Jump to content
oliver2-44

What "brand" did you grow up with??

Recommended Posts

oliver2-44

@mikeeyre74 posed an interesting question about why there weren't many garden tractors west  of the mississippi and I'll add south of the Mason Dixon line.  He asked "what did people mow there lawns and till there gardens with". 

 

So tell us where you grew up and "what did people mow there lawns and till there garden with". 

So for me Growing up in central Texas in the 60/70's.many people had a big garden and walking tractors or a Farmall John Deere or Allis Chalmers A & B size tractors did garden duty and ran a belly mower.  Sears, Wards Western Auto and Snapper riding lawn mowers were around as well as a few high priced green,yellow and blue ones, but no one called or thought of rhem as "garden tractors"  In 1974 I was the high school gofer at the Ford tractor shop and I assembled a 10" moldboard plow for a New Ford  riding mower that had a 3 point lift ...wow ...was it ever the butt of many shop jokes. I had never heard of a Wheelhorse or Bolens. After all "Tractors" we're red,green, blue or ,orange. With maybe some big yellow Molines down in the coastal rice country,

  • Like 6

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
953 nut

We grew up with a little of everything on the farm, first "New" tractor was a Massey Harris 30 wide front. For lawn mowing we always had a push mower, Dad said we didn't need a riding mower (that opinion changed when my brother was drafted to the Army and I enlisted in the Navy the same year)!

For the garden we had a couple of walk behind rototillers, once again with two sons who would buy a riding garden tractor! When I came home from boot camp there was a shiny new Massey Ferguson 10 HP garden tractor with a 42" deck, rototiller and snow blower sitting in the barn. Seems Dad was going to miss his boys.

  • Like 8

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
squonk

My Dad had a walk-bee-hind reel mower of unknown make when I was real little. My grandfather took a small trailer frame and built a trailer/sulky for it. Then we moved and had like an acre and a half to mow along with 2 driveways and a long side walk to keep clear of snow so my Dad bought a brand new 64 604. 

 

There were some AC's around and some Cubs. I really didn't see many JD's until the late 60's

  • Like 5

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
rmaynard

We always got everything from Montgomery-Ward when I was a kid (1950's-60's).

 

I remember the primary colors were gold and white.

  • Like 7

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
stevebo

I grew up here in CT. I started a lawn buisness in high school with a sears subruban circa 1969 with a tecky. Growing up my dad always had old tractors that needed tinkering with or welding to do on them. I remember one in particular which was a 1970s Cub Cadet. It was a strong machine but always had something wrong with it. Dad decided one day to paint it wheel horse red. He picked up several cans of paint and said let's paint this. As I remember it right I am not even sure that he cleaned it:ph34r:. We painted that thing red for sure (no taking apart or anything). Fnally in 1986 or 87 he got up the funds to go to the wheel horse dealer and purchase a new 310-8 with a deck and plow, wheel weights and chains. He was so proud of that machine that he used to wash and wax it all the time. I never heard the end of it when my buddy used to come over and see dad waxing the tractor. I eventually was allowed to use that one to take care of my lawn business when the tecky in the Sears finally gave me too many problems and we sold it. I lost my dad back in 2012 but my mom still has the 310. One day I will get it back and do a "proper' restore on it in memory of "Big Jim"..

  • Like 7

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
EricF

I grew up in Niles, Michigan -- the first town north of South Bend, IN, just across the state line. Plenty of Wheel Horses out and about, that's for sure. With there being so much farm country all around, John Deere and Cub Cadet were also really popular. Sears Suburbans made an occasional appearance, but most of the Sears tractors seen were the lower-cost lawn tractors. Rounding it out were the occasional Allis-Chalmers (next-door neighbor had one) or Simplicity, and some Bolens and Fords once in a while.

 

Here's the John Deere 112 I grew up with. The picture was taken in 1970, just after the house was built and the tractor was delivered. The lawn and the driveway aren't even in yet! A short time later, the headlights were added in the panel above the grille. If I remember the story correctly, the headlight kit wasn't in stock and had to be ordered and installed on a return trip to the dealer.

 

vzmncfGl.jpg

 

The John Deere dealer this one came from (Clay's Service) was just across US 31 from Chandler's and the original Wheel Horse factory. The Ponds' old house would have been just a block or two west (as the crow flies) from where the dealer was, on the side roads. In those days, US 31 was the main route into Michigan from South Bend, so virtually everyone passed that little area of Wheel Horse history almost daily.

 

For most of it's life -- all that I remember -- that 112 was kept nearly as clean as it is in the photo. Sadly, I don't know what became of it.

  • Like 6

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
nylyon

1974 C-160!  Before that we had a junkyard Springfield.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
 
Achto

I grew up in WI on a Cub Cadet 1650. I still remember Dad coming home with that tractor & the trailer load of attachments, deck, blade, tiller,2 wheel trailer, snow blower, chains, wheel weights & cab. We had that tractor for close to 25yrs, then Dad decided it was time for a different one. I couldn't help but think "Why there's absolutely nothing wrong with this one?" Sure wish I knew how many hours I alone sat on the seat of that tractor.

