Recently I had the chance to interview Scott Nickerson, who took over the position as golf course superintendent at Partridge Run golf course locally seated in Canton. An alumni of St. Lawrence who was a member of the Hockey Team during his time as a student in the North Country. He also decided to return to St. Lawrence last year to be the equipment manager for the football team. He is a member of both the North Country community and the St. Lawrence family so I thought who better to feature in this week’s alumni issue than someone who has made both of those things such a prominent part of his life. I had the chance to sit down with him and talk to him earlier this week about all things St. Lawrence and North Country, here are some of the questions along with his responses:
-What is your St. Lawrence Story?
I came up just to play hockey and then I realized that there were a lot of good players on the ice not just here, but in the world and it really wasn’t gonna be my career. A little bit after that point I left school for a year, came back and I decided while I was gone that I just love St. Lawrence. I love the campus. I love the people. Of course I get it, it’s changed drastically since then. but you know made an impact on me, mostly the town, the village and the people of Canton. They really made an impact on me, so when I retired and was looking for a place to go this is where I felt comfortable. This is what I called home other than where I was in Massachusetts. So it was an easy transition to come up here and it worked out very well because I was here a short time and Braker(Randy LaBrake Associate Athletic Director) called me and asked me if I wanted to take a job working as assistant equipment manager, which is what got me involved back again with Athletics. Athletics has coaches and people that I like to deal with, so that worked out really well for me. I was fortunate, I got a call this August from the mayor of Canton and he asked if I’d be the superintendent of the golf course, so everything worked out really well. The hard part is right now doing both jobs, but you know I enjoy it. I don’t consider them jobs because I like them that much. But I think one of the coolest things about now being up here is seeing all the people from SLU come back, you know when there’s different reunions or different events. Like the Andy Tally event at the football game, you know all those kids were here when I was here. Now we’re old but it was fun it was fun to see them and reminisce and all that kind of stuff
-So you mentioned that you played hockey, what position did you play and how did you like it?
I loved it, absolutely loved it. I was forward right wing when I came in. I was a physical kind of player and so the 1st couple of years that was kind of my role. Then I was fortunate enough to play with the great Peter Lappin. Peter was and I think is still the all time leading scorer, so he made me look pretty good you know. I did my role and then sticking up for him and keeping him out of whatever, but hockey was great. My coach Joe Marsh who was my coach the last couple years, we’re very tight. I spend a lot of time with him. I go visit him every year with my family. The relationships that I formed with those guys, coaches and the players are very very strong. If somebody has a birthday or if somebody has something going on there’s always an email or a text message. I also played baseball for a couple years for coach Tom Faye. Tom was one of the nicest guys out there, he was also my academic adviser and so we got tight you know. I just found that the people that I dealt with as far as coaches and that kind of thing really cared a lot about your successes. That was a big part of what I really like about being here.
-How did golf become that second love after hockey ended?
It was kind of a freak thing. I played a lot of golf when I was young and I just graduated and I got home and I didn’t have a whole lot going on there. for a summer when I was home so I went to work at a golf course and it was one of those things that I really liked. I just fell into it. So I was working hard, had a good boss and I asked him for a raise. I think I was making $5.50 or $5.75 an hour and I asked the superintendent for a raise. I was playing golf with him and he said I could have his full time and he gave it to me the next week. 3 years later I was the assistant, 3 years later I was the superintendent. So I stayed at the same place for 35 years. It was a very very good job. It was a great place to live and work but after 35 years I was ready to move on.
-What made you want to move back to the North Country after college?
I guess it was knowing the area and knowing there were still a lot of people here that I was very tight with. Also realistically it was a financial thing and I could retire at 58 years old and you can come up here and buy some property and do your thing. I was just comfortable with it. It’s worked out really well for my wife and I after a year and a half. This is a different way of life you know, everybody retires early and they enjoy life. If you need something all you have to do is ask one someone. I have so many friends up here that I would consider them best friends. I know if there’s something I need or there’s something they need we just ask each other and they’re there or you’re there.
-So what do you do at Partridge Run?
I’m responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the course. A lot of people ask you what do you do after your mow and there’s a lot that goes into being superintendent. Like knowing chemicals and knowing your soils and all that kind of stuff. It’s pretty in depth. From the outside it looks like all you do is mow grass and whatever but internally there’s some really really smart guys in the business and I’ve picked their brains. Of course superintendent is also a little bit of an art cause you’re driving around and you see everything you do right there in front of you.
-What are some words of wisdom that you would give to anyone, both current students and alumni alike?
Be honest. Accept responsibility for everything you do. And give it everything you got. You need to be able to do that if you want to be a leader and be successful. It’s important that your guys know that you have their back. because everyone makes mistakes you know, if they make a mistake they are more apt to come to you which gives you the chance to get it fixed. You need to depend on the people that you work with, but you gotta have their respect and respect them. And for SLU, be a leader. Treat people well, it’s been my biggest success. I felt I’ve always been respected because they could always trust me, and they always knew I could get it done. Approach life in general like that. Be dependable and don’t be entitled to what you didn’t earn. Work your way up and be humble, It helped me to have some success. I wasn’t always the smartest guy in the room but I made out alright because I guess I must have had character, integrity and loyalty. I guess that’s really my biggest thing.