DECEMBER 1967

(Gourde
our6e Superintendents
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OF

N E W

SfMociation

E N G L A N D

Sponsors and administrators of the Lawrence S.
Dickenson Scholarship Fund — A w a r d e d yearly
to deserving Turf Management Students.

Secretary —
L E O N V. ST. P I E R R E
51 Fenwood R o a d
Longmeadow, Mass. 01 106
Phone 567-5562
Club Affiliation
Longmeadow C o u n t r y C l u b
First Vice-President —
A N T H O N Y C A R A N C I JR.
22 Hillview Drive
No. Providence, R. I. 02900
Phone 723-1688
Club Affiliation
Ledgemont Country C l u b

Educational Committee Chairman

THOMAS CURRAN
37 Parker Street
Fitchburg, Mass. 01420
Phone 342-9198
Club Affiliation
O a k Hill C o u n t r y C l u b

LUCIEN DUVAL
9 Rose Lane
Framingham Center, M a s s . 01701
Phone 872-0006
Club Affiliation
Chestnut Hill Country C l u b

ROBERT G R A N T
22 Patricia R o a d
Sudbury, Mass. 0 1 7 7 6
Phone 443-2671
Club Affiliation
Brae Burn Country C l u b

NORMAN MUCCIARONE
101 A l b a n Road
W a b a n , Mass. 02168
Phone 332-3056
Club Affiliation
W o o d l a n d Country C l u b

G o l f Committee Chairman

Finance Committee Chairman —
N. J. S P E R A N D I O
C o n c o r d , Mass. 0 1 7 4 2
Phone 369-4723
Club Affiliation
C o n c o r d Country C l u b

Second Vice-President —
R I C H A R D C. BLAKE
211 Sewall Street
Boylston, M a s s . 01505
Phone 869-2737
Club Affiliation
M t . Pleasant C o u n t r y C l u b

WILLIAM ASH
9 Pafton Street
No. Dartmouth, M a s s . 02747
Phone 993-8767

PHILIP C A S S I D Y
4 5 Grosvenor R o a d
Needham, M a s s . 02192
Phone 444-4127
Club Affiliation
Weston Golf Club

J O S E P H BUTLER
3 Ridgewood Terrace
Beverly. M a s s . 01915
Phone 922-1263
Club Affiliation
United Shoe C o u n t r y C l u b

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E D W A R D J. M U R P H Y
194 O x b o w R o a d
W a y l a n d , Mass. 01778
Phone 358-7410
Club Affiliation
Lexington Country C l u b
Newsletter Committee Chairman
DEAN ROBERTSON
24 Riverview Drive
Newbury, Mass. 01950
Phone 462-4540
Club Affiliation
O u l d Newbury G o l f C l u b

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Q J f

(Gourde

Superintendents

hdociation
PRESIDENT'S M E S S A G E

Seasons Qreetmgs

THE EVEN

November Meeting
The November Meeting was held at the Dedham
Country and Polo Club, on November 13, 1967. Bob
Muccaronie was the host superintendent. Dick Blake reminded all members of the National that it was their
duty to notify the same if they had any reclassification
of their status pertaining to insurance. Many of the members have not received insurance benefits when they
were really eligible, only beacuse they didn't keep their
records up to date.
It was voted to raise the dues to $25.00 per year to
replenish our funds in the bank account. The added cost
will cover the new Publicity Director and the additional expense of the
Newsletter.
Guests of the Association at the head table were: Mr.
Richard Sears, a member of the M.G.A. Executive Board,
Dr. Joseph Troll of the University of Massachusetts and
Ben J . Chlevin, Executive Director of the National who
was the featured guest speaker.
Golf Tournament Results
First low gross •— Jim Dirorio
First low net — tie
Pat DiPietro and Norm Beauregard

Christmas Party
The third annual Christmas Party will be December
14, 1967 at the Framingham Country Club. The cost will
be $15.00 per couple. Tickets will be available at the
next meeting and there will be a limited number sold.
They can only accommodate the first 70 couples, so get
your ticket early. The deadline for the tickets is December 10, 1967.
PROGRAM
Cocktail Hour
Dinner
Dancing

6:30 - 7:30
7 : 4 5 sharp
8:30 - 12:00

Next Meeting
The next meeting will be at our new winter quarters
at the Holiday Inn, Newton, December 4, 1967. This is
the Annual Meeting and the election of new officers will
be held, so come and vote or forever hold your peace.
The Holiday Inn is located on Grove Street, Newton,
Mass. (exit 53 on route 1 2 8 ) .
Directors' Meeting
Regular Meeting
Dinner
Educational Program

1 0 : 3 0 a. m.
1 1 : 0 0 a. m.
12:15 p.m.
1 : 1 5 p. m.

