DECEMBER 1972

our6e .S^uperin
lupi
tendenti
OF

NEW

E N G L A N D ,

\iociali
on

I N C .

Sponsors and administrators of the Lawrence S.
Dickinson Scholarship Fund — Awarded yearly
to deserving Turf Management Students.

FROSTING FOR YOUR FUTURE
Unless your club has provided a pension plan among your
fringe benefits or you have undertaken such protection on
your own, you are among the 31 million Americans who do
not belong to any pension plan.
This figure is shocking in itself. Another figure, suggested
by such critics of the U . S. pension system as Senator J a c o b
Javits of New York and Ralph Nader, claims that perhaps
millions of Americans — enrolled in pension plans — will
never see a pension check.
The key to pensions is the concept of vesting, a protective
device which the employer now totally controls. This occurs
after a certain number of years on the job when an employee
gets an irrevocable right to a pension. The only catch here is
the time requirement.
In many cases vesting only begins after a minimum length
of service, usually 10 to 15 years, and it is this rider to the
pension plan that seriously affects people indulged in professions like that of the golf course superintendent.
With this in mind, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America has been attempting to set up a program
for its members whereby vested interest would be transferable. Since the superintendent is exposed to the possibility of
frequent j o b change, this part of the national proposal is
especially important.
Unfortunately, the national has nothing concrete to report
to the membership at this time and offers in explanation that
it has been having problems with the Internal Revenue
Service in effecting a program.
Charles Baskin of Waterbury, Conn, has been doubling in
his duties as secretary-treasurer and vice welfare chairman.
He has been right on top of the situation and in fact became
the first member of the national association ever to appear
before the House Ways and Means Committee in Washington
for the purpose of establishing a fair pension p r o g r a m for
the superintendent.

NEXT MEETING

10:30
11:00
12:15
1:00

Baskin points out that superintendents must approach the
method of pensions with the transferable vested rights attachment in mind. " I ' v e heard of many cases where a man left
a job with six months to go on his vested rights service requirement", Baskin tells. " A n d he wound up losing it all. We
have to avoid this, since we are apt to move out of a job
three or four times in a career."
The national plan would be a three-way agreement among
the club, the association and the individual. "Of course, club
participation would be on a voluntary basis", he notes. " B u t
from what I've seen I'm sure that most clubs would be happy
to participate. Whatever the involvement by them, the fact
that vested rights be transferable is the key to the situation."
Your future, then, can be frosted if this vital section of the
pension plan is included in the overall program. It is the
reason people like Senator Javits, Nader and even the Nixon
Administration have been trying to get bills pushed through
Congress which would put the vested rights of a plan in
motion from the start and keep it working for the employee
if he has to make frequent j o b changes.
"We're not going to sit on this thing much longer", Baskin
discloses. " T h e pension plan for members is one of our top
priorities and we'll be ready with a new plan if the I R S
doesn't act on our proposal. We want a just plan for our
members. It affects all of us, a very important part of our
profession being security. The perpetual vested rights rider
will insure us of that security."
— Gerry Finn

1

The next meeting of the G.C.S.A. of N. E. will be held
December 11, 1972, at the Holiday Inn, Newton, Massachusetts. It is important that all members attend this meeting.
Not only is this the annual meeting but in the afternoon we
will be discussing the duties of our association at the upcoming National. The dates for the National are J a n u a r y 7-12,
1973 at Boston, Massachusetts.
Schedule for December 1 1 :
Directors' Meeting
Regular Meeting
Luncheon
Convention Discussion

"We've been waiting for a year and a half to hear from
the I R S on our plan", Baskin reports. " I t all hinges on the
substantial forfeiture aspect. What we're trying to d a is get
approval on a p r o g r a m similar to the golf club managers.
I might add that we also are investigating other programs if
we don't get an answer from the I R S soon."

a.m.
a.m.
p.m.
p. m.

