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COMPANY
HISTORY
A history of Bomgaars must begin with a little background
on Mr. William H. Bomgaars. In the small town of Middleburg, Iowa
at the age of 18, he was operating a general store, selling gingham
from the bolt, and crackers from a barrel. Also from this store,
he stocked horse-drawn wagons with all the needs of the rural family
and drove them on a farm route.
From
this beginning, after various positions, including selling violin
lessons in Chicago, and washing machines in South Dakota, Bill decided
to venture out on his own. In 1931, in Sioux City, he borrowed $125.00
on his Army insurance to purchase a Model A Ford, and Mr. Bob Bowes,
of Bowes Seal Fast, extended time credit for a beginning inventory
of $125.00. Bill loaded his merchandise into the car and started
out to build up a territory. By 1932, the midwest was deep in depression
and growth was very slow. However, by 1934 he was eating 3 meals
a day on a regular schedule. Before this, he had been on an inventive
program that let him eat breakfast, lunch or dinner, as the case
may be, as soon as he made his first sale of the day.
In
January 1944, the operation had expanded to the point where it could
no longer be contained in their home, and was moved to the first
downtown location at 819 Pearl Street, in Sioux City, Iowa. At this
time the work force consisted of two extra employees, Bill's sister,
Ann, in the office, and his brother, Gerald, as a salesman on the
road.
In
1944 Sioux City sustained extensive damage from a major flood on
the west side and the building had to be sand-bagged. The next move
was to the building at 611 Pearl Street in 1945. The business consisted
mainly of tire and repair materials. By 1946, Bomgaars became the
jobber for NAPA automotive parts and had two office girls and four
salesman traveling through the territory.
Harold
Bomgaars (Bill's son) graduated from the University of Iowa in 1947
and entered the business on a full time basis as a traveling salesman.
In
July, 1952, Bill heard of an innovation in Grand Forks, North Dakota
that caught his attention: the sending of fleet cards to farmers
entitling them to discounts. Manufacturers at that time were selling
at a discount to businesses on a fleet basis, & shy; that is, any
business operating five or more fuel powered vehicles and/or equipment,
were qualified to buy at a discount. Bill's wife, Tena, and Bill's
sister-in-law compiled the lists of people operating 5 or more vehicles
from the tax roles in the county seats.
It
was in Milbank, South Dakota, in 1952, that four men, including
Bill Bomgaars, instituted the Mid-States buying group and Bomgaars
went into the farm fleet business. Many new lines were added and
this resulted in the beginning of more rapid growth, necessitating
a move to larger quarters at 204 Fourth Street in 1955.
It
is interesting to note that because business was so poor in 1952,
when Bill first heard of the farm fleet program, he sent Harold
on a trip to St. Louis to visit the office of the Ben Franklin
stores with the idea of changing to that line of business.
Expansion
began taking place in the form of opening branch stores, and the
first one was in Yankton, South Dakota in 1956. This was followed
by Wagner, South Dakota in 1961 - Storm Lake, Iowa in 1958 - LeMars,
Iowa in 1965 - Norfolk, Nebraska in 1968 - Ida Grove, Iowa in
1972 - Cherokee, Iowa in 1976 - Hawarden, Iowa in 1977 - Orange
City, Iowa in 1979 (closed in 1994) Re-opened in 1999 - Mapleton,
Iowa in 1983 - Sheldon, Iowa in 1994 - Sioux Center, Iowa in 1997,
Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1997, Sioux City, IA (East) in 2000, Fremont,
West Point and Wayne, NE in 2001 and Onawa, Denison, Carroll,
Harlan, Iowa along with Blair, Tekamah, Hartington, O'Neill, Wahoo,
Schuyler, Albion, Neligh, Creighton, Ainsworth, Nebraska in 2002,
Valentine, Nebraska in 2003, Jefferson, Iowa in 2004 - Columbus,
and Plattsmouth, Nebraska in 2005 - Sac City, Iowa in 2006 - Central City, Nebraska in 2006 - St. Paul, Nebraska in 2006 - Forest City, Iowa in 2007.
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