CARLISLE TWP. — On Monday, the roof caved in at Polen Implement on Oberlin-Elyria Road. By Tuesday, the business was humming again.
The weekend’s wicked snowstorm claimed its latest victim Monday morning, when the roof of the 6,500-square-foot shop buckled under the burden of the snow and collapsed, said Steve Jackson, an employee.
“At about 8 o’clock we started hearing some funny noises,” Jackson said.
Those funny noises were the roof’s truss plates starting to give way, causing the roof to warp and sag.
Jackson said that he knew immediately what was happening and — after removing all of the customer equipment and perishable goods — he and the other employees left the building and watched it collapse from a safe distance.
“All you could do was watch,” he said. “It was a pretty helpless feeling.”
By 10 a.m., nearly two-thirds of the roof was on the ground.
Doug Breitmayer, marketing manager for Polen, said the business is working hard to maintain service for its customers, given the gaping hole in the building’s roof.
“We had customers coming in (Monday) and we had to say, ‘Come back tomorrow,’” he said. “But today, it’s pretty much business
as usual.”
Many employees were in meetings Tuesday discussing plans for the shop.
The plan most likely will be to demolish it — possibly as soon as today — and begin rebuilding as soon as possible.
No damage estimate was available Tuesday. The shop, which was insured, was built when Polen moved to its current location in 1976, according to Breitmayer.
Polen has been serving Elyria since 1932 and is the largest single-store John Deere dealership in Ohio, Breitmayer said.
Contact Michael Baker at 329-7128 or mbaker@chroniclet.com.

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