Bowen implement
Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Years of Operation: 1927 - 2003
Years of Operation: 1927 - 2003
A view of Bowen Implement in the 1960's.
Bowen Implement was started in 1927 by Miller E. Bowen. At this time, the implement dealer handled Case, Massey Harris, Hart Parr, and American Seeding. Oliver was added a few years later. In 1942, the Case line was dropped from the dealership. Oliver increased their allotment of machinery to the dealership and eventually the Massey Harris was dropped making Oliver the flagship brand at Bowen Implement. The dealership was located at 120 E. Fairview St in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from the late 1950's until its closing in 2003. In the later year, the dealership handled the following product lines: AGCO/White, Steiger, Wheel Horse, Toro, Bush Hog, Great Plains, Sunflower and was a full line of Ford/New Holland. Polaris ATVs, snowmobiles and watercraft were also handled by Bowen Implement.
Roger Bowen, son of M.E. Bowen, grew up working in his father's dealership. In 1950, he graduated from high school and started his career there which led to him eventually owning the business. Roger helped his dad at the business making roughly $35 dollars per week. In early 1956, Roger bought 38 Fleetline Oliver tractors. This was all they had left over after the Oliver “Super” series tractors had made their debut. They were scattered throughout the hills of West Virginia and Kentucky. He received a discount for the group purchase from Oliver. Roger’s dad was initially upset and thought his son was crazy, but Roger had a plan. These Oliver tractors, even though they were the previous model, still had a live Power Take Off (PTO) - a feature John Deere couldn’t offer! So, he paid a visit to the local farmers with John Deere tractors and Allis-Chalmers balers in the area. Most would say they weren’t in the market for a new tractor. Roger would then tell them, “I’m not asking you to buy it; I’m just asking you to try it.” Routinely, after about 30 minutes of use with Oliver’s live PTO the farmer would ask for a price. As Roger recalled in an interview with Hart-Parr Oliver Magazine in 2023, every farmer he called on purchased one. Needless to say, the less-than-pleased John Deere dealer in town called Roger out on it.
In its prime, the Bowens’ dealership was one of the largest Oliver dealers for 15 straight years. Once, in a 3-month period after Oliver’s 1650 tractors came out, Roger had sold 65 – mostly by demonstrating. He recalled an instance when he had a 1650 ready to go to a customer but when he drove it, he realized something was not right. “I thought it was a clutch problem. They took it in the shop and pulled the starter. But the pressure plate had not been tightened against the flywheel from the factory. I fabricated a wrench to fit through the starter hole and tightened the bolts. All was well within about 2 hours and the 1650 was then delivered to the customer. The 1650 was one of my favorite tractors to sell.” Roger also recalled getting well-acquainted with the workers in Oliver’s shipping department over the years. “My dad sold 31 No. 5 corn pickers in one year,” Roger said. “In the late 1940s, they had a local guy that would convert side-delivery corn pickers to rear-delivery before Oliver did that. I would drive a 1-ton Dodge truck 200 miles to Battle Creek and pick up a picker and make the same trip home the next day. Needless to say, I got to know the guys in shipping very well. They would have our picker on the hoist ready to go the next day. We just kept adding them over the years. We were the first $1 million dealer in the 1950s.”
Bowen Implement closed it's doors in 2003 after 76 years of operation. After Roger's retirement from the implement business, he ventured into a new business fabricating golf carts for home use working out of his former implement dealership building. Roger passed away at the age of 91 in February 2024.
Excerpts and some photos from Farm Equipment Dealer Hall of Fame article written by Greg Davis.
Roger Bowen, son of M.E. Bowen, grew up working in his father's dealership. In 1950, he graduated from high school and started his career there which led to him eventually owning the business. Roger helped his dad at the business making roughly $35 dollars per week. In early 1956, Roger bought 38 Fleetline Oliver tractors. This was all they had left over after the Oliver “Super” series tractors had made their debut. They were scattered throughout the hills of West Virginia and Kentucky. He received a discount for the group purchase from Oliver. Roger’s dad was initially upset and thought his son was crazy, but Roger had a plan. These Oliver tractors, even though they were the previous model, still had a live Power Take Off (PTO) - a feature John Deere couldn’t offer! So, he paid a visit to the local farmers with John Deere tractors and Allis-Chalmers balers in the area. Most would say they weren’t in the market for a new tractor. Roger would then tell them, “I’m not asking you to buy it; I’m just asking you to try it.” Routinely, after about 30 minutes of use with Oliver’s live PTO the farmer would ask for a price. As Roger recalled in an interview with Hart-Parr Oliver Magazine in 2023, every farmer he called on purchased one. Needless to say, the less-than-pleased John Deere dealer in town called Roger out on it.
In its prime, the Bowens’ dealership was one of the largest Oliver dealers for 15 straight years. Once, in a 3-month period after Oliver’s 1650 tractors came out, Roger had sold 65 – mostly by demonstrating. He recalled an instance when he had a 1650 ready to go to a customer but when he drove it, he realized something was not right. “I thought it was a clutch problem. They took it in the shop and pulled the starter. But the pressure plate had not been tightened against the flywheel from the factory. I fabricated a wrench to fit through the starter hole and tightened the bolts. All was well within about 2 hours and the 1650 was then delivered to the customer. The 1650 was one of my favorite tractors to sell.” Roger also recalled getting well-acquainted with the workers in Oliver’s shipping department over the years. “My dad sold 31 No. 5 corn pickers in one year,” Roger said. “In the late 1940s, they had a local guy that would convert side-delivery corn pickers to rear-delivery before Oliver did that. I would drive a 1-ton Dodge truck 200 miles to Battle Creek and pick up a picker and make the same trip home the next day. Needless to say, I got to know the guys in shipping very well. They would have our picker on the hoist ready to go the next day. We just kept adding them over the years. We were the first $1 million dealer in the 1950s.”
Bowen Implement closed it's doors in 2003 after 76 years of operation. After Roger's retirement from the implement business, he ventured into a new business fabricating golf carts for home use working out of his former implement dealership building. Roger passed away at the age of 91 in February 2024.
Excerpts and some photos from Farm Equipment Dealer Hall of Fame article written by Greg Davis.
Bowen Implement representatives are pictured with Oliver President, likely receiving the President's Honor Council Award.
L to R: Oliver President Sam White Jr., Miller Bowen, Bernice Bowen, Roger Bowen, and Jane Bowen.
Roger (left) sporting a mechanic's shirt with the Oliver logo.
|
Roger with an Oliver 77 tractor.
|
DEALERSHIP PHOTO ARCHIVES
Photos from a Bowen Implement display at a county fair or farm show.
former dealership building
The former building for Bowen Implement as it sits in 2025. The main original building (right center structure with the window) same structure shown above in the 1960's photo.