It was in the late 1960s when three young men from the New Brunswick area landed jobs at the Rutgers University farms on Cook Campus.

They never guessed they would one day run the daily operations of two of the university’s key research sites: the farms that produced agricultural breakthroughs like the Ramapo Tomato and a world renowned turf grass breeding program.

“You name it and I have pretty much grown it,” said John Messeroll, who works at Horticultural Farm 3 on Ryders Lane. “I have grown rice, eggplant, flowers, tomatoes, papayas, and taken part in many, many different breeding operations.”

Messeroll, along with his colleague at farm 3, Glenn Tappen, and Bill Dickson of Horticultural Farm 2, were among seven employees recognized at the Staff Service Recognition Luncheon in June for 40 years of service at the university.

The luncheon is an annual event that honors staff employees who have accumulated 10, 20, 30, or 40 years at Rutgers. 

The employees with 40 years of service received a solid maple rocking chair with an engraved Rutgers University seal.

The three men, who each hold the title of farm supervisor, say their longevity has provided another benefit: the ability to stay connected to the agricultural world in an era of unprecedented technological advancement. “To me, there is nothing like sitting on a tractor and plowing a field,” Dickson said. “There is just     something about it.”

At farm 2, also on Ryders Lane, Dickson is considered the backbone of Rutgers’ prestigious turf grass program, which developed nearly half of the cool season grass varieties in the United States. The grass is used for everything from home lawns, to sports fields, golf courses and sod farms.

In 1968, Dickson was a recent Rutgers College graduate who was still mulling over his future. Then one of the pioneers of the turf grass program, Professor C. Reed Funk, offered Dickson a technician job on the farm. Over the years, Dickson has built a reputation as an expert in turf grass science.

“Bill’s wealth of knowledge allows the research to be maintained at a very high level,” said Bruce Clarke, director of the university’s Center for Turfgrass Science.

At farm 3, Messeroll runs the greenhouses, where researchers develop experimental hybrid plants, which most recently included brightly colored lilies that bloom faster than regular varieties.

Messeroll was an agricultural student in high school and was studying computer programming at a local career institute when he heard about a job opening at Rutgers.

“It was a starting point,” he said. “I actually didn’t know what I was going to try to do in my life other than to stay in agriculture.”

Tappen oversees the fruit and vegetable crops, which include experimental hybrids like ‘super-male’ asparagus plants that are more resistant to disease.

He had grown up on a family farm and was working for a landscaper when he got the job at Rutgers.

“It was something I knew plenty about, just a continuation of what I did at home,” Tappen said. “Only it was a paying job as opposed to a family business.”

Around the university, the two are considered indispensable.

“We rely on their knowledge on how to do things and we trust their judgment,” said James White, the chair of the Department of Plant Biology and Pathology. “Without them, we simply could not operate that farm out there.”

Click here for a full list of honorees.