•

"Those who never retract their opinions,
love themselves more
than they love the truth."
— Joseph Joubert

NOVEMBER
194 1

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s t r a i g h t blade is t h e correct w a y to sharpen power and h a n d mowers. Not
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DISTRIBUTORS FOR NEW ENGLAND
1121 W a s h i n g t o n St., West Newton — HIGelow 7900

NEWSLETTER
This NEWSLETTER is published by the Greenkeepers Club of New England, and sent
free to its members and their Green's Chairmen. Subscription price ten cents a copy, or a
dollar for ten copies.
GEORGE J . R O M M E L L , J R . , Editor and Business

Manager

54 Eddy Street, West Newton, Mass.
HENRY MITCHELL,

Assistant Editor

ROBERT A . MITCHELL,

November 12, 1941

Picture Editor

Vol. 13, No. 9

The ideas and opinions expressed in the subject matter of this
NEWSLETTER
are not necessarily those of the Editor or the members of the club as a whole.

CONTENTS
Pare
W H A T D O I G E T FOR M Y T E N D O L L A R S FROM THE G . S . A . ?

4

R E S U L T S OF THE G O L F T O U R N A M E N T AT W E S T O N G O L F C L U B

4

J O I N T C O N F E R E N C E OF THE G R E E N K E E P E R S ' C L U B AND G . S . A

5

I C E S K A T I N G AT THE E D I S O N C L U B

5

HALTER HINCHEL NOTES

8

GREENKEEPERS'

CLUB

OFFICERS

President, Ponkapoag Golf Club, Canton, Mass.
P H I L I P I . C A S S I D Y , Secretary, Needham Golf Club, Need'ham, Mass.
F R A N K H . W I L S O N J R . , Treasurer, 5 4 3 Dedham Street, Newton Centre, Mass.
N. J . S P E R A N D I O , Chairman Entertainment Committee, Marlboro Country Club, Marlboro, Mass.
J O H N C O U N S E L L , Chairman Welfare Committee, Salem Country Club, Peabody, Mass.
A R T H U R A N D E R S O N , Chairman Employment
Committee
SAMUEL S. MITCHELL,

Brae Burn Country Club, West Newton, Mass.
A L E X OHLSON,

Chairman Golf Committee, Lexington Country Club, Lexington, Mass.

W H A T DO I GET F O R M Y
TEN D O L L A R S F R O M
THE G. S. A . ?

My first feeling is that the Greenkeeping Superintendents Association
considers me worthy enough to be a
member of their group; which includes
the best turf experts in forty states,
Canada, British Isles and Cuba.
It is an honor to be a fellow member
of men like Charley Erickson, John
MacGregor or Carl Treat.
It is a privilege to be able to write
to and rub elbows with G. S. A. men
at the top of your profession.
To these are added material benefits that you can see with your eyes
and feel with your hands.
You receive a magazine, The Greenkeepers' Reporter.

It is printed bi-

monthly and delivered free to all
members, tlieir club president and
club greens chairman. This magazine
is keyed to the times, it contains interesting pictures about golf and
greenkeeping. Articles cover the
technical and practical side of the
profession. Its circulation includes
all leading golf writers in the country.
It is recognized as the outstanding
publication in the U. S. devoted exclusively to the Greenkeeper.
You receive educational opportunities. Last year the G. S. A. spent
better than a thousand dollars in
scheduling expert speakers for sectional and national educational conferences. The subjects these authorities discuss are determined by member committees. It would be impossible for any individual or local
group to obtain such benefits without the power of organized co-operation.
You receive recognition.
The
G. S. A. has recently had the honor
of having one of its leaders selected
to aid in Turf development in connection with National Defense.
You receive publicity. The G. S. A.
has a publicity bureau which places

at least fifty thousand dollars of coverage, devoted to uplift of the greenkeeper in the papers of the U. S.
annually.
You receive group contacts with
various organizations such as the
U. S. G. A. and the P. G. A.
You receive the opportunity of belonging to a Fund which supplies
ready cash to members? families immediately upon decease.
To me the Ten Dollars I spend
annually for G. S. A. membership is
well spent because — it makes me a
member of the organization that has
the best men in my profession — I

receive

the

Greenkeepers'

