By ASHLEY McCALL
Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- The Child's Play Organic Lawns logo features two children playing with a puppy on a bright green lawn.

None of those aspects appears for mere aesthetic purposes. Rather, they illustrate the philosophy of the South Bend-based small business: Lawns can be lush and green and still be kid-friendly, pet-friendly and environmentally friendly.

Craig Fritts, a Niles resident who founded Child's Play in 2001, is passionate about his small business.

Fritts' interest in organic fertilizers was sparked by his experience with chemical pesticides and insecticides.

Back in 1983, Fritts and his wife, Lori, were living in Florida, where he was stationed with the U.S. Navy.

To combat the pests and insects so prevalent in Florida, the apartment complex where the couple lived relied on an exterminator to apply insecticide at the site once a month, Fritts recalled. At the same time, Lori Fritts began suffering from health problems; her symptoms, Craig said, led doctors to consider she might be suffering from a condition like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

Then, when the couple left Florida for New York, the symptoms disappeared.

The Frittses had an inkling then that Lori's symptoms were tied to the amount of chemical pesticides and insecticides in her environment. But the clincher came while they were driving behind a mosquito-fogging truck, and almost immediately Lori began to feel ill.

Now, "she's like a barometer for pesticides," Craig said.

Because of her sensitivity to chemicals, the Frittses have had to be careful in choosing a home.

Subdivisions were out, Craig Fritts said, because so many residents use chemicals on their lawns. Spots near farms were usually out, too, because of the use of pesticides on crops.

Before they had children, that wasn't a problem. But when their three children came along, the couple wanted to live in a neighborhood.

Their dream, Fritts said, was to develop an organic lawn service that they and their neighbors could use -- creating an environment that was healthy for Lori and for everyone else, too.

The dream became reality in 2001, after Fritts, an engineer working to restart the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman, completed his duties there and found himself out of work.

In its first year of business, Child's Play operated out of a small Niles warehouse and served about 80 customers, Fritts said. Now, the company serves more than 300 customers from its South Bend location, 1310 S. Main St., Suite 3 . The business employs two full-time workers and up to 8 part-time workers who perform the fertilizer applications. Child's Play also contracts with other applicators outside the area and sells its products directly to customers who want to apply it themselves.

Along the way, Fritts has sought help in developing his business.

"The Small Business Development Center has been vital to our growth," he said. "(Associate Director) Jim Gregar in particular."

In addition, Fritts has twice taken advantage of the SBDC's Collegiate Management Assistance program, which links small businesses with upper-level undergraduate or graduate business students at local colleges.

In addition, Fritts has twice taken advantage of the SBDC's Collegiate Management Assistance program, which links small businesses with upper-level undergraduate or graduate business students at local colleges.

Those students then complete studies on the businesses and propose strategies for growth and improvement.

"We have already directly utilized some of their suggestions," Fritts said.

For instance, the students suggested that Child's Play use a customer feedback card to improve communication with customers -- so the business has done so.

The group also found through a survey that some customers didn't have a clear understanding of what to expect from the service. In response, Child's Play has put together a chart comparing Child's Play with typical chemical lawn care.

So, how is Child's Play different?

"All of our products are food-grade," Fritts said.

In fact, he added, many of the ingredients for his products come from food mills.

Fritts said his service will cost more than a chemical service -- Child's Play would charge about $320 for a full-season standard program for a quarter-acre lawn -- but he said it will last longer than a chemical treatment.

And, of course, with his products, families can take comfort in the fact that they are safe, he said.

So, what's next for the business?

"I want to be absolutely sure I'm meeting my customers' goals and expectations," Fritts said.

He wouldn't mind seeing the company grow, too, both with new customers as well as a possible expansion into mowing and cutting the lawns of existing customers.

And though he enjoys his work as an engineer, now at Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert, Fritts would be glad to devote even more attention to Child's Play.

"Sometimes you poke fun at people watching the grass grow," he said with a laugh. "I would love to do this full time."

Staff writer Ashley McCall:

amccall@sbtinfo.com

(574) 235-6467