Mascot Silent Cut Reel Mowers -
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The reel thing
May 23, 1999
TIMES-HERALD, Vallejo, CA
By: Richard Freedman

Times-Herald Photos by Chris Preovolos  

The silence of a manually powered mower is music to Marjorie King's ears. And money in the bank.

King, after suffering through pollution-induced asthma and migraines since her 1965 move to California from Arkansas, trashed her gas-powered mower and went to the reel thing.

She quickly realized she not only was helping the environment but also her bank account when she started a business selling the eco-friendly mower.

"I'm just swamped," King said.

Within a few weeks, King has sold 60 mowers, nearly all via the Internet.

"People are looking for these mowers. They are not always easy to find," said King, offering 11 styles of mowers that range from $89 to $350.

Don't confuse the 1999 version of the mower with the 1960 version, King said.

"People are telling me stories about pushing them when they were a child. But its just not like that anymore. It's a whole different experience. A lot of older people tell me, 'This is not at all like I used when I was a kid.' There is that first impression. They remember those horrible things.

Mowers from Reel Mowers, Etc. are easier to push and keep better care of the lawn by cutting and spraying the grass rather that pulling, King said.

King, 49, studied the lawn mower market for a year before putting her web page together.

"It was very complicated to get it started," King said, "It sounded very easy. Get a web site, Sell lawnmowers. But you have to have a lot of personal credit starting a brand new business. Lawn mower companies didn't want to give me credit so I had to send them money in advance."

King, referring to a report by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, said there are 2.3 million gasoline-powered mowers in California. Lawn and garden equipment generates an estimated 10 tons of air pollution every day in the Bay Area.

An electric mower is 90 percent better than gas, King said, but there is still the pollution in producing electricity and, if the  mowers runs by battery, the problem in disposal.

Gas mowers spit out as much as 25 percent of their fuel unburned," King said, adding that 55,000 injuries occur every year nationally because of power mowers.

Even by replacing her gas mower, King still suffers horrid bouts of asthma. An allergy doctor deduced that she was allergic to petrochemicals in the air.

"I've had to quit jobs because of the allergies," King said. "I'd get rashes and  a swollen throat. An employer I had spent an awful lot of money testing me. A doctor told me I would probably have problems with petrochemicals my whole life."

Acupuncture keeps her allergies in check, King said.

"I'm fairly normal now," she said. "For a couple of years, I was almost completely incapacitated."

King said her allergies have bothered her since she moved from Arkansas 25 years ago. Even mowing her relatively small lawn bothered her, she said.

So she went to a manually powered mower. And it hit her. She could be a conduit to putting reel mowers in people garages.

"I don't have much competition," King said, "There's someone that sells a German mower on the Internet but he has just one model. And if you want to sharpen the blades, you have to send the mower back to Germany."

"One of the great things about my mowers is that you can sharpen them yourself," King said.

Bingo, King also sells a blade-sharpening kit for her mowers.

"I'm getting call from all over the country," she said.

With 11 styles of all shapes and sizes, King said the trick is matching the proper mower with the customer.

"Part of the reason this appeals to me is that I'm an avid gardener," King said. "And I wanted to do something for the air. I've had trouble with it for an awful long time. I've had to quit jobs and move. And I may have to move again. But I know I've done something to fight back."

King, who lives in Fairfield, said her lifestyle goal would be to move closer to the ocean where the air is tolerable.

"An Internet business can be operated anywhere," she said.

King's icing to her business is an electronic newsletter that includes various environment-related articles. And, as a former professional cook, she also tosses in a recipe on homemade bread.

"I'll do an article on why you should cut your grass high and include a recipe on homemade bread," she said.

Even with a semi-stuffy nose, "I'm having the time of my life," King said, knowing she's doing something for the planet.

"I'm trying to get people to look at getting away from power mowers, which are more work, cost more money and are bad for the environment," King said. "It's been exciting. It's fun, And all my customers are thrilled.