Bowell McDonald became Bowell McLean and finally Bow Mac
On Nov. 26, 1919, the Vancouver World newspaper had a small item headlined “Automobile Men Active”.
“Messrs. Mack Bowell and J.G. McDonald, formerly with the McLaughlin interests here, are now conducting their own agency at 1200 Georgia Street,” it noted.
“These two popular automobile men are handling the ‘Oldsmobile,’ and have on view in their spacious salesrooms the Olds Pacemaker, a five-passenger car, Olds Thorobred seven passenger, and the Olds Economy truck.”
Thus began what became known as Bow Mac, one of Vancouver’s longest-running car dealerships.
Mackenzie Bowell was the grandson of Sir Mackenzie Bowell, who was the fifth prime minister of Canada from 1894-96.
Mac Bowell’s father John Moore Bowell moved to Vancouver in its infancy to become customs collector, and Mac was born at the family house at 1207 Haro Street in the West End on Aug. 12, 1889.
He entered the car business in 1912, when cars were largely made of wood — the first all-metal cars wasn’t made until 1914.
“Even when you sold a man a new car,” Bowell recalled in 1956, “you then had to convince the wife on the idea of riding in it.”
The great leap forward was the electric starter in 1914.
“Until then, if you didn’t know how to crank a car, you could break a thumb or an arm,” said Bowell. “You couldn’t sell to women, because the car was too dangerous to start.”
George McDonald was born in Tiverton, Ont. and started working for General Motors back east before becoming GM’s B.C. rep in 1909.
Oddly, the initial company ads were for both Bowell MacDonald and Bowell Macdonald. But he was a Mc.
Some of the 1919 ads for Oldsmobiles were aimed at women “of refinement and discerning taste,” others pointed to the car company’s pedigree — it was founded in 1897.
“Conceived by master builders of automobiles, the lithe, sleek and spirited Oldsmobile ‘Thorobred’ does worthy honor to a long line of distinguished ancestry,” said an advertisement on Nov. 23, 1919.
In 1919, Oldsmobile was competing with all sorts of auto companies and dealerships you’ve probably never heard of. On Nov. 30, 1919, The Vancouver Sun auto section had ads for vehicles made by Bethlehem, Chalmers, Gray Dort, Hupmobile, Liberty, Federal, Giant, Overland, Chandler and Ford.
The local dealerships selling the cars and trucks included Begg Motor Co., A.S. French Auto Co., Ferguson Higman, Vancouver Motors, International Motors, Dixon Motors and W.J. Gibbons.
The dealers all seemed to be downtown at the time. Bowell McDonald started off at 1200 West Georgia, then moved to 1105 Granville, 615 Burrard, and finally 1174 West Broadway.
The company expanded by selling Oaklands, Pontiacs, Buicks, Cadillacs and Vauxhalls. It boomed through the 1920s, and survived the ’30s by doing a big garage business.
McDonald died in 1950, and Bowell took on a new partner, Dan McLean, who had a long career at Begg Motor and Nash.
The company became Bowell McLean, and in 1954, rebranded as Bow Mac. Under “energetic general sales manager” Jim Pattison, Bow Mac’s ads became bigger and brighter, with lots of exclamation points.
“Bowell McLean 1000 Car Sale!” said a full page ad in the May 2, 1959 Province. “1959 Pontiacs! $2295! New Car Guarantee! Win a Free Trip Around The World!”
That was just the giant headlines — all told there were 18 exclamation points used in the ad. Two of them were in a description of what Bow Mac would become known for — its giant sign.
“Later this month we at Bowell McLean will officially throw the switch on our New Neon Sign on Broadway — THE WORLD’S LARGEST!” said the ad.
According to a city heritage report, the sign was 29 metres (about 95 feet) high, illuminated with red neon and had over 1,200 flashing light bulbs. It was such a local fixture that the city allowed Toys R Us to keep it when it took over the old Bow Mac location, albeit with a Toys R Us sign partly over the original.
Both Bowell and McLean died in 1969. Their company declared bankruptcy in 1982, but the Bow Mac name was still in use until 1995.
