Going back in time


The Vindicator

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This vintage Pennzoil gas pump is among some 50 collected by J.P. Marsh and displayed at Coalburg Garage.

The Vindicator

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Inside the station is a 1959 Chevrolet Corvette, which is surrounded by historic gas pumps and other car-related memorabilia, including traffic lights and a motor-ignition tester.

The Vindicator

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Katie Marsh, daughter of J.P. Marsh, talks about her pioneering grandmother, Marie Barrett Marsh, who served in the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots during World War II. She gave a tour of Coalburg Garage, a Hubbard Township gas station built by her father and filled with vintage automotive collectibles. It also features an aviation room.

The Vindicator

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A vintage gas pump displays gas for 25 cents a gallon, which was the price back in 1919, when many cars weren’t on the road, there wasn’t a lot of gas around, and there wasn’t a great demand for it, according to a news.yahoo.com story that detailed the price of gas in this country from that year until today.

By LINDA M. LINONIS

linonis@vindy.com

hubbard township

Stepping into J.P. Marsh’s Coalburg Garage is akin to traveling back in time.

Motorists pained by the high cost of gas would be thrilled to buy at the prices on the antique and vintage gas pumps — frozen from different decades. Pennzip, left in its original rusted condition, offers gas for 55 cent a gallon; Pennzoil gas pump with a prominent round top and red body, is 28 cents; Amoco pump, patriotic in red, white and blue, goes for 49 cents; Blue Sunoco, in cheery yellow and blue, is at 58 cents; Sinclair Dino, boasting a round top emblazed with a silhouette of a brontosaurus and detailed in red, white and green, costs 41 cents; and Flying A designed in red and white asks 32 cents.

Members of Hubbard Historical Society recently toured the gas station and heard commentary by Katie Marsh, daughter of J.P. She told the group that the original station was about 300 yards down the road from the one her father built at the corner of Chestnut Ridge and Wick Campbell roads. Paul Campbell was the original owner; thus the name of the road.

Marsh pointed out a photo of Campbell at the station where he’s standing with his dog. He’s wearing high lace-up leather boots; and those same boots are positioned below the photo along with the dog’s tag and service certificates.

Marsh said Coalburg was a booming place when coal mining flourished; a claim to fame was 19 saloons. The coal ran out and remnants of the mines remain, she said. “Back in the day, Coalburg was bigger than Hubbard,” she said.

When visitors drive up or strangers drive by, some think Coalburg Station is operational, Marsh said. They’re greeted by a pair of Wayne gas pumps, one for regular and one for ethyl, which is premium. Car cruises sometimes stop for nostalgic photos.

Marsh said her father has collected more than 50 gas pumps and one was a gift to her. It’s a Richfield gas pump in white with blue detail and displays a unique feature. It has what’s called an “eyebrow” (a covering) over the clock.

While the station holds memories of the automotive past, it also features an aviation room as a tribute to a family member. Marsh said the room honors her grandmother, Marie Barrett Marsh, who served in the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots during World War II. “They were recently recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal,” Marsh said. The group was honored in 2009.

Marsh talked about her late grandmother with pride, noting she was among trailblazers in aviation. History recounts that the pioneering civilian female pilots employed flew military aircraft under the direction of the U.S. Army Air Forces and freed male pilots for combat duty. Some 25,000 women applied to join the WASP, and 1,830 were accepted and only 1,074 women passed training and joined.

Of the car and airplane memorabilia, Marsh said, “It connects me to the past and things my father has told me.”

Marsh said she learned to fly about three years ago, joining her sister, Lannie, and father as pilots. “We all fly in memory of her,” she said.

Inside the actual garage area are a 1959 Corvette and 1930 Plymouth. The cars are surrounded by the gas pumps and other car-related memorabilia including traffic lights and King motor- ignition tester. Marsh worked with her father to restore a 1983 Jeep in a military mode.