[bwdbrn1]

Lawn mower, that is. All this talk about lawn mowers made me think back to the ones I've owned over the years since moving into my house back in '76.

I know back then, a lawn mower was a lawn mower to me. Features smeatures, it's just supposed to cut the grass for crying out loud. I had a new house with grass that needed to be cut, and I couldn't keep borrowing the father-in-law's. Now I collect mowers and refurbish them!

My first mower was red. Bought it at a discount department store. Don't remember the brand or much more about it other than it was a rear bagger with an aluminum deck. It did what I wanted it to do until one day it wouldn't start. I wasn't much into fixing things back then, so I gave it to my brother-in-law who needed a mower and I went out and bought a Snapper.

How about you guys? What was your first mower?

 

[Austen]

Neat story Bruce, and great thread idea!

Yes, I definitely do remember my own lawnmower as it was given to me by my parents when I was finally old enough to mow the lawn all by myself. Boy, did I ever love to mow the lawn and thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Infact, there's pictures of me pushing a pretend toy mower across the lawn while my Dad was mowing before I was even old enough, lol. My first lawnmower was a Home Depot Murray push mower with a 3.5hp Briggs engine. I don't have any photos of it but it was nearly identical to the machine shown below. In all honesty, I did not treat that mower very well and did some things to it that I care to not mention! Somehow, it never seemed to die though and it just kept on running. After two or three years of using it and proving myself that I could do a good job at mowing that lawn, I began convincing my parents how much I needed a self propelled machine to make the job quicker and easier. My Dad understood at least because his mower was and he wanted me to move up to a quality mower that we knew was going to last a long time. Soon later, they bought me a new Honda self propelled walk-behind mower that I still use today. It is a fantastic mower that has a ton of hours on it but still runs and works exactly like a new machine.

If you are wondering about how I got started with the old mowers, well my Dad has always had a small collection of reel mowers himself. The Lawn Queen was always the neatest and most unusual one in the collection and I always had my eye on it ever since I was very little. I can remember just going up to it, looking at it and trying to figure it out even when I was very young. Once I began mowing I wondered how fun it would be to use such an antique machine such as the Jacobsen. Long story short, after several years of taking some serious interest in it, my Dad finally let go of it and gave it to me. The rest you can say is history.

Growing up one of my dreams was to have a riding mower and I always tried to convince my parents how much we needed one but never succeeded. I remember how they even test drove them a couple of different times, but still couldn't seem to manage to convince them in the end. I would have just absolutely loved to have one and simply drive it around the yard because they were just the coolest thing to me. That is probably one of the reasons why they never got one. It wasn't until 2006 when my Grandma who has a lot of acreage upgraded to a bigger riding mower that she gave me her old John Deere rider as Christmas gift to me. I can still remember opening that irregularly thick Christmas card only to find John Deere keys inside of it and the excitement of finally being able to own one of these and fulfill that dream. Even when we first brought it home my parents were still somewhat skeptical of the idea of a riding mower but later learned to accept it once they saw that it did a fine job and didn't ruin the yard.

 

[Wayne195]

The first lawnmower I can remember was an old Snapper self-propelled. If I recall correctly it had a 3.5hp Briggs engine. I first started mowing with it when I was probably about seven or eight years old and the handle was just slightly under my eye level! That Snapper was one of the 'good old' kind that seems to last forever. Then we ended up selling it after we got a Honda at a neighbors' auction that had a bagger. I don't remember if it had any problems or if we just sold it because we didn't need it anymore, but I do remember that we sold it for only $12.50!

 

[Mark / Ohio]

Many of you have already seen my first lawnmower I used and still have. Well at least one that did not have a plastic engine and handle.

Dad bought it used in 1965. First time I used it I had to push on the little cross brace of the handle when going up a slight grade. Top of the handle was at eye level. I used it on our small 50'x100' yard, a neighbors yard and up at may grandparents farm several years. It's also mowed our 1/3 acre here several times over the years. Still normally starts on the first or second pull once or twice a year when I warm it up and add a tiny bit of fresh fuel each time to the tank. Next was a Toro Whirlwind and an MTD mulcher then the newest a Toro Super Recycler from around 2000. Still have all of them. (Yes I have a problem with letting go and change. )

First rider was this 4 hp Springfield dad bought from his aunt in the 1970's. I don't have a digital photo of it.

It ended up on the grandparents farm and unfortunately was torn apart and it's parts put to other uses early 80's. It's frame and rear wheels and axle is the the frame under my tow behind trailer. It's front wheels are on my tiller. The engine is in the shed waiting to be restored. Next rider was a Jacobsen LT 860 dad bought from the same aunt in the early 80's. No digital photo of it either:

It was traded on the John Deere I have now.

 

[wh55]

my first one was a sears early to mid 60's vintage if i remember right...bought it from a fellow for 25 dollars...i was in my late teens not knowing much about mowers , this one kept snapping rear axles for some reason, used it for one summer then bought a new craftsman mower since then i've had 2 craftsman mowers , an mtd ,a wheel horse and now a john deere..i learned alot about mower repair since those early days and wish i still have all of those old mowers

 

[Brad]

Mine was a Plain Jane mower, steel deck, 3.5 Briggs engine bought in 1975 at K-Mart for $35. Big money back then! Bought a Lawnboy in '88 or so and have been "hooked" ever since.

 

[Austen]

Neat stories, all! Keep them coming!