Reporter,

educational opportunities, recognition, publicity, group contacts, and a
chance to help the family of a departed fellow greenkeeper.
HAROLD STODOLA,

President Greenkeeping
Superintendents
Association.
R E S U L T S OF THE G O L F T O U R NAMENT AT WESTON
GOLF CLUB

Arthur Cody awarded putting contest — 36 putts.
Harold Mosher. Blind Bogey. 71
first no. drawn.
H. C. Darling. Least number of
putts. —28.
Ralph Thomas. Lon gross. Score
84.
Sam Mitchell. Nearest to the cup
on the 17th hole. 17 inches away.
Nick Bruno. Won driving contest
with 240-yard drive.
Howard Farrant. Second in blind
bogey. 73 drawn.
Alex Olilson. Most 3's.
N. J. Sperandio. Best gross for 9
holes. 39 strokes.
A. J. Sperandio. Second in putting
contest. 37 putts.
Simeo Braio. Most 5's —9.
Robert Pollock. Second for least
numb er of pu t ts. 31.

JOINT CONFERENCE OF
THE
GREENKEEPERS' CLUR AND
G. S. A.

^

The joint conference of the G. S. A.
and Greenkeepers' Club of New England, was held at Weston Golf Club,
on Monday, October 20.
As one who attended I can say that
everyone had a good time, and I
heard nothing to the contrary.
Preliminary to this on Sunday
evening a most cordial informal meeting was held in the Hotel Statler;
between 7 or 8 of our New England
group and 4 or 5 of the G. S. A. group.
Notable among those at that meeting in the G. S. A. group were T. T.
Taylor, "Bob" Pollock, Mackenzie,
and Jack Gormley.
The program started on Monday
with a putting contest. Later luncheon was served at the clubhouse. It
was an excellent meal.
The golf tournament started at 1
P.M. Results are given elsewhere.
After the tournament came a very
fine banquet.
The speakers after the banquet
were our own President, Sam Mitchell
who introduced the toastmaster, our
own Ray Koon, who proceeded to
kid the guest speakers of the night.
The speakers were:
Walter H. Trumbull, President
Weston Golf Club and Newton Hyslop, Chairman of the Greens Committee, welcomed us to Weston Golf
Club.
Prof. Dickinson.
Harold Pierce, President U. S. G. A.
Dr. Matthews of Babson Institute,
who promised us a bright future,
although a painful transition until
that time.
Dr. Musser, who gave us a talk on
the change of plant populations in
fairways and etc.
Ecuador never has determined its
exact area, but estimates it at 175,855
square miles.

ICE S K A T I N G A T THE
CLUB

EDISON

The Edison Club has operated an
ice skating rink for the past six winters. When the idea was first discussed, several different areas on the
property were considered as possible
locations for the rink. It was finally
decided to use a portion of the parking
field near the locker house.
The location near the locker house
was decided on for several reasons,
among them the fact that a heated
room for changing shoes, etc., facilities for a refreshment bar, for a loud
speaker and music, and for flood
lighting were, or could easily be made,
available in this building.
After approval, by the Board of
Directors, of cost estimates both of
construction and maintenance, work
on the rink was started in October,
1935. The parking field, consisting
of a clay soil covered with a layer of
cinders, had a slope of about 18 inches
from front to back. The cinders were

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Distributed

by:

N e w England Toro Co.
Connecticut Toro C o .

