Bolen Builders, Inc.

Article written in August 2003 Edition of the Harford Business Ledger... Contractors career started with a school shop project By Jack McLaughlin HBL Staff Writer It all started with that decoy, said Dennis Bolen of the half-size canvasback his grandfather Clovis was holding. The decoy was a wood shop project that won an Honorable Mention in a Havre de Grace Middle School competition. I learned to appreciate the craftsmanship and skill it takes to do that kind of work, he said. Its the only one he finished, laughed his grandfather, who was Havre de Graces code inspector for approximately 13 years before his retirement in January, 1992. The younger Bolen, who started his own contracting company earlier this year, said hes always been fascinated by the various aspects of building from my first set of Lincoln Logs up until today. Much of the attraction he attributed to his grandfathers influence. Clovis Bolen began earning his way with woodworking and construction when he left home in his native West Virginia at age 14. I worked for carpenters, I scraped houses, he said. Bolen got into a state training program for cabinetmakers. I made five cents an hour and got clothes and board, he said. After completing the training, he went to work for Sears Roebuck and Co. fixing furniture in Dallas, Texas. During a visit home, he met Ramona, who became his wife. She didnt like Texas. My uncle had a job here so I came to Havre de Grace, said Bolen. He worked for a while as a carpenter at the Aberdeen Proving Ground before going into business for himself. Bolen built a number of buildings in Harford and Cecil counties, including a house across the street from his own home on Tydings Road. Grandson Dennis, a 1994 graduate of Havre de Grace High School, has put new roofs on some of the houses he built. Clovis gave up his contracting business when he went to work for the city. He still works with his hands doing scrimshaw, often traveling with his wife to craft shows in the region. Dennis Bolen said his father, Dennis, Sr., doesnt share the interest in what were once called the manual arts that his father and son have. He is interested in houses, though as a Realtor, hes involved in their sale and purchase. This past Christmas, while his mother & father were away, Dennis, his wife, Harford Business Ledger senior sales consultant Ann Marie Bolen, his brother and sister-in-law, made over the kitchen and living room of their parents Havre de Grace Home. The old materials were torn out one night, the new put in the next. Dennis Bolen started from the bottom up in the construction business. He worked installing carpet, later learning about flooring, dry wall and deck installation. He became a Class B carpenter and got into roofing, installing shingles. He was a subcontractor for American Framing for five years working on projects that included Barrington and luxury town homes at Bel Air. Dennis was licensed by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission this year. In January, he started his own business, Bolen Builders, Inc., doing roofing, additions, siding, basements, decks, gutters, fencing and bathroom and kitchen remodeling. He has a web page and an online newsletter that offers tips to property owners, such as the best time of year to do some kinds of work and what types of improvements bring the best return on expenditures at sales. This wet spring, hes been busy cleaning gutters and repairing leaks. The second generation-once removed contractor said he hopes to expand his business and have his own work crew, which will give him more time to spend with the son he and Ann Marie are expecting next month.