Mel Taylor and his wife Nancy appeared in Walker Talk, Volume 31. At the time, they operated three Walker Mowers, had three crews, and maintained 150 commercial and residential accounts in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

“There are worse ways to spend retirement.” That’s what Harry Stokes, owner of Yard Perfect in Hampton Cove, Alabama, told the Walker Talk editor in 2010. Seven years later, at the spry age of 73, he’s still mowing lawns. In his words, “I’m still kicking despite taking a licking.” The licking he took was losing all his retirement savings in the 2008 recession.

Dan and Melissa Viehmann were featured in Walker Talk, Volume 32, when they owned two Walker Mowers; today, they own four. Their company, Dan Viehmann Landscaping and Property Management in Kennebunkport, Maine, also nearly doubled in size, with employee numbers growing to five full-timers and 15 in high season.

Consistency is paying off for three brothers in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Tobin, Dana and Brett George maintained 500 yards with 40 employees and 18 Walker Mowers in 2011. They also provided three service offerings: lawn maintenance headed up by Dana, landscape installation by Tobin and fertilization by Brett, along with snow removal.

When featured in Walker Talk, Volume 18, Joe and Tracy Martoccia, owners of Top Job Landscaping in Scottsdale, Arizona, had four full-time employees, none of which were family members. More than 15 years later, it’s Joe, Tracy, son Johnathen and daughter Santina who do the work. The company doesn’t mow 300-plus yards like it did back then, Joe explained. His business model is fewer customers, but better customers.

It’s been more than four years since Cutzgras appeared in Walker Talk, Volume 41. The family-owned business has a nice niche in Port Charlotte, Florida, and Pat, Mark and Dennis Jontos have no desire to shake it up. To the contrary, it’s steady as they go.