[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 52 (Wednesday, May 4, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
       AMERICAN LAWN MOWER-GREAT STATES CORP.'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize American 
Lawn Mower-Great States Corp.'s 100th anniversary as a distinguished 
manufacturer of reel, push-type lawn mowers.
  This Shelbyville, IN, company was founded in 1895 in Richmond, IN. 
American Lawn Mower Co. started as a partnership that included Robert 
B. Kersey, W.F. Spencer, George M. Spencer, and W.F. Spencer III. The 
founding spirit is kept alive by the company's current president, Bob 
Kersey, whose grandfather was one of the original founders.
  In 1936, American Lawn Mower Co. acquired the Great States Corp., 
another reel mower producer, making them the largest manufacturer in 
the industry. These mowers continue to be manufactured and assembled in 
the Hoosier city of Shelbyville, IN.
  During the 1940's, the reel mower industry included nearly 60 
manufacturers. By 1953, power mower sales surpassed reel-mower sales, 
and most reel mower manufacturers eventually went out of business. The 
company was able to survive largely because the family that owned the 
business also owned an iron foundry, where it could get cast iron mower 
components inexpensively.
  Today's commitment to the environment has produced a new need for 
reel, push-type mowers. The mower represents one of the purest forms of 
lawn maintenance in that it emits no air pollution and uses no gas, 
electricity, or batteries.
  In the 1990's, retail sales of the reel mowers reached the same 
levels they did in the 1940's. Unit sales for reel mowers remain steady 
at more than 200,000 per year.
  The story of this Indiana company holds many similarities to those of 
other successful American companies. It is a story of commitment and 
survival in difficult times.
  I congratulate American Lawn Mower-Great States for their continued 
success as they begin their second century.

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