Meet Your Neighbor… Jerry Wolfe

By DONNA NICKEL

While many yards are looking a bit crunchy in the mid-summer heat, Bellagio-like sprays of water gracefully arc over the field at North Canton's Memorial Stadium. The mist pampers the already lush green grass and mists the landscaping that surrounds the memorial fountain dedicated to Nancy Hertler, the late wife of longtime Hoover football coach Don Hertler, Sr, and mother of current Coach Don Hertler, Jr. This is hallowed ground for North Canton football fans and for 14 years groundskeeper Jerry Wolfe has made it his mission make the district's stadium complex a source of local pride and the envy of visiting teams.
With a hint of a twang left over from his boyhood spent in Preston, WV, Jerry talks with appreciation about the work ethic he learned from his parents. His father was in the timber business for a while, then worked as an elementary school custodian, while his mother was a third grade teacher. The Wolfe family also ran five farms. “We raised beef cattle, about 360 heads. We worked from sun up to sun down, no vacations. I was first string on the basketball team from eighth grade on. I'd do chores in the morning and come home from practice at night and do more chores. As a teen, I surely didn't want to do it because it was hard work. But now, I could see where it would be relaxing and you get to see the progress.” He often helped his father repair the family's farm equipment. “My dad was probably my biggest educator, much more than a four year college. His motto was 'if it breaks, you figure out how to fix it.'”
In 1973 while on summer break from Faiirmount State College, Jerry journeyed north to the Canton area in hope of finding a job with a large company that would help pay for his mechanical engineering degree. He found that hands-on learning was a better fit for him. He took a job as a machinist at National Rubber Machinery in Tallmadge. When National Rubber closed its doors, he worked for the Department of Energy building centrifuges at the aerospace complex at Goodyear. When that plant closed, he transferred to Goodyear Aerospace's wheel and brake division where he worked until he was layed off in 1993.
By that time he had family to support. He'd met his wife Betty, a Hartville native while shooting skeet with her brother-in-law. The couple now has two grown sons, Dustin and Brian and will celebrate 30 years of marriage this month.
He thought about building a cabinet shop and working out of his home. “I'd done some minor woodworking since I was a teen.” To make ends meet while getting the cabinetry business off the ground, he put in an application with the North Canton City School District for subsitute bus driver. “They saw my resume and said they had other positions they wanted me to consider. One of them was groundskeeper and one was custodial. I took groundskeeper right away because it was outside work.”
Dick Miller had served as groundskeeper for 41 years, with someone holding the position for a brief interval before Jerry took over. “The grounds were in better shape than others, but they needed some work.” At that time, there was no landscaping, shrubs or flower beds in the complex. “I actually created more work for myself.” The park between the soccer/lacrosse field and practice field, once loaded with poison ivy, is now nicely landscaped. “I eventually want to put picnic tables there with more landscaping,” Jerry said, adding “I'm constantly looking to make improvements.” He said he often hears positive comments about Hoover's stadium. “Outsiders and people from visiting teams really appreciate the landscaping and the condition of the fields.”
Though he'll answer to groundskeeper, the industry now calls Jerry's position Athletic Sports Turf Manager “because there's so much more involved.” His list of responsibilities includes fertilizing and watering the five fields at the complex, fertilizing and lining four additional fields in the district, and also maintaining the stadium facility, which entails painting, bleachers, lights and concession stands.
Though he attends all football games and most other stadium events, he rarely watches the games. He spends his time in his office catching up on paperwork and making himself available in case of problems with the PA system, controls or lighting. “I'm also there to lock everything up after the games. During spring and fall sports, I'm here 12 to 14 hours a day. I'm lucky I have a very understanding wife.”
There's no rest for Jerry in the winter months either. When he was hired, the district planned to send him over to the high school during the off-season to do miscellaneous tasks. Jerry suggested better use for his talents. “They used to send the machines out to a service to be fixed. Now all the equipment in the district; about 70 pieces from blowers, mowers to custodial equipment, comes to me for maintenance and repair. It keeps me busy all winter.”
In the near future, upgrades and changes are planned for the stadium complex and Jerry's looking forward to the challenges. “A lot depends on the funding from private donors, but we're looking at installing an artificial turf field after the 2008 track season. People ask me what I'll do when it's installed. Believe me, I'll be busy. It's actually more man hours maintaining artificial turf with all the grooming, disinfecting, and cleaning.”
“This place consumes me. I love every aspect of my job.” His one regret is that he doesn't get to spend a lot of time interacting with the athletes. “I know a lot of faces, but not a lot of names. I don't have time. I'd like to be able to talk to them about what goes into making this place look the way it does. I'd tell them, “this is your stadium and I'm trying to make it look nice for you.”