DEWAYNE'S CORNER - Marlow OTASCO survives 60 years

I opened my first charge account at 14 years old, and bought a 21-inch Lawn Boy push mower. I was questioned how I was going to pay and I told Mr. Crow I was mowing 20 yards each summer and showed him my saving account book. He set it up as a 90-day payout. The business was OTASCO in Marlow.

E. J. and Nancy Crow moved to Marlow in 1963 as corporate offices for OTASCO said Marlow needed a store like this. The store was opened on the corner of Main Street and U.S. Highway 81 as a franchisee store.

Marlow's store offered racks of lawnmowers, tools, engine parts, appliances, as well as toys,

bicycles and other general merchandise. Sons Mike and Ronnie helped in the store while growing up here, working after school and weekends as teenagers. OTASCO, which stands for Oklahoma Tire and Supply Co., was started in 1918, in Okmulgee. At one time the Sanditen family had 600 stores. The OTASCO brand based much of its business around allowing customers to purchase items on credit as I did in the Marlow store.

When they decided they needed more room, the building where the (old) bowling alley was came up for sale. The Crows bought it, remodeled and moved to 308 West Main (current location).

As most OTASCO stores were closing in the 1980s, the Crows changed to buying from Ace Hardware and then operated as Servistar Coast to Coast before eventually reverting back to the OTASCO name. OTASCO corporation gave its franchisees the right to continue using the name for 99 years.

In 1966, I used my credit again and bought a new Flying O bicycle. That same year I bought another Lawn Boy as I hit some fishing line in one of my yards and broke the crank shaft. Ronnie and I were classmates in school and carpooled to Chickasha college together. I had him stand with me when I got married. He worked part-time while attending college.

Mike took over about 1989, but asked his folks to stay even though they were thinking of retirement. Mike was busy doing lawn mower and small engine repairs so Nancy and E.J. continued to help answering phone and working the counter.

On July 8, 2014, the store celebrated 50 years. I was happy to see my old friends and Mike and Ronnie. I still have my souvenir key ring from their anniversary party.

Now son Mike with his wife Barbara operate the store. A bright yellow sign bearing the forgotten retail chain still hangs over now store known as OTASCO and Mike Small Engine Repair.

I love going in and seeing familiar faces. I love small businesses, and my home town, Marlow Oklahoma, U.S.A.

*Editor's Note: OTASCO is as I remember it from my childhood days moving to Marlow in the 1970s. My mom seemed to always have a reason to shop there (and the old Ben Franklin). Last summer, I was given a sneak peek into one of their office spaces and it was like peering into a hidden historical snapshot of Marlow. Quite fun considering I love history and am a collector of vintage things. They are good people at OTASCO and it is stories like Dewayne's that show just how important supporting local small-town brick-and-mortar businesses are to the history and future success of a community. IN 1989, OTASCO closed its remaining 62 stores that remained under its corporate umbrella. In 2014, the Marlow store was hailed in The Oklahoman for outliving its parent company.