Caledonia Argus

Brownsville man hailed as top inventor

Posted: 7/1/03

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

Tired of manual labor in the garden, Cletus Link of Brownsville decided to work smarter, not harder. The result was an award-winning idea.

Link created the Power Garden Tool in 1996, and the invention earned him three awards at the 46th Annual Minnesota Inventorís Congress this past June.

ìIím lazy,î Link joked, ìand this tool is about a hundred times easier to use than a manual hoe.î

After designing the prototype in 1996, Link patented the invention in 1998. The Garden Power Tool is a handheld, lightweight cultivator that primes soil for planting and eliminates weeds. Its power source is reusable batteries, and is designed such that a power drill can be affixed to the shaft to act as the power source.

Connected to the power source is a variable-speed, reversible motor, which leads from a drive shaft to rotating tine discs. When powered by the motor, the discs perform roughly the same function as someone using a manual hoe.

The tool, Link pointed out, is simple to start and use, is portable and maneuverable, and can be easily manipulated around and between plants. The design allows it to pulverize soil more quickly than other small power tillers currently on the market, and its size and shape makes it easy to store in a small space.

Link had daughter Debra Zaiger and her fiancÈ Butch Shuda present the invention at the Inventorís Congress June 13-15 in Redwood Falls, MN. The annual event draws top inventors from across the nation. This year, inventors from 22 states presented 60 new inventions. Linkís Garden Power Tool was the only invention to receive three of the conventionís top awards.

The Garden Power Tool was one of seven inventions awarded the Gold Medallion, which is handed out by a panel of judges. In the Peopleís Choice competition, in which convention-goers vote on which invention theyíd most like to see on the market, Linkís tool was runner-up, second only to a locking mailbox. The tool also took second place in the Minnesota Agribility Project, an award handed out by the University of Minnesota to encourage inventions that assist people with disabilities.

Link is now in the process of finding a manufacturer for his invention. Marketing the tool is not a problemñ QVC, the television shopping channel, agreed to market it if the price was right, and the American Shopping Network has also expressed interest in selling the product. Finding a manufacturer, though, is the next essential step, Link said, and hopefully a local manufacturer will find the invention worthy of production.

The awards from the Inventorís Congress made him confident that his invention will find a manufacturer in the near future, but at the same time, Link hasnít let all the recognition go to his head. The Power Garden Tool is his first invention, and even with the plaudits heís received, heís fairly certain it will be his only invention.

ìIíd hate to try making a living inventing,î he said with a laugh, ìbecause Iíd starve.î

Top of Page