Old Tractor, New Home

Yesterday, the oldest piece of equipment that we own went to a new home and got another lease on life.  Back in the day, the 1958 Toro General was used for everything from pulling gang mowers to cutting cups, but for the past 25 years, it has been sitting idle in our shop.  Although it was taking up storage space, it was just too cool to send to the scrap heap, and we were always hopeful that it would end up in the hands of someone who would refurbish it.  Well, that's exactly what happened.

At the Wisconsin Golf Course Superintendents Association's Spring Business Meeting, Chad was talking to Michael Lee, and somehow, the old General was brought up.  Michael, who is the manager of golf course maintenance for the Kohler Company, grew up near Blackhawk and worked on the crew for 5 years.  He actually used the General when he worked here, and to make a long story short, his nostalgia has gotten General a new home.

Chris Zugel (superintendent) and Joe Sell (assistant superintendent) from Whistling Straits picked up the tractor, and Joe is already working on getting it started.  Eventually, I suspect that it will look and run like new, and they have every intention of actually putting it to use.  Who knows, maybe it will even make an appearance on TV when the Straits course hosts the 2015 PGA Championship.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday:

Our 1958 Toro General was loaded up (above) for the trip to Kohler, where its accommodations look significantly more comfortable than they were here (below).