WILTON — There had to be a better way to mow an approximately 60-foot-high bank. At least Meadow Lanes Bowling Alley owner Scott Duval thought so when faced with the job that would take two men eight hours a day for two days.
With a little Yankee ingenuity and a few tries, the men joined two push mowers together and tied them to a four-wheeler that lets them down the slope and pulls them back up. The work takes the two men a couple hours on a good day.
“I had plenty of time to think. There has to be a better way,” Duval said.
He started with one mower and a rope attached to a Ford Escort. Then he tried a truck and tractor before settling on the four-wheeler purchased for the job, he said.
It’s perfect, he said.
Tony White pushes the mowers to the edge of the slope and lets go. A rope is attached to the Polaris four-wheeler, which Duval operates. They have to keep adjusting the rope along the way, Duval said.
The first set of mowers wore out after a few years. A couple new and inexpensive mowers bought this year makes the task quicker, simpler and less costly, he said.
On Monday, the two were nearly finished with the task.
Duval said they usually mow about every 10 days or so. As the season progresses, it’s mowed every couple weeks.
“We just have to keep our eye on it,” he said.
abryant@sunjournal.com
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- Tony White, left, releases two mowers that are joined together down the bank at the Meadow Lanes Bowling Alley in East Wilton on Monday. A rope attached to the mowers is connected to a four-wheeler driven by Scott Duval, who pulls them up and down the slope to mow.
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- Tony White, left, adjusts the rope attached to two lawnmowers joined together to mow the bank at Meadow Lanes Bowling Alley in East Wilton on Monday. The rope is attached to a four-wheeler driven by Scott Duval, allowing him to haul the mowers up and down the slope to mow it.
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- Tony White, left, waits as two mowers joined together go down the bank at Meadow Lanes Bowling Alley in East Wilton on Monday. A rope from the mowers to a four-wheeler driven by Scott Duval allows the slope to be mown in less time with fewer men.
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- Tony White, left, adjusts the rope attached to two lawnmowers used to mow the slope at Meadow Lanes Bowling Alley in East Wilton on Monday. The rope allows the mowers to be moved up and down the slope by a four-wheeler driven by Scott Duval.
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- To mow a nearly 60-foot bank, Scott Duval of Meadow Lanes Bowling Alley in East Wilton joined two lawnmowers and attached them to a four-wheeler, which lets up and down the slope.
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