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Perseverance, ingenuity, hard work, and a lot of luck can make a
company endure for many years. Bowers Tool and Die Company, of
Kalamazoo, Michigan, is a good example of a family owned company
that has survived the ups and downs of an often volatile and
strenuous seventy years of dedication to success.
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Even with the calamitous and frightful events of depression, war, and personal
grief. Bowers remains healthy and strong with an on going tale whose ending
is yet to be written.
For lighter collectors all around the world the name Bowers is well known.
The lighters they produced are common to extremely rare in availability
and extremely desirable with some varieties. Overall, the inclusion of Bowers
lighters in most general collections is understandably expected. To have all
of the models and styles of lighters they produced would present a grouping
of more than two dozen examples. This would include variations in the materials
used such as steel and brass, and finishes of chrome or gun metal blue. Aluminum
and anodized colored advertisers in the competitive "Zippo" style pieces from the
1960's are but a small chapter in the catalog of what collectors can find.
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Bowers "Kalamazoo Slide Sleeve" Lighters. The three versions include a round tube,
flat tube, and rare flip action some are often marked "Sure Fire". First made in 1930.
Photos by Tom O'key
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Historically the Bowers name has roots stemming from English Emigrants who
settled in Greenfield Massachusetts. The family has beginnings that include
stories of the civil war, the origins of professional baseball, and a legacy
of entrepreneurial inventiveness that began with Ernest Charles Bowers, the
founder of the Bowers Tool and Die Company.
Ernest was born on September 25th, 1879, son of Henry and Mary Ann (Hampshire)
Bowers. Ernest began his career in metal working after completing an apprenticeship
as a machinist with Warner Manufacturing Co. of Greenfield, Mass. For a number of
years that followed he found himself jumping from one job to another, most of which
were related to employment in metal working.
He ran a hotel, in Liberty Center, Ohio, for a couple of years where in 1905
he married Mina R. Snyder.
They soon moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan where they raised six children. In Kalamazoo,
Ernest served as superintendent of the Cook Standard Tool Co. for ten years after which
he organized the Bowers-Dodgson Tool Co. The company later sold to the Kalamazoo Spoke
and Nipple Co. where Ernest remained as manager until 1928. That same year he organized
the Bowers Tool and Die Company. This was the definitive beginning of what has the
interest of lighter collectors today.
Ernest was a clever man who had a great deal of experience in how to make things work.
In the infancy of his company he ran a general tool and die making shop that employed
25 to 30 "first class" tool makers. Then, in 1929 the great depression swept across
America and the battle to remain afloat was overwhelming. He laid off most of his
men and started to re-direct his endeavors. Ernest smoked and he had a lighter that
he used and liked. It was an Austrian made lighter that had a tube type design which
incorporated a slide up windshield and little snuffer cap that pivoted away from the
wick to make room to ignite the flame. The operation of the lighter was a bit clumsy
and he had invented an improvement in the design that made it easier to manipulate.
Smoking was popular and there seemed to be promise in marketing his improved lighter,
so, in 1930 he began producing the "Kalamazoo Slide Sleeve Lighter". Sales were made
locally for the most part through jobbers in the Michigan area and though business wasn't
fantastic it was good enough to keep the bills paid and the doors open.
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Bowers "Kalamazoo Slide Sleeve" Lighters. The three versions include a round tube,
flat tube, and rare flip action some are often marked "Sure Fire". First made in 1930.
Photos by Tom O'key
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In 1931, Ernest's second oldest son, Frederick, who was born on May 17th, 1912, came
to work for the company after completing high school that spring. About a year later
Fred became seriously ill and had to leave the business but returned in the following
year where he stayed until January of 1934. At that time, the lighter business wasn't
doing well so Fred went to work for the General Tool and Die Company as a tool designer.
There he became acquainted with their advertising manager and the two of them made an
arrangement with Ernest to market the Bowers lighter nationally. Sales grew to the
point that by the end of 1935 Frederick went back to work with his dad full time.
The "Slide Sleeve" was a great seller. A second version appeared that was the same
in all respects mechanically except it was flattened to an oval shape instead of being
a round cylinder like the original. Its production dates are unknown, but, it was probably
introduced just before WWII.
