Alvin Straight

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Alvin Boone Straight (born October 17, 1920 in Scobey , Montana , † November 19, 1996 in Laurens , Iowa ) was an American who became known for driving a ride-on mower around 390 km through the Midwest for his to visit sick brother.

Life

Alvin Straight served as a US Army soldier in World War II and the Korean War . In civil life he worked as an unskilled worker for many years. In 1973 he and his family moved to Iowa, first to Lake View and later to Laurens . From his marriage he had five sons and two daughters. His wife Francis, with whom he had been married since 1946, died in 1981.

Alvin Straight became known to the general public after driving a lawnmower tractor through America 240 miles from his home in Laurens to Blue River , Wisconsin . He wanted to visit his 80-year-old brother Henry Straight (1914–1998), who was ill, and did not have a driver's license himself. So in July 1994 he set off with a lawn mower and camping equipment on the trailer. The top speed was 8 km / h and the journey - with a few breakdowns - took six weeks. His brother Henry moved to Iowa with the rest of his family after his recovery.

The media became aware of the story of Alvin Straight and he received invitations to appear on TV shows by Jay Leno and David Letterman - however, he was annoyed by the public eye and he declined the invitations. He died of heart disease in November 1996 at the age of 76. A lawnmower similar to the one he used to drive to Iowa also drove his funeral procession. In 1999 his story was filmed as A True Story - The Straight Story , directed by David Lynch . The role of Alain Straight was played by Richard Farnsworth .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Famous Iowans - Alvin Straight | DesMoinesRegister.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019 .
  2. ^ Francis L. Straight at Find A Grave
  3. ^ Henry Franklin Straight at Find A Grave
  4. ↑ Famous Iowans - Alvin Straight | DesMoinesRegister.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Straight, Alvin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Straight, Alvin Boone (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawnmower operator
DATE OF BIRTH 17th October 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Scobey , Montana
DATE OF DEATH November 19, 1996
Place of death Laurens , Iowa