time I think about it, I just think my Grandpa would be really proud that we're maintaining the place still," Mensing said.