It Happened In Crawford County: Charlie Bowers

Charles “Charlie” Bowers was delivered by his grandmother Liddie Bardon in Antrim Township in Wyandot County. His parents were James and Floidie Bowers and they moved to the Bowers Homestead at 1515 Tiffin St., where four generations of Bowers lived.

Charlie attended Holmes Liberty until the first grade, when they moved to Bucyrus. His first job, at age 9 or 10, was shining shoes for Mike Hanzakos. He also delivered the T-F at the same time, until the sixth grade, in the north end to the city limits at his grandparents’ house. He walked in the winter and biked in the summer.

Charlie loved baseball and played for the Hot Stove league, for ages 12-15, and those players stuck together all through high school and were the state runners-up. The regular high school team won the league and got into regional tournament, playing in the Joe E. Brown Stadium in Toledo. Dick Sharp was second base; pitchers were Dan Bumstead and Sonny Butterman; Charlie was the catcher; Bob Rader was first base short shop; Bob Jones was shortstop; Dick Rehm was third base; Jack Watts was left field; and Delwyn “Jess” Flohr was center field. Whoever wasn’t pitching played left field and the sub was Walt Giffin.

Charlie made college freshman squad at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). Freshmen couldn’t play varsity then, besides he was "too slow of foot" and that ended his baseball career. He did play softball for the Bucyrus Slow and Fast Pitch League.

Bowers met his wife Norma Monroe in the Nevada Drugstore, where he went to play pool on Saturdays. His intention was to fix her up for a date with one of his friends. However, she had her eye on Charlie! They dated a year and married in the Nevada Lutheran Church. He put in his first year at BGSU and worked many places after high school over the next "umpteen years," then started at Timken. Just not his kind of work.

He went back to college and then worked with the North Electric and went on the road for them in Ulysses, Kansas, and transferred to Seymour, Indiana, as a wireman. He got off the road and then went to the Power Equipment in Galion. He also worked for the Bucyrus Fire Department and was on duty for two big major fires, when Hotel Elberson and Crawford Steel burned.

College was back in the picture; he was also working and taking courses at OSU-Marion and went back to BGSU for a year. He also went to work for the Farm Bureau lumber yard,doing drawing and estimating in Bucyrus until they closed in 1963.

Next, superintendent “Doc” Donnenwirth invited him to interview at Wynford School for the industrial arts teacher position. Charlie had almost two years of college and he was offered the job the year Wynford School opened. Doc was impatient, asking how long it will take to make up your mind. He wanted him in the classroom on Monday.

Charlie taught a year, liked it, and didn’t want the school year to end. During summer school, he spoke with a friend who mentioned his father, a superintendent at Willard School, needed an industrial arts teacher. At the same time, Doc told Charlie that Gene Acocks at Willard had the job. Charlie took it and taught there for one year.

Again, back to college full-time that next summer, fall, spring, summer and fall graduating in January 1967 with a bachelor of science in education. He went back to Wynford one semester, but wanted the baseball job there. He didn’t get it and looked at Bucyrus for the open drafting job. He was hired, including the baseball job that paid $1,000 more.

Another round of college, in order to be a T&I vocational education supervisor. He went to the University of Toledo graduate school. Classes were held at various high schools in the area. Once he completed the program, he did the intern program at Kent State in 1977. He took the job at Tri-Rivers JVS in Marion and qualified with enough hours for a master’s degree, minus four core courses. After a year there, it wasn’t for Charlie and he began work with Dick Yuhas, doing construction.

During that summer, the industrial arts teacher hired to replace Charlie quit and left town. Walt Joseph, the Bucyrus High School superintendent, invited him to take his old job back, he said yes and Charlie stayed there until retirement in 1992. Teaching drafting was the best; he had many good kids and several went on to become architects, engineers and draftsmen.

Charlie started a baseball program again in 1967, coaching it some 15 years. He helps folks by mowing lawn. Norma was busy, too. She worked at Huber Warco before their marriage, next at Timken, Crawford Steel and the City of Bucyrus.

They have three children: Bill works for Century Link in Florida; Tim lives in Ijamsville, Maryland, works for the federal government; and Ty's story was featured in a 2015 It Happened in Crawford County). Charlie has great pride in being a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church since first grade, sang more than 40 years in the choir, member of the church council and taught Sunday school for more than 30 years.

Readers if you are interested in sharing a story write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email littlefoxfactory@columbus.rr.com.