"I was hired by a wonderful Polish nun - Sister Irene Sosnowski. She was a survivor, a refugee from WWII concentration camps, a displaced person who made her way to America. I admired this woman so much. She was put in charge of the campus grounds. She  knew nothing about landscaping, so when we started here she said, 'I’m going to allow you X amount of dollars. Go buy thirty trees and put them in.'  And that is just what I did." Leonard Toterhi                Groundskeeper The College of New Rochelle

Lenny, what was your first job?

I came in 1955 to do one job on the south end of the main campus. I had just gotten out of the U.S. Army, having served in Korea and been injured in combat, and I had also just gotten married. My brother-in-law, John, said to me, why don’t you give me a hand over at the College until you find something to do? So we walked over to campus and I worked with the trees you can see today: the big, beautiful copper beech next to the tennis courts, that ancient ginkgo, all those locusts. I am very happy to see the new Wellness Center will be built among them.

Who hired you full-time?

I was hired by a wonderful Polish nun---- Sister Irene Sosnowski. She was a survivor, a refugee from WWII concentration camps, a displaced person who made her way to America. I admired this woman so much. She was put in charge of the campus grounds. She  knew nothing about landscaping, so when we started here she said, "I’m going to allow you X amount of dollars. Go buy thirty trees and put them in."  And that is just what I did.  

How did you become involved in working on the north end of our campus?

When Sister Dorothy Ann became President of the College, she said, "I would like to have that young man come over to this side of the campus." At the time the ground around the castle was a disaster, mud piled everywhere, very few trees, no shrubs. And at the time, I was a young man. We were a perfect fit.

To get rid of the mud, I put in blacktop walks. I got a lot of heat for doing that, but when the faculty and students saw that there was no more mud walks they decided that it wasn’t such a bad idea.

And then I started planting trees.

Dr. Sweeny has an avid interest in the grounds. And he paid me probably the highest compliment last year by saying, "You made my campus all the years that you have been here. You made CNR.”  Coming from him, that’s great praise. He’s knowledgeable, and he has taken a special interest in what we have tried to achieve.

What was the first tree you planted at the College?

That would be the Metasequoia glyptostroboides, or dawn redwood. I planted it  on Elm Street in front of the Student Center. It is still there today. That’s my first born, so to speak.

How many different species of trees have you planted over the years?

Oh, perhaps as many as fifty. For example, by Holy Family Chapel, there is a lagerstroemia. The common name is crape-myrtle. We have a  tree from northern China, Japanese lace cap hydrangeas, and royal purple rhododendrons. Queen Victoria first propagated the royal purple for her garden in Ireland, and now we have them on our campus. And on both ends of campus, north and south, I use annuals, shrubs, and trees that are not indigenous to our region of the world, but I have been able to make them grow. I once heard a visitor declare that this campus was ‘New York’s Hidden Treasure’ and I believe it is.

Who in the history  of the College took a particular interest in the grounds of the campus?

I’d have to go back to Sister Dorothy Ann maybe 30-plus years ago. Her door was always open to me and if I called and she didn’t have an appointments she’d say, "Len, I’ll meet you downstairs in 10 minutes." She would come down and walk the grounds, and I'd say, "Well here’s what I would like to do." She would reply, "Len, you never disappoint so go ahead and do it.”  

Dr. Sweeny also has an avid interest in the grounds. And he paid me probably the highest compliment last year by saying, "You made my campus all the years that you have been here. You made CNR.”  Coming from him, that’s great praise. He’s knowledgeable, and he has taken a special interest in what we have tried to achieve.

How many acres are your responsibility?

I’m responsible for ten and three quarter acres.

Besides being a talented grounds keeper, you also had a career as a freelance artist and illustrator?

Yes, that’s right. I worked on the promotional opening for The Carol Burnett Show -- the one where she comes out with the mop. I also worked on the Maypo commercial. Remember, “I want my Maypo!”

This was all in the late 1950s and the 1960s, and into the early ’70s. I did commercial art work for 3M. For seven years I did 3M’s Christmas promotional advertisement that appears in Time, Newsweek, and other magazines.

I worked on the West Coast for Hanna and Barbera on the original Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound. I was involved with the promotional work for Moby Dick that starred Gregory Peck, who I met and spent time with. What a wonderful man.

I worked with three animators: Carlo Vinci, who handled Snow White. and Johnny Gentile, who handled Popeye and Felix the Cat. Here in New Rochelle I worked for Paul Terry on Heckle & Jeckle. At that time he sold the business to CBS and I was their employee. I worked with some wonderful, creative people, Gene Deitch who did Little Shop of Horrors, Jules Pfeifer, as well as all the large ad agencies, Young & Rubicam, Foote, Cone & Beldings.  

But you gave it all up.

Well, my wife and I had a young family and to continue I would have to move to New York City or California, and she didn’t want to leave her family here in New Rochelle. So, I concentrated on flowers and trees and the College. It has been a good life for me. Also, it has given me time for my other interests.

What are those interests?

Architecture is one of them. I travel the country studying interesting buildings. I appreciate old and good architecture.

What’s your favorite architectural period.

I would say the Victorian age, from 1847 to 1910.

Of  all the buildings on campus which one is your favorite?

That’s hard. I would say, Brescia. You have to look at Brescia from top to bottom to really appreciate it. Second most interesting to me is Old Science. Look at some of the masonry work and the design. Wonderful work.

So it has been a good life here at CNR?

Yes it has. It has been a wonderful life full of beauty. How does that old song go, ‘I Never Promised You a Rose Garden’? Well, CNR has given me a rose garden to love and nourish for half a century. That’s not a bad way to earn a living.