Donald Beatty, 56, is accused by Gastonia Police of shooting and killing Freddie Byrd, 57. Authorities said both are homeless and lived at an encampment on the property of Faith Hope and Love Ministries on North Oakland Street.
At the corner of Bonaventure Road and Mechanics Avenue in Thunderbolt sits a slice of pure Americana. Pure, literally. It’s the building that was the Pure Oil filling station operated by Freddie Byrd in the 1940s and 1950s.
Frankie Kerby and Cookie Espinoza have revived it as an Airbnb studio apartment called The Gas Station. Frankie is a self-described “motorhead” who loves all things historical and automotive, so they have worked to have the décor inside to reflect the building’s heritage.
A large print of a vintage black-and-white photo is a clear focal point. It shows three service station attendants in Pure uniforms and caps standing next to the gas pumps in front of the building. Exactly as it could be photographed today.