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Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio01-01-05 | News

Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio

Continuous Improvements in Cemetery Operations

By Jodie Carter & Jenny Boyle

Chartered in 1845 by the Cincinnati Men’s Horticulture Society, Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum began as a 177-acre dairy farm. A horticulturist named Adolph Stauch began what was then considered an unconventional lawn plan. He wanted to develop the landscape to be in harmony with nature. He re-routed roads so they followed the natural shapes of Spring Grove’s hills and valleys and he built lakes, islands, and footbridges. Stauch also made sure to protect woodland areas and planted hundreds of trees and vegetation from other parts of the world.

Historic Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum, located in Cincinnati, Ohio is the final resting place for over 50 Civil War generals and politicians. The cemetery, open to the public, is known worldwide for its beautiful grounds. Tom Smith and Tom Pfeifer, affectionately known as “Smitty and Fife,” are two of the men responsible for keeping Spring Grove gorgeous. They run their business with a “quality vs. quantity” motto and their methods for cemetery operations have proven to be continually successful.

Smith, the senior vice president of Spring Grove, joined the organization in 1972 as assistant horticulturist. He was elected to his present position in 1987 and has dedicated himself to improving the cemetery grounds through new product use, new equipment, new ideas, and cost-cutting methods. He and Pfeifer, one of several grounds managers at the facility, take great care in everything they do, from the hiring process for new employees, to testing several kinds of products. They agree that a company’s success begins with the staff.

The Sentinel, or the Soldier’s Monument, as it is sometimes referred to, is called a “galvanized hero.” It was cast in bronze in the famed Royal Foundry of Ferdinand Von Miller of Munich, the same place that finished the Tyler Davidson Fountain a few years later. It commemorates all Cincinnatians who died during the Civil War. A variety of spring tulips surround the base of the monument.

“It’s important to start off right on the bottom level,” says Pfeifer. “We do a lot of advertising in the paper and interviewing in the spring. We might interview 25 people for three jobs.”

Both men are of the opinion that it is well worth spending extra time to find the perfect candidate, especially if you are looking to cut labor costs by hiring a smaller than average staff.

“If you are going to create a team, you need to start out with the right people,” says Pfeifer. “We use background checks because sometimes a person looks good, but then we’ll find out something like they don’t have a driver’s license.”

In addition to thorough in-house research on candidates for employment, Smith and Pfeifer use outside testing agencies to find employees who will be compatible with grounds operations.

“We need them to fit the mold,” Pfeifer explains, “We’re always looking for a few good people.”

New Technologies Make for Efficiency

Pfeifer employs time - and energy-saving techniques to maintain the expansive 733-acre property—only 450 acres of which are developed. He says it used to be difficult to maintain the ground where leaves constantly fell. In the past, workers literally had to pick up every leaf by hand, or use a blower to group the leaves together and then rake them up to be put into a vacuum truck. But Pfeifer and his team have made use of new high-powered lawn mowers that actually have mulching gear that attaches right to the mower. This significantly cuts down the time and cost of mulching because an entire step is taken out.

“We cut our crew down from 25-30 people to 11-13 people,” boasts Pfeifer. “We have less manpower now. . .It fits right into the national theme of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle.”

Pfeifer explains that outsiders doubted their new methods of grounds maintenance, but experience has shown that they save money and get the job done better.

“We’ve never looked back,” he says. “The machines put out 1/4-inch size particles and put nutrition right back into the ground. It’s a win-win.”

Before: To deal with the leaves that cover the ground in the fall, Spring Grove uses Exmark riding mowers that have a mulching attachment so cleanup can be done in one easy step.

After: Section 111, free of leaves after being mulched.

Pfeifer and Smith say that companies often come to them with new products.

“We will not think about purchasing a piece of equipment without a demonstration,” explains Pfeifer.

He says it is common to find several vendors at a time bringing by new machinery for the grounds crew to try out. Based on their feedback, designers will modify and perfect the product and then test it again at Spring Grove. Pfeifer says it gives them a heads up on the latest products and they are able to share that information with others in the industry.

“Every year we do a ‘Spring Tune-up’ for the ICFA magazine which gives others tips on great new equipment,” he says.

In addition to testing the products that come to them, Pfeifer and Smith look for ways to modify equipment used in different industries for their own purposes.

“We have a soil hauler that holds 10,000 pounds of soil, and won’t create ruts,” says Pfeifer. “We found this thing on construction sites - we watched [it] float across the ground and thought, ‘If we can just double the size of those tires we’ve got something.’”

Finding a machine that did not create ruts was very important to Pfeifer and Smith. They focus much of their efforts on preserving the grounds, which are constantly being disrupted due to the burial process.

