|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Colby's campus moved up to number two in The Princeton Review's annual ranking of America's most beautiful campuses–behind only the University of Richmond. Credit J. Fredrick Larson, the original architect of the Mayflower Hill campus, credit campus leaders who judiciously expanded the original plan, and credit the hardworking folks in the Physical Plant Department who keep Colby's 58 buildings and 714 acres spiffy. Students often remark that it's the open spaces and expansive lawns that attracted them to Colby. "It's one of the first things people notice when they tour," said Keith Stockford, grounds supervisor. "That first impression is important." While handsome terraces give Colby an advantage in national beauty contests, budgetary support and administrative appreciation also help Colby achieve the national ranking, Stockford says. Equipment, sod, irrigation, fertilizer and a half ton of grass seed each year aren't inexpensive, and neither are training courses for groundskeepers. Perhaps most critical is the crew's belief in the importance of its work. Thirteen full-time workers maintain the grounds and are augmented by seven summer workers. Rodney Ferland is "one of our proudest," said groundskeeper Danny Huard. "You couldn't meet a nicer guy." Ferland, after more than 20 years at Colby, maneuvers the 11-foot mower around campus like a surgeon, tilting the side decks so they don't scalp the terraces and skillfully avoiding obstacles. Dana Jones, who is the athletic field striper, watches games on television "to see how straight their lines are," said Stockford. Jones is such a perfectionist with the blue "C" on the football field that coaches of other Colby teams have requested exact replicas on their fields. "It's the added things that we like to do," said Stockford. "It dresses it up." Now, with a horticulturist recently added, "we have a very diverse crew," he said. "There is very little we can't accomplish." The grounds crew maintains about 100 acres of lawns and sports fields and mows another 200 acres twice a year. "It takes seven people to mow and trim the entire campus," said Stockford, describing a cycle that ends Friday afternoon and begins again Monday morning. It takes one person two months to prune plantings, and another person was hired this summer solely to remove weeds. Getting things green in time for commencement is an annual challenge, but the most hectic days are spent preparing for the opening of school. While Stockford is clearly proud of his unit's contribution to the number two ranking, nobody is resting on any laurels. If anything, the ranking has been a spur to even higher aspirations in the spirit of the old Avis car rental ads: "We're number two so we try harder."
|
|
readers write | periscope | from the hill | student life | faculty file | books & authors gifts and grants | alumni at large | obituaries | final period
©1999 COLBY COLLEGE
|
