A Brief Pic. History of our Faimly Case Dealership

Adirondack case guy

Well-known Member
Some of you have asked when and how long we were Case Dealers.
Here are some pics, and a brief history.
My Grandfather Owen, started out as a horse trader/ "sub dealer" in mid 20s buying from a Case dealer in Schnectday, NY. He became an accredited Case dealer in 1931.
He sold out of the kitchen in the farmhouse. The attached back room and woodshead off the kitchen, served as the parts department. An old out building adjacent to the house became the service shop. about big enough to work on one tractor.Around 1940 he built a cinder block shop, across the road from the house and dairy barns.
By then my dad running the day to day operations, plus doing farm chores. He was the oldest of the 9 siblings.
In 1948, my dad decided that the farm and dealership wern't mixing very well. In the spring of 48 he bought a acre of land and a dilapicated old house on the corner of our road and US RT 20., where he erected the first building that was our Case Facility until we closed in 1986. the building was cinder block construction, measuring 40'x60'
In 1954 he built a new house on the site of the old dilapicated one. I was 7yrs old in 54. My dad died peacfully in this house on Mother's Day this past spring.
In 64 he put up an addition (3400sq.ft) It was our new shop and the old building was done over on the inside with expanded parts and showroom area, and more office and bathroom space.
By then I was active in the business and In 67 when I graduated from collage with a 2yr degree in Ag. Engineering, we built the pole barn out back for storage, but it didn't take long before we totall closed it in and turned it into a summer shop, as we were selling bigger 4WD tractors that required a lot more space to work on.
In 1981 we teamed up with a long time friend that was a neighboring Case dealer and started a Satilite Dealership in Fultonville, NY.
In 1986 we both made a deal with Case Co. and returned our parts and whole goods inventory.
My good friend and I have regretted this move, but neither of us had the money or will to Build a new state of the art Facility that CASE-IH was demanding of us.
Two years later my friend Bob, made the plunge, due to the rapid expansion of a large high quality gravel resource on his family's property.
My wife and I worked for him for 4 yrs, me being head if retail sales, the wife was heading up the parts dept. and Bob ran the shop.
A general manager was later hired and there were some conflicts, arose, and we left, as friends., and still are with both Bob who has pretty well turned over ownership to Wes, who was the general Mgr.
I worked heavy construction as an operator for several years, and then started my own construction business. I have built 2 of the buildings at R imps. A 60'x100' steel frame service shop and a 40'x 100 storage building to acomidate combines and other larg machines that don't like settin out.

Every sucessful dealership has to be a SOB most of the time to survive. I had a hard time saying NO to a customer,and always wanted them to feel good about their dealing with us. (Can't please all of them all the time)
Anyway I have rambled long enough.
Loren.
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Great pics and story !!!!!!!!!!!! Old dealership pics are my favorite.
Do you have any showroom pics?
Thanks for taking the time to post,
Nick
 
Thanks for the great pictures and history. I always ask old Case dealers if they liked being a Case dealer and most of them did, but didn't care much for the company. I am wondering how you feel. Don
 
These history stories are great, they tell us the who's and why's which help us know one another and the common factor that brings us to this forum. Thanks for sharing. I would encourage others to do so, everyones life is interesting. Rod.
 
Loren.
Those pictures are absolutely priceless. Thank you for the great story behind them all. Sounds like you went out of your way to take care of your customers. Something that seems to be a lost art today.
Kow Farmer (Kurt)
 
Great pics and thanks for the story. Looks like you guys did well with the 4wd's. What kind of "terms" would Case give a dealer on a new 70 series or 94 series tractor?
 
I think a lot of manufacturers have forced good dealerships out of business with demands for spending thousands and even millions on upgrading. The local Honda motorcycle shop here had to spend over a million on superficial upgrades that didn't improve sales at all. Honda just wanted it look like their corporate model. The shop was very modern and the old signage looked a lot better than the new signage. A waste of money in my opinion. I prefer good customer service over a fancy dancy building any day.
 
