God bless America
Maine registration GILSONS
Welcome to the Gilson Snowblower Shop
The place where the Gilson snowblower legacy lives.
This site is in no way affiliated with any of the products or companies mentioned or depicted within except as
noted.

My Hobby Collecting Gilson Snowblowers Servicing Procedures The Gilson Mystique
Features and Patents
The Gilsonian Institute
Gallery of my Gilsons
Parts Department
General Engine
History of the Gilson Brand
The GILSON Registry Report a Gilson Sighting

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Re-Powering a Vintage Gilson What is my Gilson Worth? Hardware U.
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The Spectrum of Our Lives

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My first and only GIF animation

WANTED: Your GILSON
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 strictly a hobby my budget is limited but I can offer your machine a good permanent home. I do not resell machines. Dealers welcome. My collection is limited to Gilson and Gilson built machines, see below for the many brands this includes.. Donors of free machines are listed on my "Friends of the Snowblower Shop" page.



MY SNOWBLOWER COLLECTION

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.

M&D Mower

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, MONGOMERY WARD / Garden Mark, PLYMOUTH (after their home town of Plymouth Wisconsin), Senator, WIZZARD sold by Western Auto stores, Mor.power and Mastercraft both sold by Canadian Tire Corpororation, BRENTWOOD , MARSHALL-WELLS , ARTISAN and FORD. I am still looking to pick up WIZARD, 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 machines were exported to Canada and Europe where Sweden is most frequently heard from. Many Gilson snowblowers are assuming the role of family heirloom as I frequently hear from third generation users.

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.

PRIVACY STATEMENT
  • I do not sell or otherwise distribute e-mail addresses. I'm not that entrepreneurial and I don't want the hassles any more than you do.
  • On occasion I do encounter owners of machines that may be able to help each other directly with common problems, this is usually with non Gilson units. Before releasing contact information I always get mutual permission before releasing e-mail addresses.
  • Any credits shown on this site for images or machines will be limited to first name and state or province. Upon request I will withhold this information as well.



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Updated January 12, 2008