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Lighter sales increased rapidly and by 1938 they introduced a couple of new lighters that were
low priced and very simple in their construction. Made from brass, these lighters had removable
tops and a small flint wheel inside. Named the "Storm Master" they appeared in flat and round
ended tube designs. History of their success in unknown but there must have been many produced
as they can, at best, be listed as uncommon today. Another lighter that was produced, which is
rare today, is similar to the "Slide Sleeve" of the oval variety, but, instead of the typical
flint wheel as seen in the "Slide Sleeve", it had a sprung thumb piece that created a snap action
to the flint wheel when flipped with the thumb. A windshield similar to the "Slide Sleeve" was
also incorporated though it had no holes for air flow to the flame. No name is known for this
lighter.
On December 4th, 1937 Fred married Mary Jane Saunders. The business was running well at the
time and by early 1938 the factory was producing about 4000 lighters a day.
It was around that time that one of the first of several heavy blows hit Bowers Tool and Die
Company. A New York importer brought some five million "knock off" lighters into the U.S. the
U.S. They were very similar to the "Kalamazoo Slide Sleeve" but totally inferior in construction
and very low in price. Selling for as little as nine cents each, the market for Bowers lighters
dropped off to nothing until the stock ran out. By 1939 production was again back to force at
about 4000 units a day. From the curse of such competition continuing, revival seemed unlikely,
then, as fate would deal a new hand, WWII started. This was the cork that stopped the foreign
on-slaught of lighter imports, not only from Europe, but, Japan as well. This put the presses
back in full swing and before long the main buyer of lighters became Uncle Sam himself. The war
took most of the brass away from anything not necessary to the needs of the military.
Production again came to a near halt when they re-tooled and the factory began running steel
materials in making their lighters.
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The Army-Navy flameless lighter used tinder cord as fuel which burned like a cigarette
when lit. The three versions whown are brass black and chrome plate. "No wind could
blow them out" Made in 1942.
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The "Army-Navy lighter" was introduced in 1942 for sale to the Quartermaster
and between steel versions of the "Slide Sleeve" and the flameless "Army-Navy",
Bowers supplied 55% of the lighters purchased by the government during the war years.
The tool and die division and the lighter manufacturing operation were expanded to
meet the production demands of the war starting in 1942, and business was being run
as a full partnership between Ernest and Frederick.
Then in 1946 they incorporated, sharing the stock evenly between them. They began to produce
lighter flints from a powdered metal process developed by Fred and a plant was opened in St.
Thomas, Ontario, Canada, to produce the flints. By now the Atomic Energy Commission had
been formed and new restrictions on "high tech" metals were put in place. Between economic
and governmental problems the plant was closed in 1948 at a great expense to the company.
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By 1949, the labor unions were at full strength and the
pressure to continue in business became more than could be
tolerated. Ernest was 70 years old at the time and that spring
he decided to retire. The tool and die shop was shut down that
summer and Fred continued running the lighter manufacturing division
which was producing at full capacity. The Bowers Tool and Die Company
changed its name to the Bowers Lighter Company and, by the spring of
1951, with 150 employees, they were manufacturing 6 million lighters
a year and still unable to keep up with the demand. Several models
of lighters were being manufactured during this period. The exact
production dates are not known for sure, but, it was probably shortly
before that the "Pelican" table lighter was produced. This lighter was
made from the old "cone top" beer cans which were topped with a simple
flint wheel and wick with a removable cap.
It was marketed under the name "Lamp Lighter" as well. These lighters
came fully filled and ready to use, with the claim that you would never
use up the supply of fluid they provided. The "No. 10" pocket model
which looked a lot like a Zippo was also introduced, its distinction
being the inclusion of filler screws on the bottom. They were made
of chrome plated brass. A truly unique lighter that is unrivaled in
the lighter world is the Bowers "Striker Pipe". This was a light
weight, aluminum smoking pipe that incorporated a striker wand in
the end near the bowl and a flint striker affixed to the body of the
pipe. This is one of the really rare lighters made by Bowers and is
highly prized today.
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The "Peli-Can Lighter" Other versions exist including the "Lamp-Lighter". Made about 1949.
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American involvement in the Korean War was underway by now and again the restrictions
on manufacturing materials were putting a crunch on the Bowers production lines.
Ernest's share of Bowers stock was retired in January of 1952 and Fred became the
sole owner of the company. He faced a deluge of problems that were remarkably overcome.
