In ‘God’s Country’ Pennsylvania, a gas pump’s closure is a blow to budding tourism

Germania, Pa. — A single gas pump replaced the hitching post outside the general store here long ago. It became a salvation for tourists running on fumes in Potter County and a convenience for locals looking to cut their lawns without making a 40-mile trip.

In recent decades, that gas pump brought in a steady stream of customers who were fueling snowmobiles — when it used to consistently snow — and their off-road vehicles for the Northcentral Regional ATV Trail, a pilot network of trails that intersects a region of Pennsylvania that markets itself as “God’s Country.”

“There’s pictures of snowmobiles lined all the way up the street waiting for gas,” said Kim Machengo, the latest owner of the White Pine Country Store, Cafe & Lodge.

On Memorial Day weekend, when those off-road trails officially opened for the season, dozens of dirt bikes, ATVs, and larger UTVs were coming and going at the store, but no one was getting gas. The pump was covered with a large, black trash bag. Machengo shut off the gas weeks earlier, at the state’s behest, and worried about a future without it.

“A lot of people are coming in and asking ‘Are you going to have gas again?’” said Allan Dupuis, an uncle of Machengo’s who came up from Florida to help out during the busy season.

Machengo said she knew the gas pump’s storage tanks would need to be replaced when she purchased the store, formerly known as the Germania Country Store, in 2024. She believed the process would cost her $50,000 and blames herself for not digging into the issue a little more.

“We had worked it into our budget when we moved out here from Wyoming,” Machengo said. “I’ve since learned that it would cost at least four times that cost after Covid.”

The Potter Leader-Enterprise first reported the gas pump closure in April, but it’s been an ongoing issue with previous ownership for several years. A DEP spokesperson told The Inquirer the department has been in talks with the store’s owners since 2022 and advised them of what needed to be done to the underground tanks, which were nearing 30 years old. That’s about the typical lifespan of a gas storage tank before corrosion and potential leaks became an issue.

A link to a 2022 GoFundMe fundraiser for the previous owners to replace the tank no longer works. It’s unclear how much was raised or what happened to any funds.

“We don’t know much about that,” Machengo said.

According to the newspaper, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection ordered Machengo to shut down the pump in March, citing its age and a mission to protect “public health and safety through the prevention of pollution.”

Machengo said she would not start a fundraiser of her own, but wouldn’t mind a few benefactors. She’s been reluctant to take out a loan so soon after buying the business with her “life savings.” The conundrum, she said, is that while the store makes only pennies on gasoline, those customers also spend more money once inside.

“It’s a lot of Snickers bars and sodas to pay off that loan,” she said. “If I had to pay a loan through January, February, and March, I’d be broke. It’s just not feasible for me to take out a $200,000 note.”

Machengo and her daughter, Meghan, left the funeral business in Casper, Wyoming, to move east to Potter County, in what is one of Pennsylvania’s most rural areas. She said she’s been surprised by the cold there.

“The entire ride to Pennsylvania was filled with great anticipation and lots of fear that I walked away from an amazing company and job to run a little country store,” she wrote on the store’s blog.

Gas stations are few and far between in Potter County, approximately 240 miles northwest of Philadelphia. A single pump at a store that dates back to the late 1800s might seem quaint by tourist standards, but customers said it served a real purpose there.

“It’s really convenient to come stop in here to get everything and now, you can’t get everything,” said Al Bruner, 62, of Enola. “If the state wants this to be an ATV destination, they should help with the gas situation.”

White Pine is known for its cheeses, local maple syrup, penny candy, along with fishing gear, firewood, and clothes. They make breakfast sandwiches and lease out a portion of the building to a winery.

“We’re famous for our wheel cheese,” Machengo said.

Machengo said she has to invest $100,000 just to clean the fuel system already in the ground. She would like to replace everything, though, to fuel the influx of tourists the trail pilot program would bring in. The family has sought grants from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and other government agencies.

“I would love the new system. We need the new system,” she said. “If the pilot program wants to succeed, the state needs to support the infrastructure of gas. They need to make it accessible and make sure these guys aren’t just trucking 10 gallons of gas on the back of their ATVs.”

Machengo said the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources told her they couldn’t help. An agency spokesman declined to comment on the matter. They family is also reaching out to the Department of Economic Development and even emergency service agencies, citing that the gas pump is a vital resource for first responders during severe weather events, including a recent flood.

Machengo filed for an extension but was denied, according to her blog.

When asked, DEP said the tanks pose a risk to the groundwater and that allowing continued use would “violate both federal and state regulatory requirements.”

Joe Salm, of Pottsville, Schuylkill County, travels to Germania often for vacation. He’s been a customer of the store for decades.

“You need the gas here. There’s nowhere to get gas,” Salm, 67, said. “It’s dangerous for the public to be hauling their own gas.”

For now, Machengo said she’ll keep serving up cheese, ice cream, and firewood at the store until a plan arises to save the gas.