Al Clayton Sr. mowing his Homer house lawn in September 2008, a few months before he died.
Maraley McMichael mowing her Palmer lawn in July 2025.
After I recently I moved my riding lawnmower from its winter home to its summer home, I found myself thinking about lawn mowing in general and then more specifically about my dad's attitude about lawn mowing. There was no lawn at our home during my growing up years in Glennallen. Dad did clear acreage and plant timothy grass and oats, which he used to feed a horse that was acquired after I left home.
When Dad and Mom retired to Homer in 1988, their house came with a lawn. Dad was not a complainer, but he certainly grumbled about that lawn. How could the "dumb" lawn keep growing so fast when he didn't water or fertilize it? He had better things to do with his time than mow it. In the early years, he would let it grow tall and then cut it with a hand scythe or his vintage 1940s sickle bar mower. He would stack it up in a tall haystack in the backyard which moose would browse, but he also gave much to a neighbor who had a horse.
In his early 90s, Dad surprised us by purchasing a John Deere riding mower, and I never heard any more grumbling about the lawn. In fact, he was proud of that riding mower. During one of my visits, he wanted to teach me to use it. But I was busy with other things and didn't want to learn. I never liked loud noisy machines, and my husband Gary took care of lawn mowing at our house. So, I told Dad, "Not today, maybe another time." Another time never came.
Too bad I didn't recall any of this when I needed to purchase a riding lawn mower a few years ago. In early April 2023, my brother came to my house to get Gary's tractor running and move it to the shop after it had sat outside all winter. He also got the engine of our Craftsman riding lawnmower running, but when he moved the lever to engage the mower blade, nothing happened. So, I knew I had a problem but was too busy to do any research.
The end of May, my nephew Isaac was at my house and got the mower blade to work. (Something about the belts.) Isaac then mowed my lawn for the first time. He mowed it again in June while I was in Colorado for my son's wedding. After that, when I tried to use it, I could not engage the blade. The previous two years, it had been very difficult for me to engage the blade, but it was impossible after Isaac fixed it.
I would have to lean so far forward (while using all my body strength) to move the lever, that I couldn't keep my bottom firmly on the seat. Every time I almost got the lever to engage, the engine would die. Talk about a vicious circle. It literally wore me out trying. When I complained about the poor design, someone told me the exciting news that some riding mowers have a push button feature to engage the mowing blade.
In early June, I went to the Wasilla Library, to seek information about riding lawn mowers in the Consumer Digest magazine. The article I found recommended John Deere. Through internet research I learned that Craig Taylor Equipment (north of Wasilla on the Parks Highway) sold that brand. I put it on my Wasilla list but never had the time to follow up.
Back from Colorado in July and not being able to use the Craftsman, I began mowing with our little walk-behind Honda that was hard to start and stuck in the slowest speed. My
frustration level grew. (I have since taken the Honda to Eagle River Small Engine Repair and it runs well.)
In early August I finally checked out the Craig Taylor Equipment website, and noticed they would have a display at the Alaska State Fair. I work four days each fair in the flower department, but it wasn't until attending on a day I didn't work (the last day of the fair) that I was able to stop by the Craig Taylor booth. A young woman gave me the name of the salesman (Mitchell) who specialized in John Deere lawn mowers and agreed that I needed to visit their "store."
On Sept. 5, I drove to Craig Taylor and met Mitchell. We discussed my needs, especially about engaging the mower blade. We checked out his available mowers in the rain, but they were all too big for me. He said he would do the research and work up a quote with the various features I wanted and call me when it was complete. He said they had just received a small mower like I was looking for (with a lever to engage the mower blade) but it was still in the shop being put together. The soonest he could help me test drive it would be on Sept. 14.
Near the end of my daily bike ride on Sept. 7, I unexpectedly was able to ask a neighbor who had a John Deere if he liked his. Long story short, when he came to my house Sept. 10 and cut my lawn, he offered to let me give his machine a try. I was surprised how easy the lever moved on his mower.
Because of that "test drive," when I went to Craig Taylor on Sept. 14, I told Mitchell I was leaning toward a lever -tyle engagement, rather than push button. We went out into the yard and he wiped the rain off the seats of two machines so I could try them. One was the smaller version with a lever and the other was a larger version with a push button. When it was all said and done, I decided on the push button feature.
I'd been there over an hour by the time I signed my name to the quote to order a machine. I wasn't required to put any money down, because Mitchell said if for some reason I decided not to buy it, they wouldn't have any trouble selling it.
Mitchell had help from Consumer Digest and a neighbor's test drive to make this sale. After mulling over the purchase of a riding mower for a whole summer, I walked out of Craig Taylor that day feeling good about my decision. Had I remembered Dad and his John Deere, that decision would have come quicker and been easier. And the old Craftsman mower continues to work fine for my brother.
Maraley McMichael is a lifelong Alaskan now residing in Palmer. Email her at maraleymcmichael@gmail.com.
