Oyvind J. (O.J.) Noer

Oyvind J. “O.J.” Noer was a World War I Army officer, one of the earliest leaders of American Legion Post 59, and a nationally respected soil and turfgrass scientist whose pioneering work eventually earned him the nickname “Mr. Turf.”

A native of Stoughton, Noer was born to Norwegian immigrants Julius and Ada Johnson Noer. He graduated from Stoughton High School and continued his education at the University of Wisconsin, where he studied soil science. By 1914, he had become Wisconsin's State Soil Chemist.

When the United States entered World War I, Noer's scientific background led to a very different type of military service. He received a commission as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army's gas defense work and was sent overseas to France.

Letters Noer sent home provide a remarkable firsthand account of his experiences. On Christmas Day 1917, he wrote from “Somewhere in France,” describing his surroundings, the winter weather, his quarters and the distant sound of artillery. He also wrote about the important work being done by the YMCA to provide servicemen with some of the comforts of home.

In another letter from France, Noer described spending time near the British front under shell fire and attending a British gas school. He explained that his own work involved defensive rather than offensive gas warfare and that he was teaching at an American gas school.

Noer's responsibilities grew during his service, and he eventually attained the rank of Captain in the Chemical Warfare Service. Following the Armistice, his expertise resulted in an unusual assignment: he was selected to help write the history of America's gas warfare activities in Europe.

After returning to Stoughton and leaving military service, Noer worked for the Stoughton Wagon Company, where he was involved in organizing its motor truck department. He also began another important chapter of his life when he married Julia C. Anderson, whom he had met while associated with Edgewood Arsenal near Baltimore during his military career.

Noer also became deeply involved in the newly formed American Legion. In 1920, he became the second Commander of Otis Sampson Post 59.

His year as Commander came during an important period in the Post's development. Under Noer's leadership, Post 59 applied for its permanent American Legion charter under the Otis Sampson name and established an organizational structure that included committees devoted to veterans' welfare, Americanism, beneficial legislation, membership and community activities.

Noer and the Post also worked directly with veterans who needed assistance after returning to civilian life. Contemporary newspaper notices told former servicemen that they could contact Noer and other Post officers for help obtaining information, completing government paperwork, pursuing compensation and medical claims, and addressing insurance and other veterans' benefits.

That work captures the purpose of the young American Legion particularly well. Only a short time removed from their own military service, Noer and his fellow Legionnaires were already working to make sure other veterans were not forgotten.

Noer's life after the Legion would eventually make his name known far beyond Stoughton.

From 1922 to 1924, he conducted experimental work through the University of Wisconsin to determine the agricultural value of a new fertilizer produced from Milwaukee's wastewater treatment process. That product became known as Milorganite.

Noer recognized its potential for turfgrass and helped pioneer research methods that transformed the emerging turf industry. He established innovative soil-testing practices, conducted extensive field trials and traveled throughout the country helping golf course superintendents diagnose and solve turf problems.

In 1926, he became head of the Milwaukee Sewerage Commission's Turf Service Bureau, a position he would hold for more than three decades.

His knowledge and willingness to share it made Noer one of the country's foremost authorities on turfgrass. He wrote extensively on turf maintenance, including a series of articles titled “The ABC of Turf Culture,” which was later published as a book and became one of the early comprehensive works in the field.

Over the course of his career, Noer reportedly visited the great majority of golf courses in the United States, working directly with superintendents and applying scientific research to real-world turf problems.

His contributions earned him national recognition and the affectionate title “Mr. Turf.” He received numerous honors from the golf and turfgrass industries, and his influence continued long after his retirement.

The University of Wisconsin later named its O.J. Noer Turfgrass Research and Education Facility in his honor, and the O.J. Noer Research Foundation continues to carry his name.

Oyvind J. Noer died in 1966 at the age of 75.

His life followed an extraordinary path—from a young soil scientist in Stoughton, to an Army officer confronting the new dangers of chemical warfare in France, to one of the men who helped establish Post 59 as a permanent veterans organization, and finally to a nationally recognized pioneer whose work helped shape an entire industry.

For Post 59, however, another part of his legacy remains especially important. In 1920, when the organization was still in its infancy, O.J. Noer helped establish the Post's permanent foundation and made helping fellow veterans one of its central responsibilities—a mission Post 59 continues more than a century later.