Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon were in the White House. The population of the UnitedStates was 161,931,202. Winston Churchill resigns in April. The Soviet Union and seven East European countries sign the Warsaw Pact in May. Argentina ousts Dictator Juan Peron in September. Rosa Parks refuses to sit at the back of the bus, breaking Montgomery, Alabama segregated seating law in December. Cost of a first class stamp was $.03. The Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series. NCAA National football champions were the University of Oklahoma with an 11-0-0 record. On the Waterfront nearly sweeps the 1954 Academy Awards with Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint. Gunsmoke debuts on CBS, and will go on to be TV’s longest running Western. James Dean dies in a car accident at the age of 26. Miss American was Lee Meriwether from California. Fiber optics was developed.
In the state of Oklahoma, several golf course superintendents got together and formed the Oklahoma Golf Course Superintendent’s Association and joined the GCSAA in Lawrence, Kansas. Not much note taking was done at this time, so original members are forgotten, but today after 50 years, the Oklahoma Golf Course Superintendent’s Association is still going strong with over 200 members. Leslie Snyder is one of the oldest superintendents with over 50 years with the Association. Donald Parcel has over 40 years; Ed Brookshire, CGCS, Craig Elms, CGCS and Tom Baker have over 30 years; Gary Hallett, CGCS, Milton Hale, Jerry Broughton, CGCS, Mike Wooten, CGCS, and Leon Stroike all have over 25 years with the Association.
The purpose of the Oklahoma Golf Course Superintendent’s Association is to advance the art and science of golf course maintenance through the support of research, education, exchange of ideas, and the mutual cooperation of its membership. It shall also be the purpose of the Association to cooperate with and support the National Golf Course Superintendent’s Association.
