Freddie and Clifford Adkins are not your typical Walker users. Freddie is a technician for Kentucky Fish & Wildlife. He also raises beef cattle, and, for extra income, mows a few lawns in his hometown of Sacramento, Kentucky. His father Clifford raises cattle, too. When not tending to a small herd on land that adjoins his son’s property, he is mowing his substantial home lawn and maintaining four duplexes.
Ten years ago, Freddie purchased his first Walker Mower, a 20-hp unit with a 48-inch GHS deck. Two years later, his father followed suit, purchasing nearly the identical model, only two years newer. This year, father and son traded in their Walkers for new models.
“I saw my first Walker Mower at the farm machinery show in Louisville,” Freddie remembers. “At the time I was mowing my church’s property, a cemetery and a couple of other properties around town. I was using a 1650 Cub Cadet with a belly mower and wanted a machine that would be more maneuverable. The 48-inch deck is ideal for my properties and the GHS system works like a breeze collecting leaves in the fall.”
Freddie and Clifford say they are even happier with their new Walkers, due to their increased capacity for holding debris and leaves, and lower-profile tires.
Sleepy Town
Sacramento is located about 60 miles southeast of Evansville, Indiana. The small community was the scene of the state’s largest cavalry battle during the civil war, an event that is reenacted every May.
“The reenactment is quite an event,” explains Clifford. “Last year I would guess the town’s population swelled by more than 5,000 as people from all over the country came to either participate in or watch the weekend battle reenactment.”
For both Clifford and Freddie, however, there is little time in May to revisit the past. In fact, the day Walker Talk visited, the Adkins father and son team was putting up hay for their cattle. And before the day was done, Freddie was going to jump on his mower and dispatch a few lawns. In between, they took a break to share their mowing experiences.
“I mow about 10 acres a week,” Freddie relates, “including that first church I mowed, two cemeteries and a few other properties around town. It seems there is always somebody who wants me to mow, and if I had more help, I would take them up on it.”
This Walker user says he puts only about 125 hours on his mower annually, but still has enough contract work to more than pay for his mower. The one problem he says he has is that his wife, Marilyn, spends more time on the mower than he does. “She just loves operating the Walker,” Freddie says.
Clifford’s wife, Donna, likes to mow, too, in between tending to her colorful flower beds that ring the couple’s house. For years, she ran a hardware store in Sacramento and it was her idea to invest in duplexes for their retirement. That’s where the Walker comes in handy, says Clifford, a former electrical contractor.
“This is the easiest lawn mower I have ever operated,” he explains. “By simply moving my two fingers, I can virtually mow anywhere. I tell people around town, if they want a good mower that will last, the Walker is the one to buy.”
Granted, neither Clifford nor Freddie make the Walker jump through the hoops that lawn maintenance professionals do. Their two original Walkers only had 1,500 hours between them before they traded them for newer ones. Still, the owners are impressed with the machine’s durability. “Even the cattle like the mowers,” says Freddie. “When they hear the Walker running, they start bawling in anticipation of some fresh cut grass.”
Whether they’re mowing lawns or cutting hay, the Adkins family is working to keep their animals in feed. At a market price for cattle of around $1 per pound, it pays to satisfy their appetites. Their Walker Mowers, on the other hand, have plenty of appetite left over for more grass. When you are working three jobs and help is in short supply, there’s only so much time left over in a day to mow.
With that, both Freddie and Clifford look to the sky to see if predicted rain clouds are finally appearing. “A tornado touched down just a ways outside of town last week,” Clifford relates. “The weather here can be kind of unpredictable.” All the more reason, he adds, to make hay and mow lawns while the sun shines.
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