By TIM YOVICH

By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
T'S NOT ALL THAT UNUSUAL FOR THOSE driving around the rural Trumbull County community of Coalburg to stop at the Pennzoil gas station, looking for a fill-up.
But they're turned away because there's no gas available. They also can't get a tire changed at the early 20th century-style, red and yellow service station.
Rather, it's what owner J.P. Marsh terms his "clubhouse."
When completed in about two months, it will become the 50-year-old Marsh's private museum for his collection of old gas pumps, gas station memorabilia and cars -- a 1939 Plymouth and a 1959 Chevrolet Corvette.
The station is the first project Marsh has been involved in that is being built from the ground up.
A Hubbard accountant, Marsh has restored more than 40 mostly historic buildings in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, transforming them into commercial and residential properties. It's done mostly with his Marsh Development Co., which employs seven.
Marsh says it's not just for the profit.
"That certainly is not the reason I do it. I love it. You have to do it because you enjoy it," he explained.
Vintage look
The two-story gas station is across the road from his home at Chestnut Ridge and Wick-Campbell roads.
The eye is quickly drawn to the station with its pair of rare Wayne model No. 60 gas pumps seemingly guarding the front.
What makes the pumps unusual is that they have clock faces with dials to measure the gas, rather than rolling numbers.
Scattered around the outside of the station is a water pump, Coke dispenser, mailbox, and a hand-cranked fuel dispenser.
It's a Pennzoil station because Marsh bought in 1980 the Paul and Anna Campbell property for which Wick-Campbell Road is named. In a building on the property was the Pennzoil sign that now hangs in front of the station.
The animated Marsh becomes visibly excited when he talks about his renovation projects.
Other handiwork
He has left his mark on many restoration projects in Trumbull County.
He restored the 1806 Bentley Avenue home in Hubbard of Hubbard's first settler, Samuel Tylee. It's rented out as a residential property.
Marsh said he's attracted to the architecture and type of construction used in older buildings.
He pointed with pride to the restored first McKelvey store on Main Street in Hubbard. A photograph of the original building was used to complete the work. Inside, he found the store's ledger.
"Most need a tremendous amount of work," Marsh said of his efforts.
He called attention to the renovations on the original Brookfield Town Hall, now offices; and the West Middlesex, Pa., general store, which was constructed in the early 1900s and is now offices and apartments.
Personal work
Even his own home, which was constructed in 1846, was a renovation job. In 1985, the house was heavily damaged by a tornado. Marsh said it was the first house rebuilt after the tornado because his company crew and volunteers began the following day.
He bought two rundown houses in Key West, Fla., and restored them. They turned out so well that one of them is now his second home.
Those who want to view a sample of Marsh's work can stop at the Emerald Diner, a Main Street eatery in Hubbard.
Marsh said he found the 1939 diner, which had been abandoned for at least 10 years, in 1994 in Norwich, Conn. He had it trucked in, his crew restored it, built an addition and leased it out so the now-popular restaurant could open.
yovich@vindy.com