GRASS SEED DIVISION

H.WOODRUFFi^

MILFORP, C O N N . ^ ^ o b D B i ^ a - , T Q L E D O . OHIO
ATLANTA. G A . ^ ^ J i C e d k J j y ^ SACRAMENTO. CAL.

first removed and then the area, 100' x
150' was leveled and rolled with a
heavy road roller. This was done as
a cut and fill job, no soil being hauled
in or away. Next clay banks were
built around three sides of the rink,
the fourth bank being formed by the
cut. On top of the banks 2" x 10"
planks were set 3" deep in the clay,
to keep the water from washing over.
On about November 1st, the rink
was filled with 18 inches of water and
checked for leaks.
The following spring the cinders
were spread back on the area and
have been left there ever since. The
following fall the rink was enlarged
to 150' x 150'.
Permanent sodded
banks were built on two sides, leaving
only the bank on the road or entrance
side of the parking field to be built
each fall and torn down each spring.
We now have about one-half of the
parking field in skating rink each
winter. The remaining half is sufficiently large for winter parking, ex-

6RASS

Radway's

t
O

cept on Carnival day, when it is
rather crowded.
In addition to the actual rink construction, steam heat was installed
in a portion of the locker house, two
flood lights were mounted in windows
on the second floor for lighting the
rink, and arrangements were made
with the club's caterer to serve refreshments in the locker house during
the skating season. A public address
system, for use on carnival day and
for amplifying record music, was also
installed in the same building. A
board walk, with hand rails of 1"
pipe, was laid over the gravel walk
from rink to locker house. We found
this very necessary to keep skates
from being dulled on the gravel.
The ice was thick enough for skating by December 1st. We have had
skating not later than December 7tli,
every year since. The season lasts
until from the middle to the last of
February, with a thaw of from five to
ten days duration some time during

SEED

I . L . R A D W A N E R SEED € © • , INC*
DISTRIBUTORS

115 BROAD STREET

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BOwIing Green 9-3372-3373

N E W Y O R K , N. Y .

O N STRAIGHT SEED 2c PER LB. M O R E IN LESS T H A N 1000 LB. LOTS O F
A N Y O N E G R A D E — 5c PER LB. M O R E O N LESS T H A N 25 LB. LOTS
G R A S S SEED D I V I S I O N :
REDTOP U n h u l l e d Choice
Fancy "Luxor"
Fancy "Moon"
Extra F a n c y " S u n s h i n e "
K Y BLUE
19 # h e a v y o l d s t o c k
20 § n e w c r o p " L u x o r "
21 # n e w c r o p " M o o n "
25 # n e w e x t r a f a n c y " S u n s h i n e "
CANADA B L U E G R A S S N e w C r o p
RYE GRASS
Perennial
Italian Annual
Pacey's R y e short seeded
KENT T y p e W i l d W h i t e Clover C e r t i f i e d Old P a s t u r e
NATURAL GRASSES:
F E S C U E C h e w i n g s F A N C Y New
S h e e p s or H a r d
Red Fescue Creeping
Fine Leaved Fescue
Meadow Fescue
POA T R I B I A L I S R o u g h S t a l k
Meadow Grass
W H I T E AND A L S Y K E CLOVER
MIXED HALF

r O P P Y SEED
BENT R h o d e I. T y p e Colonial
A l l New C r o p
B l u e T a g New Crop Astoria
C o l o n i a l 11. I . t y p e
B r o w n t o p N.Z. I m p .
GERMAN BENT So. G e r m a n T y p e
Mixed
SEASIDE BENT B l u e t a g cert, creeping
Pacific grade seaside
mixed - creeping
W H I T E CLOVER " L u x o r "
"Moon"
ORCHARD GRASS " M o o n "
RED CLOVER
Domestic
$10.20 B u .
ALFALFA N.W. K a n .
14.10 B u .
C o l o r a d o - O K L 13.65 B u .
Grimm
16.80 B u .
TIMOTHY " M o o n "
2.60 B u .
"Luxor"
2.55 B u .
ALSIKE
9.30 B u .
CANARY Arg. recleaned
R A P E L a r g e B l a c k D w a r f Essex
Small Red

