An outing of Mid Ohio Bikers makes a brief stop at Carl's Auto Sales and Service in Bucyrus recently to investigate this replica of a 50s era Sinclair gas station.

CARL MASSEY
...and his stuff

Life throws you a spiffy surprise once in awhile.


This one began with a bike ride with the local Mid Ohio Bikers one recent day enroute from rural Galion to Bucyrus for some tasty munching on their famous bratwurst sandwiches.

Heading toward downtown Bucyrus on Hopley Ave., our squadron of riders encountered a Sinclair gas station—of all things.

As we stopped and briefly prowled around that artifact from a by-gone era, those of us that paid attention discovered the relic station was a part of a 1950s era museum.

True to form however, the majority of riders took a quick sniff of this rose and were antsy to roll on down the road while I stole a peek inside and vowed to return. Soon.

It turns out the facility is the creation of Carl Massey who bought the old Sinclair Bulk Plant there about 30 years ago and established his car repair and wrecker business.

It also turns out Massey had a penchant for collecting memorabilia from the 50s, a boatload of which was included as Sinclair surplus in the sale of the property.

That ultimately led to Massey and his buddies “...tossing some 2 x 4s around” and building the replica gas station.

Inside the main bulk plant building the car repair and towing business grew nicely—as did a collection of, well, stuff. And, more stuff.

Today, sensationally restored cars from the 50s sit on a highly polished floor immediately beside other customer vehicles undergoing active repair surgery. “Stop by tomorrow and there could be a semi in here getting an engine overhaul,” one of the regulars observed.

While the work goes on and the regulars congregate, as they do, Massey presides over the gathering from his perch on a barber’s chair; a part of the eclectic display of period artifacts.

I could imagine mechanics reading manuals in the booths from a by-gone soda fountain display, complete with fizzy-drink dispensers and those clever, table-top juke box controllers that used to eat our nickels and dimes while we ate 25 cent burgers.

Lady friend Sue especially enjoyed the pink Elvis room, absolutely stuffed with trinkets memorializing that 50s rock and roll legend including a reddish-pink 1955 Ford Thunderbird sitting right behind a fairly new Harley cycle complete with $2,500 wheels that was looking for a new home.

I had to control my salivating.

There is a restroom full of 50s stuff. And, an office full of 50s stuff. And, old semi trailers out back full of stuff of some sort, including a few more restored cars.

The office also included a framed photo of Massey doing a squeeze with Dolly Parton some time back. “I slide down that way quite often,” he smiled. I could believe that.

There this jewel sits. Right there at 836 Hopley Ave. Stop by sometime and take a peek. Carl likely will be sitting in his barber chair and enjoying you--enjoying yourself.

The pink, Elvis room is a highlight of Carl's museum of 50's memorabilia (top) while a pair of his wreckers frame the active shop area with highly polished floors, all of which is surrounded by an exhaustive collection of things from the middle of the last century.