Smalltowner
Member
My father contracted highway mowing from 1947 to 1954, farm to markets and state highways in Texas, using model B and C allis tractors with belly mount sickle mowers. High maintenance on the mowers was an under statement. He started buying 8N fords in 1949 with belly sickle mowers. Local ford dealer got the first model 12 bushhog in 1951 and Dad bought it for $300 along with a new 51 ford tractor. He soon realized you couldn’t back up because the wheel jammed, so he modified it by extending the structure so wheel could swivel. The hog was such an improvement over sickle that he ordered 5 more and kept only one A/C for trimming (no weedwhackers back then). The hogs were bulletproof but he had to add chains to prevent debris hitting autos etc. His final fleet was 5-8Ns, 1 A/C and one new Jubilee in ‘53. He finally sold out because good drivers were impossible to find.
A Bushhog rep saw the modification of the wheel frame and paid Dad for the cost of material plus $3 per mower for the 6 hogs modified. Future machines from Bushhog had the modifications from the factory in Selma Alabama.
A Bushhog rep saw the modification of the wheel frame and paid Dad for the cost of material plus $3 per mower for the 6 hogs modified. Future machines from Bushhog had the modifications from the factory in Selma Alabama.