M
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the season, giving; a total of eight to
eleven weeks skating every year.
The first year every thing went, well
until December 25th, when the banks
began to develop bad leaks. We
found these were due to the tremendous pressure exerted by expansion
of the water as it froze to ice. We
had provided no outlet for the water.
We finally had to let the water go out,
leaving about 8" of ice, with a sag in
the middle of the ice sheet.
Since the first year we have put
only two to three inches of water in
the rink each fall. Sometimes we are
fortunate enough to get snow on the
rink before flooding in the fall. We
then pump water in, making a slush
of the snow, which soon freezes solid.
The advantage of the smaller depth
of water is that it soon freezes to the
bottom, allowing us to work on it
with a truck and snow plow if necessary, and giving us skating much
earlier than is possible on deeper
ponds or rinks. With the small depth
we get rid of or rather do not develop
the leaks from water pressure under
the ice.
The ice is resurfaced after each day
or evening of skating. Before the
water is put on, ice shavings made by
the skates are removed. The first
few years these shavings were removed by sweeping with brooms.
This took considerable time. We are
now using a scraper made of two-inch
plank, faced with a piece of f-inch
iron. While it does not clean off the
shavings as good as the brooms, it
does a clean enough job so that the
resurfaced ice is smooth, and it takes
one-quarter or less time than sweeping. After cleaning off shavings, any
cracks are filled not quite level full
with slush.
The next operation is spraying.
The ice is sprayed several times until
the surface is smooth, the exact number depending on how bad the ice
was cut up. For spraying, f-inch
hose with an ordinary rose nozzle is

used. The water is pumped direct
from a deep well into the hose. Only
a thin film of water is put on at one
time. If the ice is flooded, the water
has a tendency in warm weather (20
degrees and up) to freeze on top and
soak away underneath, leaving shell
ice. If the weather is very cold, the
flooding sometimes causes the ice
surface to peel off when skated on,
particularly if it warms up a little the
next clay. This I suppose is caused
by the water flooded on freezing in a
solid sheet, rather than binding to the
old ice.
Even though the resurfacing does
not invariably peel or form shell ice
at low or high temperatures, the best
results are always obtained when
temperature during spraying is from
10 to 20 degrees. When excessively
cold the ice formed by spraying is full
of air and wears out or cuts up
quickly. When warm we have to
wait for the water to freeze between
sprays, so do not always get as many
sprays on as we would like. Flowever,
we do not wait for optimum temperatures, but spray after every day's
skating unless the temperature goes
above 32 degrees.
Two men take care of the rink. It
takes both of them to operate the
scraper, one pulling and the other
steering. On the spraying they shift
off at about 30-minute intervals, as it
is a mean job at best handling wet
hose in cold weather. We have

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sprayed with the thermometer reading as low as 20 degrees below. When
brooms were used for cleaning the ice,
resurfacing was done at night, starting after the evening's skating was
over and taking until seven or eight
in the morning. Since we changed to
a scraper for cleaning off the shavings,
the difference in time, has allowed us
to start in the morning (6 a.m.) and
get done before the skating starts.
|Continued in

January)

HALTER HINCHEL NOTES
Have you heard about the "Mighty
Mite?" It's a dad. You know he of
the 240-yard drives. Must you be
told that it is Nick Bruno's second
child and it's a boy named James
Salvador. I wonder if it will be nicknamed "Jim"?
A Mr. Mitchell, the Henry of the
family, should be in this column, soon.
Arthur Andersoir is father of a baby
boy born October 31.

One of the most ingenious crooks
discovered during 1940 was one in
Syracuse, N. Y., who was fond of
giving dinner parties. During the
parties he left his wife to entertain
the guests, then went out and looted
their homes.
A young Cleveland couple had
been entertained delightfully at dinner and decided it would be a nice
gesture to send flowers to their
hostess next day.
Together they visited the florist
and selected a pretty assortment.
The young lady, struggling to find
just the proper phase to write on the
card, turned to her companion and
said: "What does one say on such an
occaion?"
"Search me," he replied, helplessly. The only times I've had occasion to send flowers to my hostess, 1
had to write: 'With sincere apologies'."

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STATE

STREET

wsssm

SEEDSMEN

SINCE

BOSTON,
1818

MASS.