Archbold Equipment Company was formed in 1965 by Lyle Friesen, David Sauder, Herbert Spiess and Marvin Waidelich. The group purchased a small International Harvester dealership that operated out of the back of the local hardware store in town.
S.O. Decker started Decker Equipment Co. in downtown Sherwood in 1914. He passed it onto his son Bernard in 1928, who subsequently passed it over to his two sons Ned and David Decker. The Decker brothers not only ran the equipment dealership, but also added on a Chevrolet dealership.
Goshen Implement was founded in the early 1930's before World War II, serving as a truck and tractor sales dealership. There was a fire in the late 50’s, putting employees out of work for multiple months while they rebuilt. In the mid 80’s, Interstate Equipment bought the business. It remained in the same location under the Goshen Implement name in town until 1992.
Schumacher-Maag was truly a family owned and run business for well over five decades. Founded in 1954 by Amos Maag and Raymond Schumacher, the dealership was originally an International Harvester dealership. Amos was a silent partner, while Raymond and his wife Joan managed and ran the store. Joan did all of the bookkeeping and helped at the parts counter as needed, while Raymond managed the store. Raymond’s brother Clet worked in the parts department, as well as other family members. When Raymond died in 1980, Joan was left with the business and Clet took over as the store manager. Joan in-turn passed the business on to their four daughters, Paula, Patricia, Nancy and Brenda. After she passed away in 1985, the Schumacher sisters inherited the business, managing and running the store together. Paula was a nurse, but she did work the parts counter for a few years when she was able.
The Adrian store has quite the story behind its heritage. Founded in 1961 by a man named Albert B Hoag, AB Hoag Farm Supplies consisted of seed and fertilizer sales, as well as lime spreading. Hoag picked up some short line equipment shortly after starting the business and in 1965, took on the Allis Chalmers brand. He ran the business for roughly five years, before selling it to Wayne Pence. Pence renamed the business to Pence’s Farm Supply, but couldn’t keep the business financially stable, so Hoag took it back over after two years. Dan Hupp was the stores’ Allis Chalmers territory manager starting in 1970. He created a strong relationship with Hoag, especially after Hoag took the business back over from Pence. In the spring of 1973, Hupp was approached by Hoag about buying the business. The rest is history. On April 1 of 1973, AB Hoag Farm Supplies became Dan’s Farm Supply.
The original Bowling Green International Harvester dealership was founded by the Avery Family, and was located at 1019 North Main Street in downtown Bowling Green. (Today, Thayer Honda is at this location) International Harvester actually owned and maintained it for a period of time after the Averys wanted to close it. Bernie Reinhart worked for International Harvester before serving as the store manager for the Avery Family dealership. He bought the business from International Harvester, renaming the business to Reinhart Sales. Going to work at 17 as a parts employee for International Harvester in Stony Ridge, Fred Getz became the Parts Manager at Reinhart Sales in 1958. He served there for almost 12 years, before he and Mort Anderson bought the business from Bernie Reinhart in the early 1970’s. They renamed the business to Getz & Anderson, Inc.
Bellevue Implement was founded in downtown Bellevue in the early 1900's. In 1950, the building at the current location was built and the business was moved from downtown to its current location east of town on route 20. Gordon Gibbs served as the Parts Manager from 1962 to 1966 at Reinhart Sales in Bowling Green, and both the Parts Manager & Service Manager at Decker Implement in Sherwood from 1966 to 1970.
Randy Whiteaker had worked at International Harvester from 1970 to 1982. Working as both a mechanic and in sales, he decided to put his own package together. He had four investors involved and he built the dealership from the ground up in 1983. Randy remembers going to many auctions to purchase trucks and tools for the dealership.
The Huntington location has been around since the early 1960s, with the current building being the original. Case Company owed and operated under the name Case Power and Equipment. The three Case Power and Equipment stores located in Marion, Huntington and Wabash, Indiana, were the last Case company owned and operated stores in North America at the time. In 1989, the three stores were named Stores of the Year by J.I. Case Co.
Charlie Smith owned the original location based west of Marion, Indiana. He owned the business known as Smith Tri County Equipment from 1976-1983, before he passed away from cancer.
