Joe Gladke Shoreview, MN How old is my mower? That is a good question. It certainly appears to be older than the one shown in your 1923 photo. Since I don’t have a golf green, I currently don’t use my golf greens mower. Although, if I ever get the urge to have my own putting green, the mower still works great! I think this speaks to the quality of products…
Chris Macy Lafayette, IN Where do I begin? As a kid, I would go to my grandpa’s farm to watch my dad on weekends mow the lawn. Rarely would he buy anything new, but his Toro Wheel Horses would be the exception. If it wasn’t a Toro Wheel Horse, he would say, “You might as well leave it in the barn.” The first garden tractor he owned was a 14hp…
Jeff Young Bloomington, MN My dad, Irving Young, a production control supervisor, and uncle, Dennis Larsen, both worked at Toro during the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I grew up across the street from Toro’s headquarters in Bloomington, and often would walk through the plant to bring my dad lunch or dinner depending on his shift. This picture is from the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 1962 when they covered Toro’s Bloomington…
Rod Romine Minot, ND Ten years ago there were “Welcome to Minot” signs erected on the five US highways entering Minot. No one assumed the duty of tending to the landscaping around the signs. They soon became overgrown with weeds and grass. We have a morning coffee group of about 15 regulars that meet every weekday for coffee and conversation. One of our members suggested we take the responsibility of…
Dan Elliott Schenectady, NY I’ve seen a lot about lawn care equipment in the centennial salutes. But the machine that gets the most respect, in my opinion, is my Toro 521 snowblower that I bought in 1985. It’s a well-engineered machine for the job. It has hard rubber tires that never go flat, a 21″ width that allows it to fit alongside my cars in the garage, and includes all…
Glenn Rieker Mequon, WI We purchased our first Dingo in the spring of 2002. The local Toro rep had been touching base with us for a year or two prior and we just couldn’t wrap our heads around the numbers, since we were such a small company and this seemed like a large investment for us. In 2000, I had successful back surgery, not from a landscaping injury, but from…
George Weeks St. Anthony, MN I have a hand me down 1928 Toro Silver Flash that’s in very good condition. It cuts and sounds great. It’s been in the family since new. One minor flaw, however, you have to be Hercules or Atlas to push it. Very heavy!
Joel Olson Lewistown, MT Starting my career at the age of 17 at a local golf course built in the 1930s, Toro has been a household name from the start — from the 690 sprinkler heads installed in 1977 to the comfy Groundsmaster 4100 that cuts what the 690’s grew. Now 17 years later, and seeing Toro equipment come and go, takes me back to a more simple time in…
Evan Grell Marcus, IA Growing up I had an uncle that worked doing some accounting and auditing for Toro in the Twin Cities, and he said they were a good company and swore by all of their power tools that he owned. I never gave it much consideration until I got into the turf/golf course industry. I’m still a “young buck” in the golf industry. While in college and on…
Brady Peery Marietta, OH Mowing the lawn had always been my chore, and I had a large, bulky, self-propelled mower for the approximately two-thirds acre job. In 2006, bad discs in my back caused me to suffer from leg weakness, and my wife attempted to mow the yard several times using my old mower. She couldn’t start it. And once I got it going for her, she hated the gear…