 

Our neighborhood was pretty diverse as far as GT's, some kept buying throw a ways but I paid attention to the tractors that were around year after year. Our Cub, a Bolens, a JD and a Wheel Horse all of which were taking care of 1+ acre lawns. Of course I liked our CC but I always like our neighbors :wh:, I'm a sucker for red paint. Compared to most I'm a rookie when it comes to owning a :wh: but I can see why they have held up so well after years of abuse. I also have to say that I think :wh:'s are much easier to work on, when compared to some other GT's.

Edited by Achto
  • Like 8

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
slammer302

I remember my dad using a toro of sum kind for awhile then he bought a 704 from a guy down the road. There was a wheel horse dealer in town and dad came home one day with a C-101 & Black hood I believe it was a C-175 from then on it was nothing but WH.

  • Like 5

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
Uncle Buck

Dads was a twin to this except no duals and no seat cushion. Too small for any kind of attachments it was just a mower. It is a Springfield and it still sets in his basement with its Lawsen engine and worn out carb. Dads is in like shape to this one too. I got to sit on his lap as a wee shaver for rides as he mowed, Lord how I loved that!

100_5280.jpg

100_5281.jpg

100_5282.jpg

  • Like 9

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
elcamino/wheelhorse

For  gardening we (2 boys ) had shovels hoes and rakes and our hands. At some point the ole man purchased a one wheel walk behind with a plow. That did not last long as it got out of hand against the oil tank and knocked it over ( ole man operator error ) . When my brother and I left home , he purchased some old used Ford ride on ( about the size of a B series :wh:. In 1972 he purchased a brand new Commando 800 with mower, plow and disk. Mom said when he cut grass he aimed for the flower beds.

 

For grass cutting we had various brands of motorized push mowers. We were allowed to use them for our grass cutting business. 1/4 acre lots we $1.00 . !/2 acre lots were $1.25 . Trimming was not included. We had enough of that at home with hand shears . At some point the ole man bought this riding mower . All I remember was that it was green about a 30 inch deck (one Blade) and it had one forward and a reverse gear. (we were not allowed to use this for our grass cutting business). He probably purchased from Western Auto or Pep Boys ( his favorite stores).

  • Like 7

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
Terry M

My Dad bought everything at Montgomery Wards for 30+ years (the 60's ,70's and 80's)...Tractors, tillers, mowers , chainsaws and most everything else.. he also had a Wheel Horse, believe it or not..:)

  • Like 8

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
Uncle Buck
25 minutes ago, Terry M said:

My Dad bought everything at Montgomery Wards for 30+ years (the 60's ,70's and 80's)...Tractors, tillers, mowers , chainsaws and most everything else.. he also had a Wheel Horse, believe it or not..:)

With my dad it was mainly Sears, with some MW mixed in. Honestly, between the 1940's -1960's the tools offered at both were very good and peer to each other. I think there might still be one or two gold and white push mowers that were gramps in pops basement! LOL

  • Like 7

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
Racinbob

Born and raised in Granger, about 15 miles N/E of South Bend, I remember my dad man handling some monster mowing machine with a mostly exposed massive single blade out front. My mom was afraid of it. In 1960 he bought a Suburban 400 for mowing and snow duties. In 1964 he replaced it with a 704. In 1968 he bought a green thingy, I think a 112, and I was upset with him. I was already hooked on red.. He replaced that with a Raider 12 and it was red from then on. After I got married we lived in North Liberty, about 15 miles S/W of South Bend and I had a herd of horses that worked our 26 acres. :)

  • Like 9

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
ebinmaine
10 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

 

@mikeeyre74 posed an interesting question about why there weren't many garden tractors west  of the mississippi and I'll add south of the Mason Dixon line.  He asked "what did people mow there lawns and till there gardens with". 

 

So tell us where you grew up and "what did people mow there lawns and till there garden with". 

 

 

 

Born and raised in north central Massachusetts. Now in the mountains of western Maine.

 

When I was young my Grampa had a yellow/white Cub Cadet Hydro and later a red one. If we begged enough, he'd "let" us mow the yard for him. He bought a 1976 Cub Cadet snowblower new and I still have it stored figuring out what to do with it...

 

My parents had enough money to get by and way more "Yankee engine-uity". We had a rear engine 8 horse Ariens mower with maybe a 30 inch cut? I spent a lot o' hours on that thing "mowing" (driving around the fields). My father put together a home-made gang mower with 4 or 5 old push mowers with angle iron connectors where the handles/wheels should have been. It had about a 9 foot cutting swath when towed by the old Ariens. 

Other relatives had Farmall or IHC cub farm tractors for the small farms and gardens here in New England.

 

I was looking for a Cub Cadet when I found my :wh:.

 

Im VERY glad I picked it up and found this site.... 

You're a Great bunch of people. I hope some year I'll get to the Show but It's a bit of a trek from here.

  • Like 5

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
cschannuth

We had a Western Auto store in Hermann, MO where we lived so we alway had Wizards when I was young if I remember correctly.  Lots of the wealthier folks had John Deeres. Dad got his 78 C-161 twin in 1979 and that was the first and last garden tractor he ever owned. 

