Harold
Stanley WagnerHarold
Stanley WagnerHarold Stanley “H.S.” Wagner (1892 – 1983) received the local level Pugsley Medal in 1956 “for outstanding work in the planning, development, acquisition, and operation of the Akron Metropolitan Park System over a period of 30 years; for devoted service and leadership in nation-wide organizations; and for advisory and collaborative service to park agencies from the local level to the national level.”
He was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended the Charles Summer School and graduated from the Mechanic Arts High School in 1910. His father was employed by the Arnold Arboretum which was the so-called tree museum of Harvard University, and he was also exposed to parks through access to William E. Fisher who was superintendent of the Boston Park System. In 1910, he enrolled in a five year course at the Arnold Arboretum to train as a “landscape artist,” and during this period he worked as a part-time volunteer for the Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm.
After his training at the Arnold Arboretum, Wagner went to work for Warren H. Manning, a nationally renowned landscape architect based in Boston, who also learned his craft while working for the Olmsted Brothers firm. In 1916, Manning was hired by F.A. Seiberling, who was the founder of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and later the Seiberling Rubber Company, to work on two of his projects in Akron, Ohio. They were his Stan Hywet estate and a 1,000 acre real estate development named Fairlawn Heights. In 1917 Wagner had already established himself as Manning’s chief assistant when Manning transferred him to Akron to work on the Fairlawn Heights project. The job included the building of sewers, storm drains, water wells and a distribution system costing $1.5 million. In addition, he was responsible for building the golf course at Fairlawn Heights with a budget of $100,000. While working on these projects, Wagner and Seiberling became close friends. With Seiberling’s encouragement, Wagner spent voluntary time during this period, reorganizing the city parks department. Thus, when his work at Fairlawn Heights was done, he was receptive to an invitation to become Akron’s parks superintendent in 1924.
In 1915, Cleveland Metro Parks was established. During the early 1920s the development of the first elements of “The Emerald Necklace” system of parks around Cleveland had been enthusiastically embraced by Cleveland’s residents. Its success caused the city of Akron at the other end of the Cayahoga Valley to form its own regional park district. The first park board commissioners were appointed by the Summit County judge in 1923, but the board did little until Seiberling was appointed to it in 1925. Seiberling invited Wagner to offer his counsel as to how the board should proceed. Wagner advised that they should follow the lead of Cleveland Metro Parks and commission the Olmsted Brothers firm to develop a comprehensive regional park plan for Akron. When this was done, Wagner worked closely with Olmsted Jr. and the Park board in developing it. His commitment to and enthusiasm for the plan, was such that in 1925 he agreed to become Akron Metro Parks first director-secretary with effect from January 1926, and his mandate was to implement the plan. He remained in this position until 1958.
Although it was comprehensive, visionary and lauded by the board, funds were not available to make the ambitious plan a reality. Thus, Wagner obtained most of the district’s park land through donations from civic-minded landowners. The slender, slow-speaking Wagner earned a reputation of being persuasive.
Momentum was created by Seiberling who donated most of the land that became Sand Run Park which was opened in 1929. During Wagner’s career, he grew the Akron Metropolitan Park system to 3,600 acres embracing six major parks, all of which were donated. The last of the six parks to open was the Firestone Park. Between Sand Run and Firestone, Furnace Run, Goodyear Heights, Gorge Park along the Cuyahoga River, and Virginia Kendall were donated.
The first tax levy (0.1 mill) for the park district to operate the system was approved by the voters in 1928. Wagner got much of the development work at these parks done by aggressively pursuing the labor opportunities provided by the CCC camps in the 1930s. He indefatigably filled out the government’s many applications and then worked closely with NPS inspectors to keep projects on track. Wagner did not believe in taking short cuts. He insisted on “rustic architecture” ensuring that all buildings used local stone and wood to blend in with the natural surroundings.
Wagner was action oriented and was impatient with people who constantly engaged in “studies” seeking ever-more knowledge and information about an issue before they would take action. He observed in a lead editorial in Parks and Recreation in 1961:
While “studies” are good and should be made…a study is in no sense an answer to any problem anywhere…I disagree completely with the attitude of waiting for information. This holds out a sadly forlorn and futile hope that somebody else can do what a forceful leader cannot do. This age has gone far enough…even too far…in letting people charged with responsibility get the idea that all that counts is the knowledge of a certain object. That is not the fact at all…it is the KNOW-HOW AND DETERMINATION that counts, and neither of those qualities comes out of a study.
Wagner’s employees knew him as a tough taskmaster who stood no nonsense. He was often blunt in his speaking and caustic in his criticism of ineptitude. He did not hesitate to chastise others when he believed them to make incorrect or inappropriate decisions. Nevertheless, he was highly respected and regarded by employees, Akron’s citizens, and his peers in the field. Editorials at various times in the Akron press spoke of “a tireless worker largely responsible for the excellent administration of our parks”; “the splendid manner in which the parks in and around Akron have been developed under the direction of Mr. Wagner”; “he gave his great professional expertise and unflagging personal devotion to preserving lands in their natural state for the enjoyment of the people”; and “he was unwavering in his efforts to accomplish his goals.”
One of the area managers who worked with H.S. Wagner at Akron Metro Parks described him in the following terms:
He was one of a kind. H.S.W. had a dry sense of humor; he was a logical thinker; honest and fair. He would never back down when he was convinced that his opinion and conclusions on a park problem were correct. Working for Mr. Wagner was a challenge because he was a perfectionist; especially on park maintenance…not a cigarette butt was left on the ground in picnic areas. Writing nature articles for the park newsletter under his watchful eye was a lesson in grammar and composition. All sentences must be short and to the point. His editing usually required three rewrites before he was satisfied.
As his reputation spread, he was offered other positions (e.g. director of New York State Parks) but he was always persuaded to stay by Seiberling. However, he did team with his friend, “Cap” Sauers (Pugsley Medal 1930) to develop a parks plan for the Washington D.C. area (which later became the National Capital Parks region of the National Park Service) at the invitation of Secretary of Interior, Howard Ickes (Pugsley Medal 1942). They spent 3 months on the project. His salary continued to be paid by the Akron system and Interior paid his expenses.
Wagner was one of the nation’s most prominent spokesmen for the preservation of natural land. His skills were recognized by his peers and his advice was sought by many. He summarized his philosophy by saying, “The park administrator knows that his only reason for being is to make possible better opportunities for the spiritual, mental and physical well-being of the people.” In a letter to a peer, he wrote:
“I think every often that it so strange that so many of the people that one meets are dissatisfied with the lives they have lived and the things that they have achieved. I think that not for one moment do they ever really know what they want or what they are willing to pay for what they want. On the other hand, I think that that perhaps distinguishes some of us from all of these other folks, because we have not wanted for ourselves, and giving ourselves to something else that is almost completely for others our reward will not only be the greater when we have gone, but I am very sure that it is that much greater even as we live from day to day. You may be very sure that I feel exactly that way and I wouldn’t do over again what I have done, doing something else in place even though it made me millions.”
He was a leader in several professional organizations including being president of both the American Institute of Park Executives (1937) and the National Conference on State Parks (1941). In 1953, he was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to the Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments.