A few weeks back when I posted my photo of the Dime Box Service Station from my trip to Dime Box in early 2016 (along with accompanying information about the March of Dimes broadcast), Sharon Biehle mentioned (on my Facebook page) that the building had recently been renovated. I was eager to see what had been done the next time I got out to Dime Box, and I wasn’t disappointed – it looks fantastic!
The building is a real gem – it was originally constructed in 1917 and is a fine example of an early “house with canopy” design. The service station was operated by a number of people over the years, though Joe Vavra seems to have owned it for the longest period.
Some memories, taken from comments on the Facebook post:
The space to the right of it had the “old style” life for doing oil changes, etc. And, to the right of it, was a shed where he fixed flats & had a “coal oil” container to refill your containers.
Joe David Burttschell
I pumped gas full service and and fixed flats in 1980 for Joe Vavra. He also owned the mechanic shop across the street pictured and there was also a car wash behind the gas station that he owned.
Max Baxley