The Nominating
slate for 1 9 7 3 :

Committee

has

proposed

President

Robert

1st Vice President
2nd Vice President

the

following

Grant

T o m Curran, Joe Butler
Wayne Zoppo, Lester Allen

Secretary

Ronald

Kirkman

Treasurer

Lucien

Trustee 3 years

Max Mierzwa

Finance Committee Chairman
Golf Committee Chairman

Duval

N a r y Sperandio
Robert Mucciarone

Educational Committee Chairman

L a r r y Bunn

Newsletter Committee Chairman .... Dean Robertson

ourde Superintendents

~s$ddociation •

DIAL 'R' FOR RAIN
A few of the superintendents f r o m the Connecticut section
of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
were sitting around the chummy confines of the Hartford
Golf Club the other week after winding up that group's annual meeting. A n d . weather dominated the conversation.
" T h i s has certainly been one weird year for r a i n " , one
offered. " A n d I have to laugh (now that it's all over) when
I think of how Mother Nature can dictate just where your
work emphasis will be for the season. A few years back we
were all running around checking out irrigation systems to
combat a dry spell. This year it's just the reverse. We're up
to our necks trying to provide proper drainage for the overflow of r a i n . "
What can be done about this complex turnabout of corrective measures being controlled by the weather? "Control
the darn stuff", one obviously soft-headed super piped. And
the argument proceeded- to develop.
Can it be possible that perhaps some day man will be able
to control the weather? The gathering seemed to be divided,
although even the negative pushers agreed that eventually
we'll be able to produce some form of rain storm at our
discretion.
" I can see how it's possible for man to make it r a i n " , a
contributor to the session delivered a semi-concession. " B u t
there's no way he'll be able to turn on the sun. I just can't
buy that."
Trips to the moon, perhaps a space station on M a r s . All
of these are things that people categorized with weather control only a few years ago. Now they are happenings which
prompt the backers of the sun-makers and rain-splashers to
voice optimism in this direction.
" T h e r e ' s only one thing wrong with this", one sharp super
inserted. " W h a t do I do if some superintendent a few miles

TOURNAMENT

WINNERS

away doesn't have a good irrigation system and decides he
wants an all-night rain when I'm looking for cool, wetless
nights? How is he going to be able to isolate that storm he
orders? And how will it affect other people in the immediate
053

area :
That seems to be the universal query of all the superintendents in this particular discussion. And the answer to
that appeared almost as far-fetched as the control notion itself.
We'd just have to set up some sort of a system whereby
we would have a community need arrangement", a super stated, " I f we could confine the rain, say, to within a five-mile
area, we'd be able to set it up on a community-need b a s i s . "
Of course, the golfer would have to be considered, too.
" Y e a h " , another super snorted. " T h e golfer definitely wouldn't
want any rain during the day, and that might botch up our
whole schedule. There are certain days I set aside to work
-on equipment.-Those a r e the d a y s when it rains. ![ il never
rained during the day, I'd be spending all my man hours on
the golf course."
That brought more quizzical looks from the group. Control
of the weather just might, after all, not be the savior that it
cracked up to be. " R i g h t " , a super added. " I can see my
budget needs almost doubling if we never had off-golfing days.
I'd have to hire a crew to work on the equipment at night."
Weather control, then, could turn out to be more of a
hindrance than a help. However, the conclusion drawn from
the group was that some kind of control was coming in the
future. " W e probably will be able to dial 'R' for r a i n " , they
summed it up. " B u t dialing that ' S ' for sun. That's another
story."
Dial yourself a r a i n s t o r m ? Don't laugh. You may have
your digit doing just that one of these days. Woweee!
— Gerrv Finn

in it for the past twenty-one years. Both are from the Weston
Golf Club, Weston, Massachusetts.
The Seniors Tournament was won by the very capable
Julius Aksten of the St. Mark's Golf Club. For those of you
who didn't know, Julius is in the Hospital recovering from
a knee operation. Good luck for a fast recovery, J u l i u s !

