Alvin Ray Straight (17 October 1920 – 15 November 1996) was a resident of Laurens, Iowa. He gained fame for traveling 240 miles (390 km) on a 1966 John Deere riding lawn mower to visit his 80-year-old ill brother in Mount Zion, Wisconsin. His brother had recently had a stroke. At a top speed of 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h), the journey took six weeks. The trip took place in the summer of 1994 when Alvin was 73 years old.
Straight's story was adapted into the film The Straight Story, directed by David Lynch, which starred Richard Farnsworth (in an Oscar nominated role) as Alvin Straight.
External links
- Des Moines Register biography [1]
- Find-a-Grave listing [2]
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