By Mike Bowen, co-author, We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site
America just celebrated its 250th birthday, and the 1926 Model T Ford turned 100 this year.
Chuck Bowen has owned this 1926 Model T since ‘71.
He gained his admiration for Model Ts from Ross Anderson, whose grandson, Cecil, went to school with Chuck in Eads. Ross lived in Arlington, CO, in Kiowa County. Ross had restored a Model T and a Model A and had another Model T, a 1926, that he decided to sell. A deal was made and Chuck bought it on December 29, 1971, when he was 19.
Bowen was attending college in Kansas at the time, so he had to fit restoring the Model T into his schedule. The Model T was kept at the Bowen family ranch on Sand Creek in Colorado.
While attending Friends Bible College in Haviland, KS in ‘71, Chuck bought some parts from the Parts House in Greensburg, nearly 15 miles from campus. Much of the restoration was completed during Chuck’s second year of college in ‘72, which he did when he was home and with the help of of his late younger brother Scott.
At the young age of 11, Scott could take a motor apart and put it back together—he did a lot of the mechanical work, and a professional machinist also did some work. The restoration included rebuilding the motor, body work, and purchasing missing parts. Glenn Rider in Lamar did a lot of the radiator work.
In August ‘73, Bowen drove it in the Ark Valley 500 Model T Endurance Run that started in Rocky Ford, to Cucharas Pass, then followed a route back to Rocky Ford. He also drove it in a ‘75 endurance run. The distance for each endurance run was over 500 miles—the Model T didn’t complete the entire route.
For the ‘75 race, the turtle deck was put on, replacing the pickup bed, making it a car. “We called it Herbie,” from the ‘69 Disney movie, The Love Bug, Chuck said.
The T has also been used to drive off after weddings.
Chuck and Sheri drove the ‘26 away from the church after their wedding in September ‘75. Scott, with some help, tinkered with the car to make it not run well. As likely planned, the car didn’t make it far from the church—it stopped right in front of the bar. Chuck’s late father-in-law, Bennie Fischer, joked with him over the years that he couldn’t even make it out of town without stopping at the bar. The joke comes from the fact that Chuck has never been to a bar. Bennie thought it was hilarious.
Chuck and Sheri made their home in Lamar, and the Model T made its way with them.
Just a few weeks after getting married, Chuck and Sheri drove the Model T in Lamar’s Homecoming Parade in October ‘75–it was decked out in support of the Lamar Savages for the homecoming football game vs. Alamosa.
The ‘26 has been driven in many parades, including Lamar Days parades, Sand and Sage Fair parades, Lamar Parade of Lights parades, Kiowa County Fair parades, and most recently, the Lamar July 4, 2026 Wet and Dry Parade.
See more photos of the Model T below.