“This isn’t a golf course,” says Pfeifer. “We can’t say, ‘Sorry, no golf this morning.’ We have to make burials every day, no matter what the conditions are.”

Machines like the soil hauler minimize the damage caused by the imminent burials so that no matter the weather, the grounds are preserved. Both men agree that going outside one’s own industry is essential to gaining new ideas for equipment and products.

This mower, called the Prowler, is designed by Encore. It is one example of the many prototypes that the Spring Grove grounds keepers test. Vendors often bring demos to the site for feedback on how they can improve their latest innovations.

Not only does Spring Grove test new machinery, but they also hold a research license in pesticide applications. This enables them to perform their own tests and share their new finds and what they think are great new products. They are a wonderful support system for the entire green industry. Pfeifer says it is great to witness the growth of the small companies that develop these new pesticide technologies.

“We watch [them] grow from ?EUR??,,????'??mom ‘n’ pop’ pick up trucks to professional trucks and uniforms,” he says.

Ground Maintenance

To maintain grass growth, Pfeifer and the rest of his team use a product call Primo. It is used in the Midwest to reduce the amount of grass blades that grow and is put around markers to reduce growth around flush memorials, which are the hardest to trim. Pfeifer says Primo keeps the grass in check from April through June.

When the miles of turf do need to be trimmed (especially along roadways and beds), the crews use bed edgers that can cut and mulch at the same time?EUR??,,????'??+a far cry from how things were done in years past.

“Fifteen years ago we’d have students with spades hold a sting line and we’d have them hop up and down on top of the spades to trim grass along curbs,” says Pfeifer. “Now, reduce that down to three people - one to run the edger, and two to clean up behind it.” It is yet another example of how Spring Grove puts technology to their advantage.

The mulching equipment breaks up leaves into 1/4-inch particles. Pfeifer says on a nice dry day, with minimal dew, just one pass over an area covered with leaves will remove them completely. The mulched leaves that remain allow nutrition to be put back directly into the ground.

As for burials, they happen rain or shine, and the excavation process must be adapted to any number of different weather conditions.

“Try to dig eight or nine graves in the pouring rain,” says Pfeifer. “We use plastic boards to protect the turf and we’ll increase from a two-man crew to a four-man crew.”

In addition to the everyday maintenance performed by their on site crew, Smith and Pfeifer have found that using outside help is effective at getting some jobs done fast, and less expensively.

“The professionalism in the industry has never been as high as it is now,” says Pfeifer. “We now contract jobs out to companies [who] do absolutely everything.”

He says it is not unusual to find large landscape companies like Scotts, Davey’s, and Tru-Green Chemlawn around the grounds on a given April day. Pfeifer explains that it is easier to use companies that purchase products in volume, and that can cover a much larger area than the in house crews can. He says this is especially true when it is time to spread pre-emergents on the expansive turf.

“It is nearly impossible to cover all the area with our team alone,” says Pfeifer. “And pre-emergents are all about timing.” Spring Grove also hires businesses for smaller tasks.

“It used to take a three-man crew to remove one tree,” says Pfeifer. “Now, we call [an outside business] and they will come in and clean everything out in a week’s time?EUR??,,????'??+It would take us sixth months.”

He and Smith plan their budget accordingly and are able to keep their own staff small because much of the work is contracted out. The staff has gone from 120 people, down to around 65-70 people, even though the area they must tend to keeps growing.

Another thing that continues to grow is Spring Grove’s prominence within the Cincinnati community. Smith and Pfeifer do a great job of getting Spring Grove’s name out. Several events are held throughout the year including horse carriage rides, concerts, pruning tours, and the “Owl Prowl,” a night where community members can get up close and personal with the birds of prey on the grounds. Their intent is to encourage more people to visit the cemetery and arboretum.

“We want people to recognize that American cemeteries are for the living,” says Smith. “Greenbelt spaces will become more rare as the population grows.” Smith and Pfeifer want people to take advantage of the beautiful scenery while it is still around to enjoy.

Walking and bus tours are held Monday through Friday and in addition to Spring Grove’s own programs, many outside organizations enjoy hosting charity events on the USATF certified 5K - walk/run course, located on the grounds. These events make new fans of the cemetery and create a desire to host more events. “We are heavily booked every weekend till November [2005] with weddings in our chapel,” says Smith. “[Guests] leave with a good impression of our operations - Does it have a positive effect on our bottom line? Absolutely.”

Smith and Pfeifer say that ‘good impressions’ are really the ultimate goal for them.

He and Pfeifer stress that in every effort they make, whether it’s maintaining the beautiful grounds in the most efficient way possible or offering fun events for the community, the customer truly is key.

“There are better ways to do what you?EUR??,,????'???re doing,” Smith says. “Every day we’re looking to see how we can improve the process.”