If you open your right hand so that it looks like Michigan's Lower Peninsula and then put one of your fingers in the middle of your palm, you'll know exactly where Barry Miles Marlow lives and works.

Although he's been in the geographic middle of Michigan for the past 14 years, Barry Marlow says, "Grand Rapids, Ohio is home to me. It will always be home to me."

"It took me ten years to get used to Michigan. But, I'm still homesick for Ohio. And I still miss Grand Rapids," said Marlow.

The rapid growth of Marlow's businesses, Miles Petroleum, Inc. and the newer Miles Propane, Inc., both based in Hemlock, Michigan, just west of Saginaw, have given him a solid foundation in the highly competitive field of oil distribution.

At the end of 2002, Miles Petroleum & Propane serviced 2,100 fuel / lubricant and 1,000 propane customers. That translates to five million gallons of tank truck deliveries, 1.2 million gallons of propane and 125,000 gallons of lubricants. The company has 16 employees including Marlow's wife, the former Liat Honsinger of Saginaw, who is office manager and Marlow's twin 16-year-old sons: Zachery Wade and Miles Benjamin Marlow who help with tank leases and painting. The company services central Michigan with farm accounts comprising about three quarters of its business. Major crops in the area include pickles, sugar beets, dry beans and potatoes.

Said Barry Marlow; "One of the key elements in my company's growth fell into my lap. I was just in the right place. And the good relationships I've developed in this business certainly helped."

Marlow, who is 42 and lives in Merrill, Michigan, is the youngest of the six children of Robert L. and Betty M. Marlow. Robert L. Marlow grew up in Whitehouse, Ohio and Betty M. Christensen was raised in Union Grove, Wisconsin.

Robert L. Marlow farmed in the Grand Rapids area for more than 40 years. He was a past president of the Otsego School Board, Wood County Shrine Club, Wood County Soil & Water Board, and the Wood County Farm Bureau. Other organizations he was involved with include the Wood County Planning Board, Wood County Historical Society, Wood County Fair Board, Grand Rapids Historical Society, Grand Rapids Lodge of Masons and Eastern Stars. He was also the Grand Rapids Township zoning inspector.

Betty M. Marlow worked for more than 23 years at the Wood County Extension Office as the 4-H secretary. She was very involved in scouting, the Grand Rapids Historical Society, the Wood Country Historical Society, Eastern Stars, Ladies Shrine and of course, 4-H. She now lives in Elmore.

The Marlow family farm was on Wapakoneta Road, right next to where the Grand Rapids Post Office now sits, and included the field the Post Office occupies. The barns have long since been torn down, but the 2-story house is still there. The granary was dismantled and rebuilt on the west end of Front Street across from the canal. Ed and Dorothy Wichman who live there now call it "The Granary."

The Marlow family lived on Wapakoneta Road until 1969 whe they moved to an 80-acre farm at 16997 Pratt Lane, where Barry recalls "We built a new ranch house and planted a bunch of trees."

Two of Barry's siblings still live in Grand Rapids: his brother Randy and their sister, Diana Peterson.

His two other sisters are Vickie, who lives in Georgia, and Marsha Heber of Swanton. Their brother Robert lives in Walton, Indiana. Robert, who holds an associate's degree in Agricultural Business from the then-Owens Tech, was previously affiliated with the Andersons in Maumee. He now works at the Andersons in Delphi, Indiana.

Robert L. Marlow was a widower with three children: Marsha, Robert and Randy, when mutual friends introduced him to Betty. She and the two children from her first marriage, Vickie and Diana, moved to Weston when she moved in with her mother-in-law. Robert and Betty were wed in 1959.

Barry Marlow was born Dec. 4, 1960 in Wood County Hospital. "Growing up I was involved in Cub Scouts & Boy Scouts in Grand Rapids, Troop 325 and the Grand Explorers 4-H Club," he recalls.

Marlow attended Grand Rapids Elementary School from 1966-72 and took his 6th Grade studies at Otsego in Grand Rapids 1972-73 before going on to Otsego Middle School from 1973-75. He finished his secondary education at Otsego High School graduating in 1979.

During his years in Grand Rapids, Marlow became a burgeoning photographer, shooting sports pictures for the former Wood County Free Press and also seeing his work appears in the Bowling Green Sentinel Tribute.

He worked at the Wood County Fair Grounds from 1976-79 and then worked for Vic Patterson in Portage in the summer of 1979. Marlow had dreams of farming before deciding, with his father's help, to continue his education. "That was the best thing my dad ever did for me," Marlow says.