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Jim Browning, Phil Cassidy
Browning-Cassidy won the John Shanahan Tournament at
B r a e B u r n again this y e a r ! This is the fifth time since 1960
that they have won this tournament and Cassidy has played

ROBERT G R A N T
22 Patricia Road
Sudbury, Mass. 01776
Phone 443-2671
Club Affiliation
Brae Burn Country Club

First Vice President —
THOMAS CURRAN
153 Fisher Street
Walpole, Mass. 02081
Phone 668-7221
Club Affiliation
The Country Club

Second Vice President W A Y N E ZOPPO
48 Barberry Drive
Seelconk, Mass.
Phone 399-7141
Club Affiliation
A g a w a m Hunt

Due to unforseen circumstances we were not able to have
a meeting of the membership of the G.C.S.A. of New England at the Highland Country Club on November 6, 1972.
Our next meeting will be held on December 11, 1972 at the
Holiday Inn, Newton, Mass. Directors will meet at 1 0 : 3 0 a. m.
s h a r p ; regular meeting at 1 1 : 0 0 and lunch at 1 2 : 1 5 . This is
our annual meeting and everyone should make an effort to
attend. After lunch we will meet again to review all arrangements of the National Turf Conference and Show. It is
important that all directors, committer chairmen, committee
members and interested members attend.
We are looking forward to a large turnout.
Bob Grant
President, G C S A of New England
Fine

Secretary —
RONALD KIRKMAN
25 Green Street
Needham, Mass. 02192
Phone 444-8412
Club Affiliation
Needham Golf Club

LUCIEN DUVAL
R.F. No. 5 Gault Road
Bedford, N. H. 03105
Phone 472-3454
Club Affiliation
Manchester Country C l u b

M A X MIERZWA
106 Crestwood Street
Chicopee, Mass. 01020
Phone 594-4996
Club Affiliation
Chicopee Country C l u b

NORMAN MUCCIARONE
101 Alban Road
Waban, Mass. 02168
Phone 332-3056
Club Affiliation
W o o d l a n d Golf Club

BERT F R E D E R I C K
4 5 Stoney Brook Road
Nabnaset, Mass.
Phone 453-1231
Club Affiliation
Vesper Country Club

e Chairman —

NARYSPERANDIO
Concord, Mass. 01742
Phone 369-4723
Club Affiliation
Concord Country Club

- O F

SOUND OFF ! ! ! !
(The mailman has been good to us this month.
Arriving
are some of the most interesting letters we've received
in
many a spin of the Sound OfJ table. Remember, these contributors comprise the readership of the Neiv England
Neivsletter and it is their way of telling us what they like and
dislike about any golf subject . . . even some of the articles
they see printed here. So, be part of the growing
number
of writers ivho have come to make this feature a most interesting one. Gather up your opinions and send them to Newsletter Mail Box, 24 Riverview
Drive, Newbury, Mass. 01950.
The Newsletter reserves the right to comment on all letters
published).

" Y o u r article, 'When the Manpower Goes Off', Newsletter
September '72, is very well done. I am pleased that we rearranged the school calendars so that the first semester finishes before Christmas, and students will be available the
second Monday in M a y f o r work. This will be a big boom
in that they can be available one month earlier.
" T h e severe problem of fall return to school earlier continues, and there is no easy solution to it. S o m e people are
turning to construction where possible during the summer as
an attempt to use their manpower just to get the work done.
S o m e will be turning to manpower groups for short term
labor for special projects.
" T h e 'Sound Off' column you have month by month makes
good reading. Sometimes it is hard to determine what is
progress. Those of us who bounced around over the U. S.
appreciate the diversity of things faced.
" K e e p up the good w o r k ! "
W I L L I A M H. D A N I E L
Turf Research & Extension
Purdue University
Thanks for the back-pounding, Bill. W e certainly get the
manpower when we go to the mail bag.

n E W

E N G L A N D ,

I N C .

-

"

I'm simply overjoyed everytime I see those pretty flowers
bordering a golf course and spreading their own joy to
people like m e . "
MAUDE MAYBERRY
Vernon, Conn.
Maude, don't you dare apologize for anything. You're tie
greatest since that little old lady from Pasadena!

