Shick Implement Co.

Tom Shick opened a John Deere farm implement dealership at 111 S. Detroit St in 1932

A farmers meeting and tractor school at the Tom Shick Implement Co. in 1934

Tom Shick on a John Deere tractor with a cultivator

Tom Shick built a new dealership at 904 Garfield Ave. in Bellefontaine

Martin Cummins and Levi Shick preparing for the National Plowing Contest in August 1951

Martin Cummins won first place in the State Contour Plowing Contest in August 1951

A film featuring comedian George Gobel was shown at the 1963 John Deere Tractor Day

John Deere Tractor Day sponsored by Shick Implements at the Bellefontaine Armory

Waiting in line at the John Deere Tractor Day sponsored by Shick Implements

Some of the attendees at John Deere Tractor Day sponsored by Shick Implements

Joanne Shawver, Cheryl Shawver, Agnes Shawver, Earlene Cummins, Sue Whitney

Christmas 1963 ad for John Deere farm toys at Shick Implement Co.

The Shick Implement Co. operated in Bellefontaine for nearly forty years. They sold John Deere tractors and implements along with a variety of other farm and industrial products.

Logan County native Thomas W. Shick, known as “Uncle Tom”, opened a John Deere dealership and implement business at 111 S. Madriver St. in Bellefontaine in 1932. Shick also served as a Lake Township trustee and was president of the Logan County Fair Board.

A few years later, he built a new dealership at 904 Garfield Ave. His nephew, Levi Shick, joined him in the business and took over management when Tom was no longer able. Tom Shick passed away in 1944.

Levi’s nephew, Charles “Chuck” Shawver, started working at Shick Implements shortly after he returned from serving in WWII. By 1946, Shawver and Shick co-owned/managed the business. The Shick Implement Co. sold a large selection of John Deere farm and industrial equipment as well as a line of McCulloch and other products.

In 1949, Levi Shick became the president of the Ohio State Trapshooting Association. Shick was a Class A national champion and headed the largest group of trap shooters in the United States. He competed for over 30 years.

Shick Implements also sponsored Martin Cummins in plowing contests in the early 1950s. Cummins won numerous contests and was the State and National contour plowing champion in 1952. The next year, Martin’s brother, R.C. “Bus” Cummins, won the State and National contour plowing contest and Martin Cummins placed 8^th. 

For several years, the Shick Implement Co. held a John Deere Tractor Day at the Bellefontaine Armory. The program was free to all farm families in the area. In 1962, films shown were, “Haying”, “Harvesting Equipment”, “Tractors”, and “New John Deere equipment for 1962”. Also “Best of Oddities”, repeating rarities in farming, and a special dealer film titled “Partners”. One of the highlights was a film starring comedian George Gobel as the master of ceremonies with his “Uncle Henry Tractor”.

For Christmas 1963, Shick Implements advertised working scale models of John Deere farm equipment including tractors, plows, wagons, balers, grain drills, spreaders, corn pickers, elevators and disk harrows. They also had riding size John Deere “tractor-cycles” for $24.95.

In 1966, Levi Shick and Charles Shawver announced they were building a new John Deere industrial power equipment retail outlet named Shick Industrial on Hanthorn Rd. in Lima. The Lima facility was very successful, and in 1971, they closed the Bellefontaine business.