Bill Dwyer from United Airlines will be at the meeting and will discuss prices on plane flights to the National Turf Conference in California.

DOZEN

While having breakfast coffee, the "Briarcliff. Strings"
were playing the sweet melodies of an Impossible
Dream.
This set me to reminiscing to a few years ago when our
Association had certain goals in mind.
These dreams are now a reality . . .
Of the many high points scored by the Golf Course
Superintendents Association of New England are:
1. Establishing the Laurence S. Dickinson Scholarship
Fund.
2. Better relations and understanding with the Massachusetts Golf Association whereby they have appropriated a sum of money for turf grass research at
the University of Massachusetts.
3. Incorporating our Association . . . we are now
known as the Golf Course Superintendents Association of New England, Inc.
4. Public Relations display at the Eastern States Exposition for two consecutive years.
5. A special page in the Newsletter, listing our commercial friends' names. They are known as, "Friends of
the Association."
6. Changing our by-laws permitting accredited applicants a shorter waiting period, in order to become
an Associate Member.
7. Having one of our members elected to the G.C.S.A.A.
Board of Directors.
8. The annual Christmas party.
9. Desiring Superintendents may now have their Green
Chairman and Club President receive our Newsletter.
10. Changing the site of our indoor winter meetings,
from the Waltham Field Station, to more adequate
surroundings, presently, the Holiday Inn, in Newton.
11. Honorary memberships awarded to Dr. Joseph Troll
and to Homer C. Darling.
12. Joining the Massachusetts Roadside Council.
These dreams could not have been made possible without a devoted and hard working Board of Directors along
with a very enthusiastic membership.
As this is my last President's Message, I would like
to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of
you for your cooperation, patience and courtesies extended to me during the past three years. To those who have
left us "farewell", and to those who have joined us
"welcome."
Sincerely,
Leon V. St. Pierre
President

OF
SPECIAL M E S S A G E
I have never been accused of giving pious little
sermons, so I will come right to the point.
The last outdoor meeting had all the earmarks
of being one of the most successful of the year.
We had the Executive Director of the G.C.S.A.A.
among our distinguished guests, when upon entering the clubhouse, I was appalled to see a halfdozen newcomers
ill-dressed, without ties, high
boots and needing a conventional haircut (sideburns included). This attire will not be tolerated
any longer.
The Superintendents have always, in the past,
been exceedingly careful of their appearance and
behavior, whenever attending monthly meetings,
and there is absolutely no reason for not continuing to do so in the future.
No Superintendent shall bring a guest unless
indicated in the Newsletter.
Also, anyone not having a passenger car, but
only trucks at their disposal, should park these
vehicles in the rear, rather than in front of host
clubs.
Leon V. St. Pierre
President

"LIFT UP THYSELF"
While his prepared remarks cut a path through the
problems of golf course labor, the National's sectionhopping executive director — Ben J. Chlevin — pounded
out an old familiar theme during his visit to the New
England Superintendents November meeting at the Dedham Country and Polo Club.
The speech, complete with welcome asides from the
healthy gathering, strayed rather orderly to the cold war
between superintendent and the keepers of the country
club budget. Chlevin brought with him a number of possibilities, as to chilling the woes of obtaining and retaining competent labor. However, what eventually evolved
was the generally accepted realization that the country
club must take the lead in making adequate funds available to give the task of putting a spit and shine on the
course a fighting chance.
Included in the rundown of solutions were such as
importing help in apparent competition with the applepicking and tobacco-stripping industries; use of moonlight help like off-duty policemen and firemen; exploiting the reserved working power of the retired generation;
and perhaps trying a stint with the government's rehabilitation program.
Each of these was open to much criticism, off the
results of personal confrontations with one or another
of the intended labor aids. Naturally, it was conceded
that what would work on one side of the golfing road
wouldn't necessarily produce the same results on the

