In 1952 Raymond Sosler Sr. and his brother William Sosler Jr. purchased the Petak Garage on Route 17M in New Hampton, NY.  The business was known as Sosler Brothers Garage. 

                   

The purchase included a four-bay garage, an upstairs apartment, three highway plow trucks (with thirty miles of local plowing contracts), and two new tractors for sale: a Massey-Harris 22 and a Massey-Harris 30.  The Sosler brothers became a Massey-Harris-Ferguson sales, service and parts dealership.  There was another dealer in the area handling the Ferguson Franchise at that time.

 

The purchase of Ferguson by Massey-Harris in 1953 brought the two brands together, and opened the doors for the Sosler brothers to handle one of the world's best farm equipment brands.

  

In 1952, Raymond Sr. married his wife, Josephine.  They resided in the apartment above the garage in order to stay close to their business.  Raymond Sr. and William expanded their operation by signing up with Texaco to become a licensed motor vehicle shop and gas station.

                   

The Sosler brothers employed several local area farmers during the off season to drive their radio-dispatched highway plow trucks in the Denton area.  These relationships helped open the door for sales of tractors, implements, parts and service to the local farming community.  The largest agricultural area in Orange County was along the Wallkill River in the nearby communities of Pine Island and Florida, commonly referred to as "The Black Dirt Region."  The Sosler brothers went on to do business with dairy, horse and orchard farmers in Orange, Ulster, Sullivan and Sussex Counties.

Brother William left the business in 1958 to persue a career in automotive repair and service.  Raymond Sr.'s passion was in farm equipment, so he purchased his brother's share of the business and became sole proprietor.  The business became known as Sosler's Garage.  In 1960 Raymond Sr.'s wife, Josephine started working with him full-time and served as office manager as well as a friendly face behind the parts counter.  In 1965 they earned an MF dealer trip to Mexico City.

 

In 1965, Massey Ferguson lawn and garden equipment, along with Massey Ferguson snowmobiles and a few other short-lines were added to compliment the farm equipment product offering.  In 1974 the business was incorporated as Sosler's Garden & Farm Equipment, Inc.

In 1974 Raymond Sr.'s oldest son, Ray Sosler Jr. graduated SUNY Cobleskill and joined the family business in the sales, service and parts departments.  1978 saw the addition of the complete line of Snapper lawn and garden equipment. (Snapper had purchased this division from Massey Ferguson)

In 1989, Ray Jr. purchased the business from Raymond Sr. and continued to expand the operation.  Several quality brands were added including:

                        

                        

 Raymond Sr. and Josephine officially retired to Fort McCoy, FL in 1997.

To continue the long family tradition, Ray Jr.'s son, Ray III joined the family business following graduation from Binghamton University in 2001.

The Sosler's are now a three-generation business with one "Ray" after another becoming part of the winning tradition and committment to excellence.

      

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