Mowing to make a difference

SAGLE — Raye Johnson, a 4-year-old Sagle farmer, was more than happy to mow grass alongside Rodney Smith Jr. last week when he made a stop in Sagle as part of his mission to mow 50 lawns in 50 states.

Smith made his way to North Idaho on May 23 to mow two lawns with the help of the Johnson family from Makers Long Acres in Sagle, and giving Raye her very own bubble mower so she could help, too.

"She was very honored to have received her official mower from Rodney," said Trina Johnson.

Smith, an Alabama college student and founder of Raising Men Lawn Care, is traveling the states not only to help out those in need, but also to teach kids the value of helping others.

"I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Raye," Smith wrote on his Facebook page after the visit. "At the age of 4 she has so much personality. She's a sweetheart. I surprised her with a bubble mower and she loved it. She was mowing right next to me."

Johnson said she had been following Raising Men Lawn Care on Facebook for several months, because it was "very inspiring" to watch as kids accepted the "50 Yard Challenge" and work to earn T-shirts and eventually a lawn mower for mowing the lawns of people in need.

After Smith began his own challenge of mowing a lawn in every state, Johnson said it was fun to watch his travels and read news stories being done along the way.

"One morning, I happened to see a plea that he needed a yard in Idaho because he was headed to Idaho and the lawn he was supposed to do had somehow fallen through," Johnson said. "He was supposed to go to Lewiston. I quickly responded to the message that I would find him a lawn — I actually found two."

One lawn was at the home of Steve and Tina Imlay, and the other was across the street at Gail Cameron's home. Smith looks for lawns of those in need, such as single mothers, veterans, elderly and those who are disabled. Steve Imlay is disabled and Cameron is a widow and both had broken lawn mowers at the time, so the grass was getting tall.

"It was like Christmas," Cameron said. "I showed up after work and my lawn was being mowed by these adorable kids — two teenagers and this little 4-year-old and, of course, Rodney. It was so adorable, watching everybody and the energy that those kids put out. It was really neat. My lawn mower had been broken, so it was really hard to mow my lawn ... It's really hard to get things done since my husband died, so it helped."

Tina Imlay said having Smith and the Johnsons stop by with manpower and mowers was "wonderful" and a great experience to be a part of.

"It was a wonderful experience," Imlay said. "I think it's a great idea that he's got going with the '50 Yard Challenge' ... I really like his idea of teaching volunteerism and taking care of each other."

Johnson said they were honored to meet Smith and be a part of his quest as well, and her family hopes to continue helping Cameron and the Imlays with their lawns throughout the season.

"We plan to start a (Raising Men Lawn Care) chapter here after things settle down for Rodney and he finishes his 50 lawns in 50 states," Johnson said. "This is an experience we won't soon forget. It was a blessing to be part of something so big."

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.