Discuss Detroit » Archives - Beginning January 2006 » Cutting lawns to make a buck « Previous Next »
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Jams
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Username: Jams

Post Number: 3234
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 68.248.74.109
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 9:10 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

With the variety of age groups on this forum, I'm slightly curious to see who dragged a lawn mower from yard to yard, knocking on the doors of their neighbors offering to cut their lawns.

I made quite a few bucks in my youth doing just that.

This forum revives quite a few memories of growing up in this City in a time gone by.
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Sarge
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Username: Sarge

Post Number: 226
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 24.28.88.45
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 9:16 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Dozens of times back in the 70's and early 80's
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Old_southwest
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Username: Old_southwest

Post Number: 121
Registered: 07-2005
Posted From: 67.149.69.93
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:10 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Me too!

I remember saving my money for a BB gun and a new fishing rod.
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Matt
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Username: Matt

Post Number: 1039
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 69.136.149.90
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:12 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Never a lawnmower (my brother did that)... but always a snow shovel. :-)
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Detroitduo
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Username: Detroitduo

Post Number: 619
Registered: 06-2005
Posted From: 194.138.39.54
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:18 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

What's a lawnmower?
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Michikraut
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Username: Michikraut

Post Number: 151
Registered: 05-2004
Posted From: 80.136.87.113
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:24 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

you know, those fuzzy white blobs, that move along in herds, chop and fertilize the grass in one sweep. Kinda stink and quite noisy at night, sometimes have to be watched over by strange and oddy silent men.

If you ever get up to Köln, I´ll show you how they keep the Rhein park so closely cropped.
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Thnk2mch
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Username: Thnk2mch

Post Number: 147
Registered: 02-2006
Posted From: 67.38.87.62
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:26 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I would cut lawns every chance I would get. I would end up with regulars, then in time shovel their snow also. A lot of times, would have to get friends to help.
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Detroitduo
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Username: Detroitduo

Post Number: 620
Registered: 06-2005
Posted From: 194.138.39.54
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:28 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

oh, not necessary! I see them everyday from my office window! Sometimes they even crowd the road, when I want to drive home. btw, our herd sheperd isn't very quiet. he'd got that deep growling Bavarian accent, yelling that the dog is moving them in the right direction! But I love the noise they make... "Bbaaaaaaaa"
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Goat
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Username: Goat

Post Number: 8378
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 67.71.56.144
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:29 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Me too! But don't forget shoveling snow in the winter.
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Michikraut
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Username: Michikraut

Post Number: 153
Registered: 05-2004
Posted From: 80.136.87.113
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:33 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

As a kid, I had to do our own lawn, a 4-5 hour deal as we only had a push mower (well a toro self-pull but not a small lawn), our neighbors to the right and left,an uncles, sometimes my aunts, and sometimes my grandfathers lawn (hated that one- took a full day on the riding mower and then lots of trees to trim- it is a big lawn! about 6-8 acres.) At the time, hated it, but as I got older and went away to college my attitude had changed and enjoyed the walking, being outdoors, the great smell of fresh cut grass(even though we always bagged and had to lug the grass to compost), and the solitude. Know, living in a city and having no lawn- miss it terribly and love going home for vacation and mowing my parents/brothers/aunts lawns. That is truly relaxing.
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Mrjoshua
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Username: Mrjoshua

Post Number: 805
Registered: 03-2005
Posted From: 148.87.1.172
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:34 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

'BladeRunner Lawn Care & Landscaping' put me through college. 10 hour days in 100+ degree heat. Most things now don't seem that difficult.
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Mikem
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Username: Mikem

Post Number: 2461
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 68.43.15.105
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:38 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Lawn mower/snow shovel/snow blower. I think I made more money back then, relatively.
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Jt1
Member
Username: Jt1

Post Number: 7290
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 198.208.159.19
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:40 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

NObody mentioned raking leaves yet.

Leaves and snow where my additional seasonal income to supplement the paper route.
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Michikraut
Member
Username: Michikraut

Post Number: 154
Registered: 05-2004
Posted From: 80.136.87.113
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:50 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

That is why we bagged- no raking of leaves(except for roasting apples and hot dogs(Koegels from Flint) in the evenings with grandpa)- what was the pits- in spring Dad would thatch the lawn- now that was a nasty job!
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Susanarosa
Member
Username: Susanarosa

Post Number: 801
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 68.79.94.221
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:51 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Never had to cut a single lawn... thank god for grass allergies.
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Imperfectly
Member
Username: Imperfectly

Post Number: 108
Registered: 06-2004
Posted From: 69.14.162.54
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:52 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I wish some kids would come to my door right now !! I hate cutting the grass and would gladly pay them !
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Detroitduo
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Username: Detroitduo