NEW

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other side. As a matter of fact . . . since the solutions
encompassed what turns into part-time and consequently
undependable help . . . it generally was resolved by both
speaker and audience the one great answer is the procuring of full-time labor workers.
This initiated probably what was the most important
portion of the session, including the robust pot roast
which the Dedham people whipped up to get the group
in an appreciative and contributing mood. The theme
extracted was that the country clubs must be directed
toward the conclusion the primary function of the club
is to provide membership with the best possible playing
grounds. Attaining such a goal, then, should be afforded
top priority when it comes time to crack the company
safe.
Chlevin, as expected a dynamic personality with inborn ability to peak attention and hold it there, supported such a theory with unusual vigor. He threw out the
problem to those present as more or less a personal challenge. According to him, it should border on religious
duty . . . this matter of having the superintendent sell
himself and his needs to those in the country club who
control the purse strings.
So, in the end, there is no single solution which would
carry "one for all, all for one" overtones. Academically
speaking, all realize that full-time help is the cure-all. In
the same breath, though, each must pursue his own
method in reaching that end of the rainbow.
Later in the day after the formal phase of the program had been planted in the back of the minds of the
membership, Chlevin engaged in informal banter with
several of the group while feeling out specific problems
to go with the general ones.
The visitor from the top of the golf course superintendents world appeared to retrace his words to the premise that people in the business are lax in matter of
personal pride. They seem content to take a "first no"
as the final answer to a plea for additional funds or
equipment. It becomes an atmosphere of retreat at the
first sign of setback when the battle of the budget stirs
up the emotions of everj^one involved.
There seems to be an evident silent partner walking
hand in hand with the profession. It must drum into
each superintendent the fact that he is engrossed in a
highly skilled and respected field, perhaps erase the inferiority complex image which is apparent from the position of the outsider viewing the overall scene.
It should be deemed compulsory that each superintendent -— no matter what his station on the ladder of
prominence in the golf's blue book — make a concentrated effort to educate his country club people as to the
importance of his job and himself.
If I were to sum up the substance of the golf superintendent's immediate aim, it would be to firmly suggest
. . . "lift up thyself."
— By Gerry Finn

FRIENDS OF THE A S S O C I A T I O N
John P. Simon, Asst. Mgr.
Springfield Rendering Company
P. O. Box 379
Springfield, Massachusetts 01101

Abbott Spray and Farm Equipment Co.
Waltham Street
Lexington, Massachusetts
Dr. Burton R. Anderson
Golf Course Architect
Turf and Golf Course Consultant
Route 5
Augusta, Maine

Karandrew Turf Farms, Inc.
Sam Mitchell, Sales Representative
18 Old Randolph Street
Canton, Massachusetts
Johns-Manville Sales Corpi.
150 Causeway Street
Boston, Massachusetts
- y ««».;" - — —

The Clapper Co.
1121 Washington Street
West Newton, Massachusetts

Larchmont Irrigation Co.
Larchmont Lane
,
Lexington, Massachusetts

Geoffrey S. Cornish
' .Golf Course Architect
Fiddler's Green
'Ainherst, Massachusetts

J . F. Aveni
Lu Soil — Soil Conditioner
Minerals & Chemicals Philipp Corp.
25 Concord Street
Belmont, Massachusetts

The Charles C. Hart Seed Co.
Wethersfield, Connecticut

Magovern Company, Inc.
Lawn Acre Road
Windsor Lock, Connecticut

Fuel Activator Chemical Corp.
C. F . Barbour — Regional Director
• 43000 Prudential Tower
Boston, Massachusetts

Stanley S. Philipkoski
Sales Representative
Stauffer Chemical Co.
380 Madison Avenue
New York, New York

Gaffny Enterprises, Inc.
Irrigation Specialists
. North Main Street
Middleton, Massachusetts

Sawtelle Brothers
Jet. Routes 128 and 62
Danvers, Massachusetts

- Grounds Equipment Co., Inc.
383 Boylston Street
Newton Centre, Massachusetts

Shepard Sod Company
Merion Blue Grass and Penoross Bent
200 Sullivan Avenue
South Windsor, Conn.

Kerr McGee Chemical Corporation
P . O. Box 790
Waterbury, Connecticut

Newsletter C o m m i t t e e C h a i r m a n
DEAN ROBERTSON
2 4 Riverview Drive
Newbury, Mass. 01950
Phone 4 6 2 - 4 5 4 0
Club Affiliation
Ould Newbury Golf Club

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Richey & Clapper, Inc.
28 Rutledge Road
Natick, Massachusetts
Philip A. Wogan
Golf Course Architect
21 Budleigh Avenue
Beverly, Massachusetts
Wyandotte Chemical Co.
709 Salada Building
Boston, Massachusetts
D. L. Maher Co.
Water Supply Contractors
Testwells — Gravel packed wells
Byron Jackson Pumps
P. O. Box 274
Woburn, Massachusetts
Alfco Rokeby Co., Inc.
Fertilizers and Chemical Specialties
P. O. Box 267
Marietta, Ohio
Ken Minasian
Scotts
6 Amelia Court
N. Providence, R. I.
The Kenneth Barrie Company
375 Centre Street
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
A. C. Lawn, Inc.
P. O. Box 436
Wakefield, Mass.
Tom Irwin Co.
Bennett Hill Road
Rowley, Massachusetts