"But I never dreamed I would go into the fuel business," said Marlow. "Never in my wildest dreams."

Marlow received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Ohio State University in 1983, and became a management trainee with The Ohio Farmers in Fostoria. He also continued to help on the farm in Grand Rapids until that year.

Marlow's next job was at a landmark visible to anyone who travels I-75 south to Lima. He served as General Manager of the Farmers Elevator in Beaverdam from 1984-89.

His next job called for him to move from Bluffton to Merrill, Michigan when he became Fuel & Propane manager at the B&W Co-op in nearby Breckenridge. Marlow worked there from 1989-94 until he became unhappy with the direction in which the Co-op was going.

But, Marlow did enjoy the fuel business and liked the Mid-Michigan area. By now, Marlow's ambition was to go out on his own and operate his own petroleum company. With the hope of being able to buy and take over and existing fuel business, he became General Manager of the Rice Oil Co, in Saginaw in 1994. However, by August of 1996, he decided it would be best if he started from scratch. And on September 1, 1996, Miles Petroleum Co. opened its doors for business in Hemlock. The company takes its name from Barry's middle name, which is also the first name of one of his sons, and was Berry's grandfather's name. On occasions when Barry performs at area events and parades, he is known as "Miles the Clown."

Recalls Marlow, "I purchased a 1980 bulk truck, a 3 - 20,000 gallon tank bulk plant and an existing 180 customer fuel route from R&R Readymix in Hemlock. I then purchased a 78,000 gallon bulk plant from Oswald Oil in St. Charles and had a 1987 tank put on a 1985 chassis. With this, Miles Petroleum, Inc. was off and running."

But six months later, Marlow found himself embroiled in a lawsuit with his former employer, Rice Oil. The suit would take three years to resolve, and, as Marlow puts it, "I found myself playing defense in court, rather than playing offense in the marketplace."

Through it all, Miles Petroleum continued to expand. During the period of the lawsuit, Marlow purchased a 1989 truck from one oil company and a 1992 18' box truck with a bulk oil pump and life gate from another. By the time the lawsuit was finally over in January 200, Miles Petroleum had grown to four employees, 1.8 million gallons of tank truck deliveries and 91,000 gallons of oil sales.

And then after two years of preparation, Marlow took another giant step with the formation of Miles Propane, Inc. in December 2000. But that was only a curtain raiser.

On January 4, 2002, Miles Petroleum, Inc. purchased the fuel division of B&W Co-op - the company Marlow had worked for from 1989 until 1994 during which time he had designed their 180,000 gallon bulk plant.

As Marlow put it, "It's hard to believe I had this opportunity to purchase a company that I was so familiar with. I not only knew the equipment; I was familiar with the drivers and the customers. It has been a perfect fit for us!"

Absorbing the B&W Co-op fuel operations has presented some challenges. It had been the largest co-op in Central Michigan for more than 35 years before it closed. At its height, the Co-op had 133 employees and racked up more than $59 million is sales. They had six full-time fuel and four full-time propane routes.

Unfortunately, because of something closely verging upon and episode of insider trading, Marlow never was given a fair opportunity to buy B&W's propane business. And had he not been as persevering, -- it took him four bids -- he might have lost out on the fuel division as well.

Marlow had the customer list, drivers, equipment and property. But the drama was to continue as he found he had to undertake a major marketing blitz to get the word out about his acquisition and combat misleading impressions made by the purchasers of the former B&W Propane operations.

"Agriculture has always been dear to my heart," said Marlow, and 75 percent of his business is agriculture-related including irrigation. "I deal with so many farmers, and my background in farming and my having run a grain elevator have certainly been a plus."

That experience - learned right here in Grand Rapids - may ultimately have provided the turning point.

"When I left B&W, I knew how to treat people and how to run a business," said Marlow.

"There hasn't been a windfall to the bottom line yet," said Marlow. "We're still absorbing it."

Last September, the company began offering 100% soy-diesel and later added their own line of Way oils and spindle oils. And just last month, Miles Petroleum began merchandising its own line of greases. The company offers three products: Extreme Red, Black Moly 5 and Supreme Green.

Actively involved in their community, Marlow and his wife are co-chairs of the Music Boosters at Breckenridge High School, where Marlow also coaches basketball. Liat has played in the Saginaw Eddy Concert Band for 24 years.

What's next for Marlow? The future could see and expansion of his business into Northeast Ohio, particularly the Lima area. He is already doing some shipping to Indiana. If and when the Ohio expansion happens, Barry Miles Marlow will have come full circle and back to his roots in Northwest Ohio.