Page 20 - BOMA Spring 2017 Insider

and valves, et cetera. “I’m also the And over time, those efforts have resulted in the biggest, lushest, weed-free lawn in
plumber when needed,” he says, with a the city.
laugh.
“When the grass is thick enough, you don’t have weeds,” says Ferguson.
And of course he’s also the guy who Ferguson still handles most of the groundskeeping duties himself, and employs a
looks after the biggest and greenest staff of five for the spring and summer months, which includes his son Don Jr. Ideally,
patch of grass in downtown Winnipeg.
depending on the weather, the crew starts taking care of the field in mid-March,
Keeper of the Green beginning with Ferguson clearing out all of the drains at field level. “And we start
watering as soon as it won’t freeze anymore – probably the last week in April or early
Everyone who’s walked on the field for May.”
the first time at Shaw Park comes away Occasionally unpredictable weather poses just one challenge for Ferguson and
with the same thought. Every square inch company (“We’ve all become experts at looking at radar and knowing when to put
feels like lush, high pile carpet beneath the tarp on,” he says with a chuckle). The downtown ballpark also hosts concerts,
your feet. The grass is impeccable. weddings and other special events, from championship boxing events to professional
Good luck finding anyone more Snocross (snowmobiling), all of which require varying levels of field prep.
knowledgeable than the Goldeyes And some of those are cringe worthy, from a groundskeeper’s vantage point. Like the
groundskeeper on the topic of growing ‘Life in Color’ event – famous for spraying paint all over its concert attendees – hosted
and maintaining a playing field or a at Shaw Park in July 2016.
fairway. Ferguson, who started his career
as a 13-year-old assistant groundskeeper “They brought in 4 big pallets of paint, so we put tarps down for that one” says
at Shilo Country Club, has seen it all, and Ferguson, “but the paint soaked right through to the grass. That’s probably the
Shaw Park reaps the benefits of his 50+ messiest one I’ve had.”
years of experience. “The Guess Who concert was a great event, but it was the worst in terms of ‘shock’
“The field is a mixture of everything, to the grass. We had tarps down for that too, but the combination of rain and heat just
but basically it’s dwarfed bluegrasses,” baked the field. It took 3 weeks to get the grass back.”
says Ferguson, who was the first And “getting the grass back” is no small task, given the meticulous care that goes
groundskeeper hired by the club, prior to into it. On game days, and every second day when the team is out of town, Ferguson
the building being constructed in 1999. spends anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 ½ hours on his mower. That includes cutting
“And we’ve reseeded it with everything and then ‘striping’ the grass into various patterns, which the veteran groundskeeper
known to man. We use about 100 has become expert at, though he makes that process sound impossibly simple:
pounds of grass seed every year.”