" Y o u hit on a beautiful discussion in the October '72 Newsletter — 'In Union There Is Strength', It is a tough one. A s
I sit at my desk and get phone calls, it is always a problem
when someone is needed or when somebody is released. Most
country club committees hire only one p e r s o n ; while they are
on the Greens Committee they hire a superintendent. If he
is fired, usually someone else fires him and then with limited
expertise they hire another. It is a real dilemma.
" T h e r e are some rules of thumb . . .
" 1 . Always be above board with the man being replaced.
Always assume that the word will get out locally and there
is no point in trying to be secretive, kind, understanding.
If there is reason to replace him, admit it.
" 2 . Allow time to canvass the field. I have heard of fifty
people inquiring about one job. I have seen a committee sort
out more than twenty letters and applications. F i n e ! We
can do the same thing with engineers, public relations firms,
architects, or any other professional group.
" 3 . There is prestige connected with education, and we
keep telling people turf is technical and getting scientific, and
that there is much to be learned about turf care. That is why
when someone ignores their professional expertise their position can erode.
"Finally, it seems to me the superintendents have never had
security or better conditions for their continued professional
practice than now. Certainly as I work I see men interested
in upgrading good conditions than trying to cover over poor
conditions."
W I L L I A M H. D A N I E L
Turf Research & Extension
Purdue University
You have strung out some worthwhile guidelines for the
country club job filler. Let's hope he fakes advantage of them.

" I am writing to you people about a very important subject,
one close to my heart . . . even though it may not appeal to
the male members of your readership.
" I heavily endorse the use of wildlife flowers on the golf
course and want to stand counted as one who appreciates the
beauty of a golf course as well as its architectural and grooming advantages.
"Don't think me to be a meddling old maid, because I
write of such things. However, I am taking the liberty of
suggesting to your members certain publications which might
aid the superintendent in providing the golfer with the natural
beauty of flowers in bloom.
" T h e list includes such as 'How to Grow Mayflowers from
Seeds and Cuttings'. 'Terraniums, Their Making, Planting and
Cultivation' and 'Helpful Hints in Conserving Wild Flowers.'
" P l e a s e forgive me for butting into your business, but

Golf Chairman —

JULIUSAKSTEN

Educational Chairman —

LARRY BUNN

Newsletter Chairman —

DEANROBERTSON

24 Riverview Drive
Newbury, Mass. 01950

21 I Sewall Street
Boylston, Mass. 01505

STmSo885

ciubnAffSia?io°n467

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Blue Hill Country Club

Chestnut Hill Country Club

•

.

*

JOB OPEN
9-Hole Course
Contact Mr. Gordon Peterson
Lexington Country Club
Hill Street, Lexington, Massachusetts

RICHARDC.BLAKE

145 Dedham Street
Canton, Mass.

*

(That puts the 30 mark on things for this time around the
Sound Off circle. The Newsletter is indeed gratified to find
that people with the professional stature of William H. Daniel
take time out to express their views in this column. We welcome such words of wisdom and invite more of same from
everyone interested in spreading
the word of the superintendent. This page belongs to you. You can spread your message. Surely . . . you have one!)

Past President —

6 Main Street
Sou+hboro. Mass. 01772
St. Mark's Golf Club

*

7

Mt. Pleasant Country Club

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P i e a a e feaiwmfye FRIENDS OF THE ASSOCIATION
R. D. Sibley, Jr., Representative
375 Power Rd.
Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860

Fairway Equipment, Inc.
Sales — Service — Rentals
35 Walnut St., Reading, Mass.

Mallinckrodt Chemical Works
Second and Mallinckrodt Streets
St. Louis, Mo. 63160

Alfco Rokeby Co., Inc.
Fertilizers and Chemical Specialties
P. 0 . Box 267, Marietta, Ohio

Agrico Chemical Company
Farm Bureau Association
158 Lexington St., Waltham, Mass. 02154
Fred Heyliger, Representative
Thomas F. Grummell, Representative

