"There’s a reason you see so many Walker Mowers on trailers around here and why we have three of them," says Paul Isaacson, sexton for the Wendell, Idaho, cemetery. "They live a long life. In fact, we recently sold one of ours that had 8,000 hours on it to a homeowner for $1,500. He figured it would last him forever mowing once a week.
The cemetery has its share of challenges for Isaacson and mower operator Araceli Estrella, but mowing once a week isn’t one of them. Isaacson, on a 26-hp model MT with a 48-inch GHS deck, and Estrella, on a Super B with a 60-inch side-discharge deck, mow the 12-acre site twice weekly from the middle of March through almost the middle of November.
"Together we mow a total of eight hours on Monday and Tuesday and again on Thursday and Friday," explains Isaacson, who at age 75 has been maintaining the cemetery for 16 years. "That’s 32 hours a week, every week, until the grass slows down. In fact, one of our two GHS mowers was new this year. By the first week in September, it had already logged 440 hours."
The mowers with the GHS decks truly get the workout, Isaacson adds. The cemetery has 5,100 plots—2,200 of which are occupied. Isaacson spends most of his mowing time weaving in and out between the headstones.
"That’s where the machine’s out front deck and maneuverability pay off," says Isaacson. "Still, there are some serious challenges, not the least of which are worn-out potato digger links that some people use to anchor flowers at grave sites. You see, 40- and 50-mph winds are not uncommon here and the flowers need to be secured. Unfortunately, the links are not deck-friendly. Neither are the headstones, which over time can wear down the deck sides. Welding an additional wear strip around the deck provides added protection."
While the sexton is mowing between stones and dodging old digger links, seven-year cemetery veteran Estrella is mowing the open areas. Since the entire cemetery is irrigated, the grass often outpaces the mowing schedule. When that happens, she starts mowing in the center of a wide area and discharges the grass outward. This technique leaves a windrow of grass that Isaacson collects with his GHS deck.
Memorial Day Push
To ensure the grounds are green for Memorial Day weekend, Isaacson dethatches the entire cemetery in March and turns on the water the first week in April. "After 60 days, the cemetery is looking very green," he remarks. "Roughly 80 percent of cemetery visitors for the year come on Memorial Day, and that translates into somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 visitors for the weekend."
Subtract 16 years from his time with the cemetery and it’s apparent that Isaacson has had other life/work experiences. That’s an understatement. In fact, his cemetery employment is broken into two eight-year stints. In between, he was the Wendell city superintendent, member of the city council, and then mayor for four years.
Prior to his first eight years as cemetery sexton, Isaacson worked at a lumber saw mill and installed dairy equipment. "The dairy business has done nothing but grow," he explains. "Within seven miles of Wendell, there are 393,000 cows. Most of them, if not all, are on high-production farms."
Likely Isaacson’s most interesting and demanding job, however, was working as a wilderness instructor. For two years he went on three-week expeditions (nine altogether) with troubled students. "We took them 100 miles into the desert and taught them how to live off the land, start a fire and stay warm, and find food," says Isaacson. "To this day as I mow around the cemetery, I subconsciously identify weeds that can be used for food, tools or medicine."
Keeping Busy
In addition to mowing lawns four days a week, this sexton has other chores to keep him busy. During the growing season, he turns irrigation valves on and off by hand that control 33 laterals. "Since we can operate only three lines at a time, watering is done around the clock," he adds.
There’s also pruning and tidying up to do on Wednesday, the off-mowing day. The cemetery also prepares sites for burials, sets stones afterwards, and Isaacson is there to answer questions from visitors. His wife, Karen, who is the cemetery clerk, works out of a downtown office.
As a side note, Isaacson studied tool design engineering in college. As he says, often what one studies isn’t what he or she ends up doing. Not to say that the education hasn’t come in handy. Over the years, he’s completely remodeled the cemetery’s workshop, installed a chain hoist, and even come up with an interesting design for mulching blades. The cemetery’s 34-year-old John Deere 420 garden tractor, ’72 Dodge dump truck and 580L Case backhoe with 2,200 hours on it, have all benefitted from his mechanical expertise.
During the off season, when not upgrading the facility or maintaining equipment, Isaacson is updating cemetery records. Up until 25 years ago, the cemetery’s records were kept chronologically by the grave site purchaser. "It made it very difficult to locate sites where friends and relatives were buried," Isaacson relates. "Part of my job has been
to upgrade the records and load them into a computer. Today I know just about where everyone is buried. That includes 400 veterans, among them four Civil War and two Spanish American War veterans."
Considering all of his jobs over the years, Isaacson says he enjoys his current one the most. "I like being outside, breathing the fresh air, and seeing the wildlife here. The cemetery has 40 to 50 quails, plenty of rock chucks, and there’s even a horned owl to keep our vole population in check."
Isaacson emphasizes that maintaining the cemetery is relatively easy compared to tromping three weeks through the wilderness. His Walker Mowers may have something to do with that.
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