Jacobs celebrates two decades in lawn care

Helping residents keep their grounds beautiful is his job

By Matt Bewley | The Daily Journal

Published Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Mark Jacobs has been helping Fergus Falls and area residents keep their lawns beautiful and green since he was in high school. This month he celebrates the 20th anniversary of his landscaping business, North Country Lawns.

“It’s very rewarding to drive around town with my kids today, and see some of the lawns — it must be 50 places — knowing that I did them, and pointing them out to my kids. It gives you a sense of pride. I started out with a little Honda Civic hatchback, pulling a trailer with my equipment. It was mostly lawn maintenance, but I served the city of Fergus Falls plus about 10 miles around.”

After graduation from Fergus Falls high school, he spent two years at Minnesota State Community and Technical College before moving on to Moorhead State, earning a bachelor’s degree in marketing.

Throughout his four years in college, he continued his lawn care service, learning as he went along. He began bringing in help.

“My Uncle Frank, who had a full-time job with the city, came and helped on a part-time basis. When he retired, he came to work for me full-time. By then, we were doing everything and anything,” he said. “We did retaining walls, design work, and the big stuff like contouring steps and retaining walls.”

As his reputation began to spread, so did his service area.

“I spread out to probably a 50 mile radius around Fergus,” he said, “though about 80 percent of my work was within 30 miles.”

His equipment inventory grew, giving he and his crews, now numbering six or seven during the spring and summer months, the capability to do just about anything for his customers.

“We have one Traxx machine, which is a small tracked vehicle,” he said. They now have two small dump trucks, three service trucks, two service trailers, and all the required tools of the trade.

“We’ve built retaining walls and complete yards,” he said. “We start with the consultation, do the design work, shrub installation, sidewalks, retaining walls, grading, sodding, irrigation — even sprinkler systems, though we sub that work out.”

Jacobs is now branching out into other areas, working at Rhode Insurance, but wants his customers to know he and NCL are still very much in business.

“I want them to realize the we are still able to service all of their needs,” he said. “Many have been with us for a long, long time, and I want them to know how much we’ve appreciated their patronage and relationships over the years.”

As part of their 20th anniversary celebration, Jacobs is offering special discounts.

“Give us a call (218-739-2610) , and we’ll be able to give a discount off of our regular service,” he said.