The government put an excise tax of fifteen percent on lighters made domestically and at
the same time cut duty on imports by fifty percent. Metal allocations were cut by eighty
percent and competition was growing stronger from abroad. Plans had been made to produce
an automatic lighter by the fall of 1952 as the Ronson patents were expiring. All was a
wash in view of the economic climate and the lighter was never produced. Earlier, in the
spring of 1952, they were approached by an advertising firm who ordered 500 thousand
lighters for their initial order. Fortunately this company had adequate metal allocations
to produce the lighters and the order was filled. Competition from Japan and Austria was
getting really fierce. With hopes that the war would be ver soon, a large investment was
made in new equipment and machines that would enable the Bowers plant to make 4000
complete pieces per hour with one operator. This would improve their competitive edge
to deal with the other lighter producers. No sooner did their hopes come true and with
the lifting of materials restrictions in 1954 the price of brass went through the roof.
Unable to justify the cost of making brass lighters they turned to a new consumer material.
The new edge was found in using aluminum. By now it was fall of 1954. Ernest passed away in
September at age 75. Experimentation and development of the manufacturing methods to produce
the new line of aluminum lighters continued and production began in early 1955. Lighter
production gradually picked up to the point that by spring of 1957 six thousand lighters
were coming off the line daily. In the summer of 1957 a huge quantity of low quality "copy"
lighters came in from Japan.
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Frederick knew he could not possibly compete with this as the retail on the Japanese
lighters was only 49 cents. In February of 1958 he went to Japan and met with the
lighter- manufacturers there. They managed to make agreements to not step on each others
toes, so to speak, and imports of the copies stopped. Other varieties of advertising
lighters continued to flood the American market, spurred by the needs for cheap give-a-way
lighters by the tobacco companies. Zippo and Ronson copies came in by the millions.
The Japanese made advertising lighters were coming into the U.S. at a rate of five million
lighters per month in 1959.
The aluminum lighters produced domestically during 1962 were improved with the addition
of acid etched, photo silk screened finishes enabling them to make great advertising
lighters that were brightly anodized in the new anodizing process they were then employing.
For the next thirteen years the Bowers aluminum lighters would remain unchanged. The name went
from "Storm Master" to "Sure Fire", a name seen on many of the WWII "Slide Sleeve" models.
Many of the "Sure Fire" lighters were exported to Japan which signifies the great success
Frederick had in dealing with the Japanese.
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The "Sure Fire" Aluminum with advertising on it.
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The Bowers "No. 15" table lighter was in production in the early 1960's and Frederick
had also incorporated the same mechanism into several other varieties of base materials.
The No. 15 was a zinc die cast model that had a Zippo style top. Most appear to have
been made with a chrome finish.
Continuing to remain on good terms with the Japanese, Frederick had a couple of lighters
produced in Japan under his name. The "AF1OO" was a table model that worked much the same
as the "Colibri Monopol" action and was packaged in a wooden box decorated with a similar
lacquer pattern that was found on the lighter. A pocket model was also produced, but none
are known to exist.
Bowers "Striker Pipe" This rare lighter was made about 1947 Bowers liked pipes. He also made a
self cleaning corn cob pipe in 1964.
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On September 16, 1966 Frederick passed away. Behind him was an era of dreams made into
realities and adventure that he obviously loved despite the hurdles and pitfalls.
And a lot of lighters that will preserve the memory of a life long endeavour.
Value of the lighters today
The value of many of these lights vary based on the quality and model.
The SureFire lighter line sells to collectors from between $3 to $25 dollars.
The Slide-Sleeve lighters value between $15 and $50. The brass goes slightly higher.
Most can easily be bought and sold on auction sites like Ebay easily.
NOTE For further information about Lighters, Please contact "On the Lighter Side" International Lighter Collectors at:
OTLS
P.O. Box 1733
Quitman, Texas
75783-1733
Ph. (903)763-2795
Fax.(903)763-4953
Bibiography. Kalamazoo public library local history:
Kalamazo Gazette; 2-9-95, 9-17-66,9-6-64,5-10-46.;
Citizens Historical Association, Indianapolis, Mar.22,1941,No.2 D20 E39 F76 JHA/BAR, Ernest C. Bowers.;
History of The Bowers Tool & Die Company alias Bowers Lighter Company, Frederick. H.Bowers, July, 1962;
Kalamazoo The Place Behind the Product, by Larrie B. Massie & Peter J. Schmitt, p.l96;
Interveiws with Jon Bowers, by Tom O'Key June 1990; Judith Sanders 1994;
Tom O'Key 1995 Information learned from lighters in the collections of Judith Sanders and Tom 0'Key
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Phone: 800-669-9114
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