The fellow that invented the electric lawn mower way back when was a favorite for my Grandmother. She liked to keep a tidy place, and since she had to take down the fences and get rid of the animals at her house in town, she had to mow the grass.
The house was originally out away from town. However, as the town grew, houses began to be built close by. My Grandmother, being the good neighbor, thought it wise to get rid of the chickens, the milk cow, and the other assorted menagerie for the benefit of the neighbors. That being said, she was having problems with dogs honing their hunting skills on her property.
As you might have guessed, when the animals left the place, grass began to take control of everything. Occasionally I would be put to work with a reel mower to keep it trimmed.
My Grandmother had electricity installed in her house a few years before I came along. Even so, she did not trust the stuff all that much. She had wood burning stoves outside, a gas cook stove inside, and really didn’t have much use for electric lights. When the sun goes down, my Grandmother shut everything down. One lamp would be on so she could sew or what ever.
Much to my surprise, she requested a long extension cord! When pressed for a reason, she told the story of a fellow that dropped off a brand new electric lawn mower, and she wanted to plug it in to see if it really worked. She couldn’t plug in inside the house, so she needed an extension cord.
My Grandmother sometimes thought her kids were a sandwich short of a picnic when it came to her needs! But, she got a one hundred foot extension cord.
I helped my Grandmother raise a window to get access to the closest electrical outlet. That was a chore in itself. That window, she told me, had not been raised since the house was built in 1900. Of course, we had to choose that one. A half day later, the window was up, and the extension cord snaked in and plugged in the wall. There was no male end on the wire coming from the lawn mower, so my Grandmother called the hardware store and had them deliver one. Stores did things like that in those days, especially when someone like my Grandmother makes the call. The fellow that delivered the male electrical end had no idea he was supposed to install the thing. My Grandmother told him she did not buy it to look at, she bought it to use, and he needed to hook it up so she could use it or he could just take it back and explain to his boss how my Grandmother felt about him. In short order, my Grandmother had a male electrical connection on the electric lawnmower.
I was young enough to be really interested in all things that make hard work easier. Even so, my Grandmother made me stand on the other side of the yard while she turned the lawnmower on. Who knows, this thing could take off and trim the hedges and trees before it was all over. After all, there was a one hundred foot electrical cord, you know.
That lawnmower clicked on with a flip of the switch, and my Grandmother mowed her yard in short order. Word kind of got around town that my Grandmother had a new electric lawnmower that mowed the grass almost by itself. Before you knew it, people were coming by to have a cup of coffee or tea (which was a requirement if you stopped by my Grandmother’s house) and to try out the new, electric lawnmower. Several weeks past before we even touched the mower, since folks were so enthused about mowing the grass for us. I even thought about charging a little fee, only to help my little allowance don’t you see.
The little electric mower was a hit, and my Grandmother loved to mow her lawn. The lady barely tipped the scales at 100 pounds dripping wet. However, she was born in 1880, and was as strong in mind and body as that guy who held up all those columns. She mowed and a week later she would mow again. I began to notice the property close adjoining my Grandmother’s property began to look nicer and nicer. I asked her one day if neighbors had taken care of that property.
My Grandmother set me straight. That is her property. She is taking care of that property now, so it belongs to her. I had to ask how she figured that out, and she told me that in her day possession was nine-tenths of the law. She had plans to fence it in and take total control. Unfortunately when she was 97, she had spent the morning mowing, came in for a rest, and when she woke up to go back to work, she slipped and broke her hip.
We had the property taken care of for her while she rehabbed her hip. However, she was never able to return home. Sometime after my Grandmother’s funeral, my aunt sold the property, and yes all the property under my Grandmother’s mower was included in the sale. Possession is indeed nine-tenths of the law.
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short stories 