Post Number: 621
Registered: 06-2005
Posted From: 194.138.39.54
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:55 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I had to cut 4 acres, growing up. That's why I live in a condo/apartment now. I learned the value of having someone else do that work for me. :-) and I do NOT miss it. However, I DO miss the other gardening chores, trimming trees, bushes, flowers, planting tulips, etc....
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Michikraut
Member
Username: Michikraut

Post Number: 155
Registered: 05-2004
Posted From: 80.136.87.113
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:58 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

tiptoe,
through the tulips,
the pretty tulips!

sing it!
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Rustic
Member
Username: Rustic

Post Number: 2391
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 128.36.108.81
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 11:27 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

In addition to my own lawn I also had 2-3 regulars whose lawns I cut on a weekly basis. I also made additional $$ watering lawns too (setting up sprinklers) and trimming bushes. There was also one lady who let her lawn grow really tall and would usually get me to cut it a few times a summer. I also shovelled snow and raked leaves. Raking leaves (and elm seeds in the spring, don't forget that) was to me the worst ... very hard to do by yourself.

For me that business had a self-limiting economics. A few regulars it was an okay source of some spending money but anything more than that and you had to have partners, more organization and seed capital. Kids that did THAT made real money (and could do a better job since they could afford edgers and better cleanup etc.) BUT it required MUCH more effort and management skill. In additon at that scale you began competing with the professional services (there were a few when I was a kid, now they are commonplace, of course) so competition was fierce.

I also had a regular afterschool job in addition to the lawn jobs in the warm weather.

I spent the money I earned on let's see ... electronics, books, comic books, and my stamp collection. Money well spent! By the time I was dropping big $$ on car parts I had grown out of the lawn mowing business.
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Ndavies
Member
Username: Ndavies

Post Number: 1774
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 129.9.163.233
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 11:31 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It's cheaper to get an Illegal alien to do it. Those Kids are too expensive.
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56packman
Member
Username: 56packman

Post Number: 239
Registered: 12-2005
Posted From: 129.9.163.234
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 11:46 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I cut the first six lawns on my block, including ours. One neighbor paid me to go five blocks over and cut the Rabbi's lawn. I used the Toro mower my dad bought lighly used from the lady we bought our house from (she didn't throw it in with the house). My Dad or I would go cut the grass at the entrance to the sub, too. That Toro lasted over 25 years, and was traded in on a new model. I don't see any kids cutting lawns, or doing any summer (or winter) work. They just get "magic money" (it just appears).
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Jams
Member
Username: Jams

Post Number: 3236
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 69.212.125.242
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 12:01 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ndavies,
That was a good laugh!

Snow shoveling was tough to make money when we moved to Allen Park, the City swept the sidewalks. I would go several blocks ahead of the sweeper and knock on doors, thank goodness for driveways.
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Eastsidedog
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Username: Eastsidedog

Post Number: 313
Registered: 03-2006
Posted From: 69.220.142.7
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 1:16 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

When I was a kid we had an old-fashioned push mower which was a pain but really it was enough to cut our little yard in Pleasant Ridge and the strip of grass that went down the middle of the driveway.

Later we upgraded to a gas mower and I mowed our yard (it only took half an hour) and Mrs. Radabaugh's yard, an old lady who lived alone across the street. This was probaby circa 1988 and I got a whole $15 to buy Dungeons and Dragons books from the Alcove and Coca-Cola, Better Made Chips, and Fun Dip at the local party store on Woodward Heights. :-)

I also remember that back then no one really weed-wacked or used blowers. They just cut it, bagged it and swept the walk and driveway.

Now I have a corner double lot in the city and it takes an hour-and-a-half to mow, weedwack and blow down the walk! Oh, well... So much for the good old days...
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Smogboy
Member
Username: Smogboy

Post Number: 2460
Registered: 11-2004
Posted From: 69.47.100.44
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 1:40 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It's been great watching the neighborhood trio of brothers here. Years ago when they were very youngI saw the oldest entrepeneur go around cutting grass with a huge Toro push mower. Over the years he'd ask his brothers to help out. A few years ago, I saw them save up enough to get a riding mower that they'd drive up and down the block to service their expanding clientele and now just within the last year or so, the oldest has gotten himself a good size Dodge truck with a trailer on it to tow the riding lawn mower and all of the new fangled accesories. It warms my heart to see such fortitude in young people. It's literally watching evolution happen before my eyes here with these three kids.
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Irish_mafia
Member
Username: Irish_mafia

Post Number: 486
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 69.222.54.70
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 1:43 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Had my own lawn service and two crews working for it...before I could drive.

