The Northwest Turf Association was founded in 1950 and incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1953. The association grew out of an annual conference or short course which was started at Washington State University. Interest in such an organization appeared in the late 1940s and the association was formally started in March 1950 on the campus of WSU.
The organization has dedicated itself to promoting and achieving the following objectives:
(a) To conduct or sponsor research studies and experimentation related to the development and maintenance of all types of turf.
(b) To conduct or sponsor experimental laboratories related to the growth and improvement of turf grasses, pest control (weeds, insects, diseases, etc.), development of new grass varieties, and soil and nutritional studies.
The primary recipient of the association's financial contributions has been Washington State University--especially the experiment stations--which has conducted research projects in the development of better turf and the control of turf diseases. In 1959 the Northwest Turf Association was granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service as an organization which was operated for "educational and scientific purposes." This status was reconfirmed by an IRS ruling in 1961.
Throughout its history the Association has been closely tied with Washington State University as a result of their mutual interests in improving the level of agricultural research on grasses and their diseases.
Included in the records of the Association are articles of incorporation, by-laws, correspondence, minutes of meetings, memoranda, newsletters, research information, convention program notes and material, project descriptions, financial reports, and tax exemption information. Although the records of the Association cover the period from 1950 through 1977, the material bulks largest from the mid-1950s through the later 1960s.
There is a wide range of material within the subject folders. In the folders labeled "Minutes: Board of Directors, Annual General Membership" there exists a complete record of the Directors' meetings as well as information concerning the annual meeting of the general membership. Included in these folders, in addition to minutes, are items of correspondence, reports, financial reports and some receipts, newspaper and magazine clippings, and convention programs. The "Memoranda of Understanding" folder consists of agreements between the Association and Washington State University concerning research projects undertaken by the University and funded (in part or completely) by the Northwest Turf Association. The research projects included herbicide and fertilizer evaluations, the control of turf diseases, and other related turf projects. The run of the newsletter, "Northwest Turfgrass Topics" is complete from February 1959 through September 1977. The "Pacific Northwest Turf Association Newsletter," which appears to be an earlier publication. of the Association (the word "Pacific" does not, however, appear in the articles of incorporation), includes issues from 1953, 1955, and 1957. The folder titled "Tax Exempt Status: Correspondence, 1958-1961" documents the Association's successful attempt to secure federal tax exempt status as an "educational and scientific" organization. This folder contains correspondence between the officers of the Association, their legal counsel, the IRS, and staff members at Washington State University who described the relationship between WSU and the Association.
The records of the Northwest Turf Association are arranged in an alphabetical subject series. Within each subject folder, the material is generally arranged in chronological order.
This collection is open for research use.
[Item Description]. Cage 427, Northwest Turf Association Records. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
The records of the Northwest Turf Association were donated to the Washington State University Libraries by Roy Goss, Executive Secretary of the Association, in November 1977 (MS 77-68).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.