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Owens Makes History by Ginger Martus, Chesapeake Bay Chapter
Later, in 1960, the Brunswick Corporation bought the Owens Yacht Company with an exchange of stock. The three men were in the process of retiring, when a recession hit the boating industry and things went from bad to worse. This is when Maurice Test bought the Concorde Division. Test, however, didn’t file income taxes on company profits for several years; the IRS foreclosed and at public auction the whole plant and related materials disappeared in a matter of days. After a span of over two decades there were still many Owens boats known to be afloat but little information was obtainable until I followed up on a lead from the American Boat and Yacht Council in Edgewater, Maryland. I stopped in and inquired about a man named Lysle Gray who used to work there. I was told he also worked for Owens as Chief Engineer from 1964-1972 and was now retired, then was given his phone number. I later call Lysle and after a lengthy conversation, he told me he had a forty-pound box of original Owens material and would I like to have it. I knew its value as an archival treasure and said, “Send it on.” Then the following year, 1995,
I contacted Jack Owens, who lives in the Annapolis area, and asked
to meet him to do a taped interview about the history of the Owens
Yacht Company. After our interview and conversation, I suggested the
idea of an Owens Reunion in conjunction with the Chesapeake Bay
Chapter’s annual classic boat festival. This event takes place on
the grounds of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum at St. Michaels,
Maryland. The first gathering in June 1996 saw a large turnout with
guests of honor, Jack, Norman, and Molly Owens, and Lysle and
Shirley Gray. Charter certificates were presented to those who
attended our first meeting when the Owens Yacht Marque Club was
organized with Lyle Gray as president. During the weekend, seminars
were conducted and Jack, Norman and Molly spoke about the
development and history of the Owens Yacht Company to an attentive
audience. Since then, with a little
advertising, we have been able to supply Owens owners around the US
and Canada with copies of material, such as original brochures,
engine and owners manual, photos and articles. Also, I designed a
new logo for polo shirts, caps and a burgee with a 1950s replica
design. For the past eight years we have conducted an annual luncheon/meeting at the nearby Miles River Yacht Club in St. Michaels which Jack, now 87, Norman, 92 and Molly, 94, try to attend along with Lysle and Shirley Gray. This year we had thirty-six in attendance. We have about 100 members nationwide and publish a newsletter. While our members are scattered across the US, we do not have any chapters at this time. At the three-day classic boat
festival we have an Owens booth – which I’ve staffed for the past
seven years – under the vendor tent where people stop by to chat,
buy merchandise or talk about Owens boats. We believe our Owens Yacht
club is the only boat club that can still boast it has its original
founders.
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Three of his sons,
Charles, Jr., Norman, 21, and John P., 18, decided to continue the
business. The other son, William went on to become a professional
medical man and the oldest, Molly, was sent off to England to be
brought up by a relative. Later in 1936, the three young men bought
eight acres at Dundalk, Maryland, just outside of Baltimore, and
constructed a large modern facility where they became the first to
use production line methods and techniques in the marine industry.
They were now on their way to becoming one of the largest
manufacturers of high quality boats and yachts in the boating
industry.