Son is starting to understand that concept now
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The_rock
Member
Username: The_rock

Post Number: 1191
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 68.42.251.225
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 1:51 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Brother and I did a few lawns in the late 40's/early 50's, push type, no power mower at our disposal back then. Still, try putting a lawn mower in a '48 Crosley. Had to take out the right front "bucket" seat, stick the lawnmower in, I sat in the small back seat next to the blades, brother Ed behind the wheel. Then in came the paper bags, clippers, hedge clippers etc.
Law school was easier.
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Bongman
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Username: Bongman

Post Number: 1058
Registered: 12-2003
Posted From: 198.111.56.128
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 1:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I didn't cut lawns. I was too tired from getting up at 5am to deliver the morning Free Press. I did cut across a lot of people's lawns though.

I made over $100 shoveling and pushing people out during that 19 incher in December 76-77.
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Bobj
Member
Username: Bobj

Post Number: 677
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 65.221.183.220
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 2:01 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I did lots of lawns, snow, leaves, and PULLING WEEDS! Hated the weeds, especially when I would accidentally pull a plant they wanted.

Easy money for a kid!
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Kathleen
Member
Username: Kathleen

Post Number: 1309
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 140.244.107.151
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 2:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

We did mostly raking leaves and shovelling snow.

I think sometimes we raked for free, just to get the huge piles of leaves into the streets so that we could run our bikes through them...continuously until after dark...when we lit them ablaze and watched the flames and embers. Of course, it was all legal to burn leaves on the street back then.

We really made the bucks shovelling snow, when 3 or 4 of were able to do the driveway, front walkway, and sidewalks in a matter of minutes before moving on down the street to the next house. We had a bunch of regulars we could count on.
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Stipes
Member
Username: Stipes

Post Number: 38
Registered: 11-2004
Posted From: 152.163.100.8
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 2:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I used to mow the lawn all the time,,but thats another sayin for makin love from here...LOL!!!!
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Grosseile
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Username: Grosseile

Post Number: 3
Registered: 04-2006
Posted From: 132.250.154.130
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 2:57 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Until I could get a work permit, cut our lawn, raked leaves, shovelled snow, painted, what ever I could to make some money. Had several other lawns that I cut in the summer, also cleaned pools. Now everyone has lawn services.
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Shave
Member
Username: Shave

Post Number: 1166
Registered: 06-2005
Posted From: 198.30.81.2
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 3:09 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I remember playing around with a slingblade once when I was cutting grass with my father.
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Sknutson
Member
Username: Sknutson

Post Number: 562
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 67.114.23.202
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 3:16 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I pushed my lawn mowers around Grand Rapids, summer after summer. I think I maxed out with 14 regular customers at one point, plus the once in a while folks.

Once I got a good reputation with the old lady network, the work just kept coming in - yard work, snow shoveling, window washing, painting, driving.....

Ah, such a simple time!
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3rdworldcity
Member
Username: 3rdworldcity

Post Number: 230
Registered: 01-2005
Posted From: 69.212.214.147
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 6:52 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

When I was 9, in the mid-40's, I had a 300 costumer paper route that took me 2 1/2 hours after school every day and longer in the winter. Six hours Saturdays collecting.

I did have to mow one yard every week. My mom made me cut an elderly widow's 1 acre yard Saturday afternoon, after collecting on my route. I had to push our hand mower (the widow did not have one) 6 or 7 blocks one way and dodge at least a ton of dog crap while mowing the yard; that was the worst. And, she paid me $.50. Wow.

I decided way back then I wanted to be rich, or at least have enough money so I'd never have a mow another lawn. And, I never have.
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The_rock
Member
Username: The_rock

Post Number: 1198
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 68.42.251.225
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 9:01 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Gee, "there are a lot of old people on this thread!" Now we are even 3rd world.!!! Hate to tell you, I am about the only guy in my GP neighborhood who still mows his own lawn! Eveyone else has these lawn services that come at 8 in the morning and leave at 6 at night.Their mowers are huge and noisey. Gotta admit, I use a Sears power mower now that Murry has gone bancrupt..
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Eastsidedog
Member
Username: Eastsidedog

Post Number: 321
Registered: 03-2006
Posted From: 68.251.227.237
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:51 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hiring lawn services is just wierd. I love cutting the grass. Everyone in my neighborhood cuts their own grass. Or hires a grown man walking the streets looking for work. Of course most people don't have much to cut here in West Village/Islandview.
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Eastsidedog
Member
Username: Eastsidedog

Post Number: 322
Registered: 03-2006
Posted From: 68.251.227.237
Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 10:56 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ndavies, in our neighborhood it's grown men who come around looking to cut the grass. Not kids or immigrants.

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