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

Allen's Seed Store, Inc.
South County Trail Rt. No. 2
Slocum, Rhode Island
Charles Allen, Jr., Rep.
Bacher Corp., Lawn and Snow Equipment
876 Boston Rd. (Rt. 3A)
Billerica, Mass. 01866
Baker Tractor Corp., Ford Tractors
Harley Davidson Golf Cars
Swansea, Massachusetts
The Charles C. Hart Seed Co.
Richard McGahan, Rep.
Wethersfield, Conn.
Corenco Corporation
525 Woburn Street
Tewksbury, Mass. 01876
William Ferris
*The Clapper Co.
1121 Washington St.
West Newton, Mass.
* Geoffrey S. Cornish & William G. Robinson
Golf Course Architects
Fiddlers Green, Amherst, Mass. 01002
George E. Cull
Terra-Green Soil Conditioner
112 Green St., Abington, Mass.
C. S. Curran
T. R. C. Products, Oils and Greases
7 Linden St., Framingham, Mass.
Eastern Industrial Handling Co., Inc.
Norwood, Massachusetts
Westcoaster Turf and Golf Carts
E-Z-Go Golf Car, Division Textron, Inc.
Sales - Service - Rentals
Route 28, Pocasset, Massachusetts 02559
Call Ed McGuire collect 617/563-2234

Fisk, Alden Ford Tractor Sales
Rear 900 Providence Highway
Dedlbam, Mass. 02026
Manuel Francis and Son, Inc.
Turf Nurseries
624 Webster St., Marshfield, Mass.
Ron Gagne — Scotts Golf Course Div.
Kendall Park, Phone 617/285-7466
Norton, Mass. 02766
Gold Star Sod Farms, Inc.
(Canterbury, New Hampshire)
(Sales Office) 1265 Mass. Ave.
Lexington, Mass. 02173 Tel. 861
Grounds Equipment Co., Inc.
383 Boylston St., Newton Cen., Mass.
Holliston Sand Company, Inc.
Lowland Street, Holliston, Mass. 01746
Sand for Golf Bunkers and Traps
Irrigation & Equipment Supply Co.
P. O. Box 147 Route 1
Walpole, Mass. 02081
Tel. 617-668-7814
*Tom Irwin, Inc.
11B A Street
Burlington, Mass.
Karandrew Turf Farms, Inc.
Sam Mitchell, Sales Representative
15 Longmeadow Drive, Canton, Mass.
The Kenneth Barrie Company
Irrigation
375 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, Mass.
Larchmont Irrigation Co.
Larchmont Ln., Lexington, Mass.

D. L. Maher Co.
Water Supply Contractors
P. O. Box 274, Woburn, Mass.
New England Sealcoating Co., Inc.
Astroturf, Tennis Courts, Pavement
Sealcoating — Hingham Industrial Center
Hingham, Mass. Tel. 749-3236
Old Fox Chemical Inc.
Fertilizers — Seeds — Turf Chemicals
66 Valley Street
East Providence, Rhode Island 02914
Sil Paulini, Inc.
6 Manor Avenue
Natick, Mass. 01760
Richey & Clapper, Inc.
28 Rutledge Road
Natick, Mass. 01760
Trencher & Equipment Leasing, Inc.
Ditch Witch Trenchers
38 Fairview St., Agawam, Ma. 01001
Phone 413-781-4600
*Sawtelle Brothers
Jet. Routes 128 and 62
Danvers, Mass.
Shepard Sod Company
Merion Blue Grass and Pencross Bent
200 Sullivan Ave., So. Windsor, Conn.
Tuco Products Co.
Division of the Upjohn Company
Kalamazoo, Michigan
White Turf Engineering
5 Sumner Drive, Winchendon, Ma. 01475
617-297-0941
Philip A. Wogan
Golf Course Architect
21 Budleigh Ave., Beverly, Mass.

* Contributors to the Lawrence S. Dickinson Scholarship Fund

Newsletter C o m m i t t e e C h a i r m a n
2 4 Riverview D r i v e
Newbury, Massachusetts 01950
Phone 462-4540
C l u b Affiliation
C h e s t n u t Hill C o u n t r y C l u b
L E O N V . ST. P I E R R E
Business M a n a g e r
GERRY FINN
Contributing Editor