Born into a family of farm equipment dealers in Upper Sandusky, Ohio in 1932, Roger Bowen started helping in the parts department before he was tall enough to see over the counter. The 6-year-old had to stand on a shotgun shell box behind the counter so he could write the slips.
In 1939 his father started handling New Holland and coupled one of its balers to an Oliver 70. He had to extend the clutch up 6 inches so Roger could reach it. This was only the beginning of a long relationship with Oliver that would be highly successful for the manufacturer, for Bowen and the dealership he’d one day run.
When Bowen Implement Co. started in 1927, brands included Case, Massey Harris, Hart-Parr and American seeding. Oliver came a bit later.
Name: Roger Bowen (1932-2024)
Dealership: Bowen Implement Co.
City: Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Primary Lines: Oliver, Case IH, Massey-Harris, Bush Hog, Great Plains, Polaris
Locations: 1 in Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Shortly after Oliver was brought in, Roger's dad, M.E. Bowen was selling about 50% Case, 30% Massey and about 20% Oliver. In 1942 Case approached the elder Bowen and asked him to drop Oliver and Massey Harris. Instead, M.E. promptly loaded all of the dealership’s Case equipment up and returned it. That left the dealership with just Massey Harris and Oliver.
Massey Harris later approached Roger’s dad about giving up Oliver. Once again, he declined. The Oliver folks said they would double his allotment. So, Massey Harris was subsequently kicked out.
The dealership moved in 1951 and moved again to its final location in Upper Sandusky in the late 1950s. In 1964 the dealership was incorporated and in later years carried AGCO/White, Steiger, Wheel Horse, Toro, Bush Hog, Great Plains, Sunflower and a full line of Ford/New Holland. Polaris ATVs, snowmobiles and watercraft were added in later years.
Roger’s Crazy Idea
After graduating from high school in 1950, Roger continued helping his dad while 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” tractors had made their debut. They were scattered throughout the hills of West Virginia and Kentucky. He received a discount for the group purchase.
Roger’s dad was initially upset and thought his son was crazy, but Roger had a plan. Oliver tractors had live Power Take Off (PTO), a feature John Deere couldn’t offer. So, he paid a visit to the farmers with John Deere tractors and Allis-Chalmers balers in the area.
Collector’s Box
At age 90, Roger Bowen still had the following Olivers in his collection.
- Oliver HD Cletrac - 68”
- Oliver 60
- Oliver 66 diesel
- Oliver 660 gas
- Oliver 770 diesel tricycle
- 74 Oliver 770 wide front end with 3-point hitch and Power Booster
- Super 88 gas standard
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.
A Sense of Urgency
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,” Roger recalled in the interview with Hart-Parr Oliver Magazine in 2023. “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.”