“It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” Confucius

Early June 1994 – Laurens, Iowa: Frances Straight held the letter as she approached her husband. “Alvin, I’ve got some bad news. Your brother, Henry, has had a serious stroke. June isn’t sure that he’s going to recover.” Although the two brothers had not spoken to or seen each other in a decade, Alvin knew it was time to reconcile with his 80-year-old brother.

Alvin, 73, was also in poor health, suffering from diabetes, emphysema, and severe arthritis. His vision was so poor that he could no longer get a driver’s license. “I’m going to go see Henry,” Alvin told Frances. “I’ll drive you,” she said. “No,” responded Alvin. “Then take the bus,” Frances suggested. “No,” Alvin was emphatic. “Then how will you get there?” asked Frances. “I’ll ride my lawn mower,” Alvin mumbled. “You crazy, hard-headed old coot, you’re not going to drive your lawn mower 250 miles to Blue River, Wisconsin.”

Born in Montana, Private First Class Straight served in both World War II and the Korean War. Later, he worked odd jobs all over the West and Midwest, including Wyoming, Oregon, Nevada, and New Mexico. He and Frances raised five boys and two girls. After retiring in 1989, they moved to Laurens, population 1500.

Determination, stubbornness, unconventional behavior, and lawnmowers ran in the Straight family. They were good-hearted people who insisted that it was their way or the highway, and nobody could tell them otherwise. Alvin drove his mower to Walmart, while Henry often rode his lawnmower to his favorite bar in Bluewater. His wife, June, sometimes rode with him on her matching mower.

On July 5, after tuning up his old Ariens lawn tractor, Alvin set out for Henry’s house. He towed a 10-foot trailer loaded with food, water, gas, clothes, and camping gear. Alvin made it 21 miles to West Bend, Iowa, before his mower broke down, and he had to be towed back home. Still, Frances could not talk him out of his ridiculous idea.

Undaunted, he bought a 30-year-old John Deere 110 lawn tractor from a friend for a few hundred dollars, tuned it up, and set out again. Driving on the shoulder of the road at a maximum speed of five miles per hour, Alvin often backed up traffic along Highway 18 in northeastern Iowa and southwestern Wisconsin. Car horns honking and drivers yelling obscenities didn’t bother Alvin.

By late July, he had covered 131 miles to Charles City, Iowa, before running out of gas and money. Not discouraged, he parked his mower and flatbed trailer on the side of the road and set up camp. Cars slowed down to gawk at the unusual site. He was proud that he never stayed in ‘no damn motel and didn’t eat in no restaurants, either.’

He set up his Coleman stove and had enough food and water to last for a few weeks. He slept on a foam mat in the trailer and visited with occasional motorists whose curiosity got the best of them. Alvin’s story was heart-warming to all who heard it. He was off again after his Social Security check was deposited in early August. Alvin crossed the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and mowed into the Badger state. On August 15, when he was two miles from Henry’s house, his mower broke down for the final time. A farmer stopped and towed his mower the rest of the way.

Alvin had not let Henry know he was coming. June was in the yard when she saw a truck pulling a mower up their long driveway. She yelled, “Hey Henry, come quick. There’s a truck pulling a lawnmower and I think your brother Alvin is riding it.”

A four-hour car ride had taken Alvin Straight 42 days and a trailer-load of patience and persistence to complete. The brothers had a grand reunion. Alvin stayed for two weeks, sleeping on the foam mat in the trailer before deciding it was time to head home. After much cajoling, Alvin finally agreed to let Henry’s son, Dwayne, drive him back to Iowa. A few months later, Henry and June moved to Iowa to be closer to family.

The story of Alvin’s adventure and reuniting with Henry made national and international news.  Texas Equipment Company gave Alvin a new $5,000 John Deere mower and displayed his old one. Alvin Straight died in November 1996 at age 76. Following the hearse in his funeral procession was a trailer carrying his new lawnmower.