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The Green Outdoors (December 14, 2009)
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This site is in no way affiliated with any of the products or companies mentioned or depicted within except as noted.
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If you have found the material on this site or any correspondence helpful you are welcome to show
your appreciation by making a donation to help further this hobby. I am always searching for reference materials and other items that tell the Gilson Snowblower story to make this site more informative and interesting. Without your support I cannot purchase these resources to preserve and share.
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If you live in or near Southern Maine and have a Gilson you're ready to part with don't scrap it, contact me instead! I do pay cash depending on condition, completeness and how it fits into my collection. This being a hobby my budget is limited but I can offer your machine a good permanent home. Donors of free machines are listed on my "Friends of the Gilson Snowblower Shop" page. I do not resell machines. Dealers welcome. My collection is limited to Gilsons and machines Gilson built under the many brand names shown here. |
Yes that's right I collect snowblowers! It all started in the seventies when I worked at a local
hardware store. Among my duties was setting up and servicing snowblowers. These weren't just any
snowblowers, they were GILSONs, nice sturdy machines built in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Well as time
went on I changed jobs and eventually found myself with a driveway to clear. There was an older
Gilson at my folks house that was not being used and I aquired it and put it back to work. Years of
intown use including curbstones and road salt left it in pretty sorry shape. After two years, in
1989 I tore it down completely and refurbished it. It has seen service every winter since.
It wasn't long after that I came across another model in the "graveyard" of a local equipment
dealer. I acquired the machine and got it into tip top shape. It's a 1971 (37 years old!) and being
my favorite is my most frequent choice. As time has gone by I have taken in over 30 Gilson built
snowblowers, and there are still many models that I'd very much like to add. Of these, 10 are
working front line machines, see my gallery, many others are
runnable and are candidates for restoration and some that came to me beyond salvage have been
parted down to support the collection.
One of the interesting things about Gilson is that they were a brand name in and of themselves,
but they also did a tremendous amount of private brand work. The features of the private brands
typically lagged the Gilson machines by a year or so, giving the Gilson dealers some advantage. Some of the brands built by Gilson included; LAWN-BOY, Montgomery Ward / Garden Mark, plymouth (after their home town of Plymouth Wisconsin), Senator, WIZARD sold by Western Auto stores, Mor.power and Mastercraft both sold by Canadian Tire Corporation, BEAVER sold by Beaver Lumber of Canada, TECO sold by Eaton's Department Stores (Thomas Eaton Company) of Canada, BRENTWOOD , MARSHALL-WELLS , ARTISAN, FORD, TOYOTA. and New Holland. See them all here.
I am still looking to pick add PLYMOUTH, Mor.power, ARTISAN, BRENTWOOD, MARSHALL-WELLS and
NEW HOLLAND machines. I can't help but believe that there are other Gilson built brands that I've
yet to identify, if you have such a machine be sure to Report a Gilson Sighting.
Gilson snowblowers are commonly found in the United States, Canada and the Scandinavian countries.
Many Gilson snowblowers are assuming the role of family heirloom as I frequently hear from third
generation users seeking to keep machines from parents or grand parents in operation. I still have my dad's Gilson in service.
In 1988 Gilson was acquired by LAWN-BOY. In 1989 LAWN-BOY was acquired by TORO. Currently LawnBoy
is handling the GILSON parts and archives. The LawnBoy dealer network is your source for OEM parts.
See my FAQ for more info on locating parts. This site is dedicated to providing the resources needed to keep these machines working. You will find resources pertaining to parts and service procedues along with historical information.
MY SNOWBLOWER COLLECTION
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Updated 3/10/09