Stoking Grass
“It’s a life that began with a fateful decision: Growing up in eastern Pennsylvania, Toma decided that he wouldn’t become a coal miner like his father, who had died of black lung. To help his mother and sister, Toma worked at a nearby farm. He was paid 50 cents a day. On Saturdays, he could kill two chickens and take all the vegetables he could carry. He learned how to water crops, prep and plant seeds and aerate the land, skills that would help him for generations. He was a born groundskeeper. As children, he and his friends would clear a field near his house so they could play. Toma would drag springs from old mattresses across the ground to create a smooth surface. He used white coal ash for the lines.” NYT (Gift Article): All Hail the ‘God of Sod,’ Groundskeeper for All 57 Super Bowls.