Barbara Shea Baldwin, Youngstown native, managed gas stations in Lorain County

Barb Baldwin, who graduated from Ursuline High School in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1957, became a pioneer of sorts for Sohio (Standard Oil of Ohio) in the 1970s.

She began managing gas stations in Lorain County, Ohio, when handling such a job was unusual for a woman.

Barb managed one of the first Sohio gas stations in Amherst, Ohio, which was converted into a self-service operation after pump-your-own-gas facilities were legalized in the state in 1977.

In many ways, it was like a family business.

Barb, whose maiden name was Shea, met her husband, Dick, at a Sohio station in Youngstown, where he was a mechanic. He later became an auditor for the company.

Each of their three sons worked for the oil company at some point in their lives.

Click here to read about "The Dash Between" Feb. 3, 1939, when Barb was born in Youngstown, and July 13, 2010, when she died at Amherst Manor Nursing Home at age 71, in the Aug. 8, 2010, edition of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.