How a Motorcycle Club Saved One of the State’s Most Iconic Photo Spots

Breckenridge — Hidden away on a quiet road in mid-Michigan is one of the coolest photo spots in the state: an old-time gas station that’s frozen in time.

With a ramshackle wooden building in the background and a vintage gas pump out front, looking pretty much the same as it did in the 1950s, it had become one of the most beloved spots in the state to capture a great snapshot. They call it the Old Time Gas Station.

People with classic cars loved it, high school seniors loved it, and motorcyclists especially loved it. It’s a good bet that every biker within 100 miles of this small town just west of Saginaw has taken a photo with their sled in front of the Old Time Gas Station.

And then in May 2025, tragedy struck. In the middle of the night, some bastard (or bastards) stole the vintage gas pump that sat out front. It took some doing, because it was bolted on there pretty good, but these idiots just unbolted everything and stole it.

When word got out about what had happened, the biker community in that part of the state was devastated. The Old Time Gas Station had become their second home, and without the vintage pump out front, it was just another wooden shack sitting along the road.

“Like a punch in the gut,” biker Dixie Shelley told a TV reporter who came out to do a story on the theft. “It disappoints me.”

Well, this story has a happy ending, and it has a group of heroes who came together to make it all right again—a motorcycle club called the Eagles of Redemption. Dixie is one of the members.

But first, a little history on the site. It’s located at 2100 W. Pine River Road north of Breckenridge, and when it opened back in 1952, it was known as Polly’s Place, part of the Pure Oil Company network.

It was a working gas station until sometime in the 1970s, when it closed. The people who owned it didn’t want to do anything with the property, so they just left it there. The building, the gas pump, everything. It just sat there frozen in time.

At some point, the biker community discovered it, and it became a destination for them. They’d come to take photos, of course, and they’d also come to just hang out. If you drove by the Old Time Gas Station on a sunny Saturday afternoon, it was a good bet you’d see a group of motorcyclists there, just hanging out and having a great time.

So it’s easy to imagine how devastated they were last May when the gas pump was stolen. As Dixie Shelley said, it was like a punch in the gut.

Several of these bikers were members of the Eagles of Redemption, a mid-Michigan motorcycle club, and they were especially incensed.

Instead of just getting mad, though, they decided to get busy solving the problem. The Eagles of Redemption decided to unofficially adopt the Old Time Gas Station, and the first thing they did was offer a $400 reward for the return of the gas pump. They were even willing to give the 400 bucks to the sonofabitch that stole it.

“Bring it back,” Dixie Shelley said. “Drop it off. Don’t say a word to anybody. Just bring it back.”

Well, a few weeks passed and nobody returned the gas pump, so the Eagles of Redemption moved on to Plan B. They raised some money, they bought a replacement vintage gas pump, and they installed it themselves. They held a huge celebration in late June to dedicate it.

Then they took it one step further and they built a lean-to behind the gas station and put in a picnic table. If you want a place to hang out when you’re visiting the station, or if you get caught in the rain, they’ve got your back.

The Eagles of Redemption saved the day. The Old Time Gas Station was back to normal, good as new. Or good as old.

And a check of their Facebook page shows that these are just some good dudes all around. They go on a lot of rides and have a lot of fun, but they also raise money for charity and even adopted a family for Christmas.

Thanks to them, every biker or classic car owner or high school senior who visits the Old Time Gas Station from now on will have something cool to pose with.

If ever anyone earned the title of Michigan Enjoyers, you guys did. Way to go, fellas.