1955-1963 Crab Grass Picking Parties

 

Often times, in the humid heat of the summer, when I bend over and pull weeds from my garden,  I recall pulling grab grass at the country club. In the late 50's and early 60's my dad, and the board of officers would host one or two "Crab Grass Picking Parties" at the club during the year. 

*To read the "bag worm" story click on this link:Bag Worms, Really!

Dad and his team marked off rows on every green and families were assigned a green and could pick any row. Every hole on the golf course was worked by at least two to four families on these nights.  In the evening we would all gather near the clubhouse, go to our greens, and pick crab grass together.  Most tools were simply pocket knives or pairing knives. The men made sure to show their wives and kids how to dig in around the grass and pull.  Rebecca Mirjanick recalled that her family sat on hole #4 green and they brought their white handled serrated steak knives from home to cut out the crab grass. When the wind blew out of the south it certainly made our evenings more enjoyable. Grilled hamburgers were served either before or after the party.

fresh crab grass  

My most vivid memory occurred on hole #2 a dogleg right over a creek and around trees. One sweltering summer evening I remember my family sitting on green #2 on our paper folded pads (thank you Girl Scouts), knives, cans in which to toss the weeds.  The Sam Fullerton family arrived and sat down on their row with mats, towels, and tools. The Fullerton's were very wealthy and owned a large cattle ranch, and the land north and east of the golf course. Besides being well-known in town for the wealth and power, Sam was a Judge. They had a son, Billy, my age who was my secret boyfriend. We were in grade together at Roosevelt elementary.

I admired Ruth Fullerton with my child's heart and soul. Her face covered in cosmetics and face powder, never sweaty and oily like mine. Her clothes stiffly ironed and proper. Her voice soft, nearly whisper soft. That evening she sat down on her towel, tucked her skirt up under her side bottom, leaned over and began to dig and pull. Her grace and beauty left a smiling heartfelt memory with me. Later, when I was a teenager, she enjoyed playing golf with me, usually just the two of us.

Ruth once told me that I was lucky to have oily skin. (Imagine my mind spinning with that thought, when I thought I suffered through pimples because of the oily skin.) She went on to point out that I would not have to deal with wrinkled skin when I was older, whereas, she covered her wrinkles with layers of make-up. (Fifty plus years later, I am often reminded of her words when I look in the mirror after a round of golf. She may have been correct.)  

Ruth and Florence Dawson were the only two women at the country club to play with a full set of "woods" long before we had rescue clubs or hybrids.

Miami Golf and Country club--Thank you to the Dickie Neel family for sharing their photographs with me.

 **I find this story slightly ironic. By using our hands, knees, and knives we did not have the need or use for chemicals. I have no memory of having bug spray to kill mosquitoes, either. Mother treated our bug bites with "pink stuff."

Only a few years later, synthetic herbicides became popular for killing weeds. Even with the banning of some herbicides and chemicals like DDT, the shelves are still full of chemicals for killing weeds and insects.