Great pic's and loved the histroy....I could see my dad pull'en are old SC into the yard with the old ford stationwagon un hook the chain and hand-push'en it into the garage. Day or 2 later "she's ready" dad drop off one of the boy's and we just drive off.
Now days you gota find the dam service dept. then make appointment,model no. wait week call back to see if its done!!! "oh waiten for parts" ahhhhhhhuuuugggg.Will lease a tractor!!! "back'en theday Al Schorder would bring a used tractor off his lot so we could keep chopping corn. I better stop Loren or it will turn into a book!! hee hee thanks again.God Bless
 
Love the pics. I always like to drive by the old implement dealer location (now a restaurant) where my dad did most of his business. One question - I"ve always been curious about the farm being called "Clinton Camp" when the family name is Fassett. ADB-IA
 
Back when the 90s were out we got 9 months floorplan terms, and ordering discounts for quanity orders, (implements) and discounts if paided in 30 days.
Today it is toughon a dealer. Virtually no terms, and minimum orders to maintain the Franchise. CNH could care less about dealer profit margins and quality service. They look at retail sales figures in an area on a flat map. no consideration for geographics, and if the dealer isint getting the sales they think he should be generating, They don't put into consideration that all a farmer has to do is set at a computer, once he has a price on a specific tractor and shop every dealer in 6 states, until he gets the "cheapest" price. The customer makes his deal, and then expects the local dealer to jump when it breaks.
I as a sales person could do my job selling the virtues of a CASE Tractor over the others, only to loose the deal to another Case IH dealer, from the other end of the state.
I finally said enough was enough in 1992, and have never regretted it. I get much more satisfaction look at a building I built and know it is going to be there for generations to come, unlike that Biggest-Shinnyest tractor in the area.
I don't envy my friends at Randall Imps that are trying to keep the doors of their privately owned single dealership open here in NY.
The "Mega Multi Location Dealer" concept is taking it's toll on them.
Loren
Loren
 
Back when the 90s were out we got 9 months floorplan terms, and ordering discounts for quanity orders, (implements) and discounts if paided in 30 days.
Today it is toughon a dealer. Virtually no terms, and minimum orders to maintain the Franchise. CNH could care less about dealer profit margins and quality service. They look at retail sales figures in an area on a flat map. no consideration for geographics, and if the dealer isint getting the sales they think he should be generating, They don't put into consideration that all a farmer has to do is set at a computer, once he has a price on a specific tractor and shop every dealer in 6 states, until he gets the "cheapest" price. The customer makes his deal, and then expects the local dealer to jump when it breaks.
I as a sales person could do my job selling the virtues of a CASE Tractor over the others, only to loose the deal to another Case IH dealer, from the other end of the state.
I finally said enough was enough in 1992, and have never regretted it. I get much more satisfaction look at a building I built and know it is going to be there for generations to come, unlike that Biggest-Shinnyest tractor in the area.
I don't envy my friends at Randall Imps that are trying to keep the doors of their privately owned single dealership open here in NY.
The "Mega Multi Location Dealer" concept is taking it's toll on them.
Loren
Loren
 
Well my friend, the name was derived quite simply. Back during the revolutionary war days, General James Clinton assembled his Continental Army from his starting point, Fort Tyconderoga, traveling to and past our farm, gathering up local militia to link up with George Washington's troops in Valley Forge. The road name is the Continental Rd. We are on the north end of Otsego Lake (The origin of the Susquehana River. Clinton made camp where the family homested is, Thus Clinton Camp Farm. Here is where the overland march ended and where the treck down the Susquehana started. Militia men built wooden rafts from timber around these parts and started their historic jurney dowh the Susquehana from here. linking up with Col. Butler's 4th Penn. Regiment, and continuing on to support George Washington's troops in Valley Forge.
Pics are of the historical marker at the farm and a monument directly across US.RT.20, from our dealership, then known as the "Great Western Turnpike" Linking the deep inland seaport of Fort Orange, now Albany, NY. to the expanding west.
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Loren, you sound like the local dealer I remember in our town. Well liked by everyone and had a very good business, Case was predominent in our area because of his relationship with customers AND good service shop.

The US would be so much better off today if it were run by folks like you, John Saeli, CNT, others and our old dealer rather than corp. accountants! So would Case. Guess nothing can stay the same but I still long for those days.

Jim
 

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