  • Like 3
  • Excellent 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
Digger 66

My dad always mowed with junk walk behinds .

He bought his first brand new rider and it was a Work Horse .

He was always glowing while mowing from that point on :) .

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
KC9KAS

I grew up in Southern Indiana. All we had to mow with in the 60's & 70's was a gasoline powered push mower. I don't even remember dad getting a self propelled. After my siblings and myself were adults and gone from home, dad got a White (brand) mower. The front end was weak on it and it didn't last too long before he bought a New Holland from the local ag dealer in town.

I do remember my great uncle in Princeton Indiana having a John Deere rider in the mid 60's.

In the early 70's,  bought a self propelled Snapper mower and I thought that was the "cats meow"!

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
briankd

born and raised on a farm here in ohio north of dayton. all the equipment on the farm was strictly international my dad his brother and my grandma all farmed together. if it wasn't red they wasn't going to use it. my grandma bought her 856 wheel horse new at the local dealer in 1966 and she mowed her 2 acre yard my dad used it to mow his 1.5 acre yard and my uncle used it also to mow his acre yard every week or so that thing mowed like that from the time it was new till  1987 i think alot of hours been rebuilt 3 times in it's life i think what a tough tractor . so i grew up with wheel horse and IH all the neighbors around us also had wheel horse that is all you seen around my area and some of them are still tucked away in barns and garages around here not being used and forgotten   

  • Like 5

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
dclarke

My Dad had a Case garden tractor, model 155 I think, 10hp with a 38" deck and hydro drive. We also had a Swisher "Ride King". 

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
ACman

 One would think with a name like mine one would think Allis Chalmers  (I also installed HVAC equipment) but I can only remember one AC garden tractor . Ag tractors were primarily ORANGE as we sold them (15hp and up mostly diesels). The hardware down the road sold Simplicity. My first tractor I ever drove/mowed on was a on Case . Then a host of Simplicity's with a Chalmers thrown in . Grandpa would take them in on trade , we'd use the on the farm for awhile then he'd sell them . Then we got the Cub Cadet 1250 hydro on trade , that was a keeper . It was fast and boy I could spin a donut with that machine . I wouldn't let that one go and mowed with it for 4/5 years . In 1988 Grandpa brought two Grazer front cut z/turn mowers home from the Allis dealership in Ann Arbor . A 18 hp B/S twin I/C power lube with 48" deck and 12 hp B/S 36" deck . Took the 18 to the farm were it's still mowing with one engine replacement . The hour meter broke at 437 and that was way before I stopped mowing with it in 1996 . The 12 we sold to my brothers friend , then he sold it to one my cousin who just sold it last year . Those mowers are some of the toughest best cutting mowers I've ever seen :ph34r:. Very very well maintained of course  .The cousin and I caught the :wh:Horse bug almost two years ago . I have to admit my first Horses were a 58RJ and 702 bought from a member here . I was going to turn the RJ into a Awd45 replica but I found RS first . After learning the history of Wheel Horse , how simple and tough these tractors are , I couldn't do it . If grandpa would have brought home a Horse instead of the Cub , I'd probably been hooked even sooner :lol: !

  • Like 5

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
r356c

Around Central Florida, on the ascending scale of household income...

 

Cows. Lots of cows. Citrus or cattle was the main choice of career before Disney.

 

Monkey Wards and Western Auto non-self propelled 19 inch mowers.

 

High wheel Yazoo walk behind mowers.

 

Snapper rear engine riders for the well-to-do retirees.

 

Yazoo riders for folks with acreage and no cows.

 

Gravely two wheel tractors with all the attachments were everywhere.

 

The only Cub Cadet tractor I remember was shuttling boats around a marina yard.

 

Full size tractors with bush hogs.

Many tractors were outfitted with wheel fairings and an expanded steel 'windshield' for orange grove work most of the time.

 

 

IMG_0644.jpg

 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that these grove tractors always had a cane pole or similar affixed to the front to knock down the 'worlds strongest spider web' of the banana spider.

 

 

Edited by r356c
  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
Ken B

I  grew up in the 70's and to cut Dads acre of grass we had two 21 inch cut push mowers from Caldor's. One was red and one was green. The green one was a lemon since day one. By the time I was about 13 (1980 ish) or so 3 of my brothers had moved out and it was up to me and my younger brother to cut the grass. Back then my younger brother was kinda lazy so I wound up doing most of it. It wasn't long till I got tired of pushing so I found a well used Monte Carlo lawn tractor, very similar to a Dynamark, which I wound up with soon after. The Monte had an 8 hp Briggs vertical shaft and the Dynamark had a 10 hp Briggs. I probably mowed Dads grass at least twice a week and many others in the neighborhood. Couldn't kill em!

These pics are identical to the Monte and Dynamark I had. If I found either one in nice shape I'd buy it for old times sake and use it..

Related image

Image result for monte carlo lawn tractor images

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 
elcamino/wheelhorse

@r356c Why was the fairing one grove tractors  , I think some one posted a picture of an orchard tractor with same modifications. Just wondering.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...