Despite his youth, Matt Cesare enjoys looking to the past. And he likes to help others do the same.

The 18-year-old history buff from Adams has been giving his time to the Strand Theater Initiative, a group that is raising money to renovate the old Strand Theater in Zelienople.

But long before the Strand caught his attention, he was involved in a project closer to his home and perhaps a bit closer to his heart: the relocation and restoration of the old Mars train station.

That project had been planned for years by the Mars Area History and Landmarks Society.

"When I found out they were going to restore and move the train station, I thought it was a good opportunity to get involved with the group," said Mr. Cesare, who has been fascinated by trains for years.

Just 12 years old at the time, he walked through his neighborhood, collecting donations for the renovation of the 1897 station.

His take: $29.

He took the money to the historical society and was rewarded for his efforts with a lifetime membership.

"When he brought it down and gave it to us, I think everyone was shocked," said Tom Franceschina, a member of the historical society.

No one expected someone so young to be so interested in the historical society's cause. But from that time on, Mr. Cesare was a regular at the society's meetings, listening, learning and contributing more and more as years went by.

The train station was moved in 2000 from downtown Mars to its present location about a quarter of a mile away on Brickyard Hill Road. During the move, when the building was cut into pieces and reassembled, Mr. Cesare videotaped the process for archival purposes.

He's done substantial on-line research to learn details about the railroad that passed through Mars. In the fall, he surprised everyone during the 2005 Mars Applefest when he showed up at the train station wearing a conductor's costume, ready to lead tours of the station.

"He just showed up for Applefest and did this," Mr. Franceschina said. "He showed people through the train station; he just played the part of this person."

That theatric tendency is part of the reason Mr. Cesare got involved with the Strand Theater Initiative.

The Zelienople project caught his attention because, like the train station, it appealed to a personal interest of his -- the theater.

"When I went to high school, I started getting into musicals and plays," said Mr. Cesare, who is a senior at Mars Area High School.

His role in last year's musical at the school was particularly appropriate: He was the train conductor in "The Music Man."

The goal of the Strand Theater Initiative is to restore a dilapidated, long-vacant movie theater and convert it into a performing arts center.

When he learned of those plans, Mr. Cesare felt compelled to contribute and so he joined the Strand Theater Initiative.

Ronald Carter, director of the initiative, said Mr. Cesare is one of a core group of about eight volunteers who can be counted on to attend all meetings and help in all events related to the theater.

"He's very much into preservation of history," Mr. Carter said. "Not just preserving it but trying to expand people's knowledge and understanding of history, trying to develop and present some of the emotions and some of the color that were involved in those historic moments.

"He's very soft-spoken but also very well-spoken, and he's very willing to throw himself into whatever he can do to help the cause."

When he graduates from high school, Mr. Cesare plans to attend Geneva College, majoring in secondary education, with a goal of becoming a history teacher. His minor likely will be related to the performing arts.