TRACTOR TRIVIA and other interesting stuff 6/4/2024 This one is special.

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6-4-1924 Cecil Elwood Pond was born

 

Today would have been Cecil Pond’s 100^th birthday.

Cecil Pond was an American businessman, inventor, and entrepreneur. He was the co-founder of Wheel Horse Products Co. Inc., and was the primary inventor of the modern American Garden Tractor and riding mower.

Pond was born in South Bend, Indiana, to Elmer and Ann Marie Pond. He graduated from South Bend's former Washington-Clay High School, and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. In 1946, Pond returned to South Bend and in June of that year, married Betty Alber Pond. Mr. & Ms. Pond were the parents of three children: son Gary Pond, and two daughters, Linda, and Constance.

1946 saw the beginnings of Pond's manufacturing future. Pond joined his father Elmer, who at the time was building two-wheel lawn tractors from angle iron, surplus automotive parts in his garage. At first, the Ponds' company was simply called Pond Tractor Company; however, since Elmer’s brother Harold owned a similarly-named company "Wheel Horse" was chosen, and the name stayed with the company even after its acquisition by Toro.

In the late forties, military veterans returning from World War II began moving to the vast new suburbs then transforming the American landscape. Their suburban homes had larger lots that demanded more attention—and the Ponds' riding garden tractors found many ready buyers as a result.

In 1954, Pond introduced his first four-wheel lawn tractor, an event which altered substantially the lawn care manufacturing business. By 1957, his Wheel Horse Products Company recorded sales over $1 million (US $11,158,291.81 in 2024 dollars.) for the first time. Just two years later, the company's sales more than doubled, to $4.5 million.

In 1975, Pond sold Wheel Horse Products to American Motors Corporation. At the time of the sale, Pond oversaw over 500 workers at his plant and over 3,000 dealers were selling the brand.

Cecil Pond passed away December 30, 2011.