Ohio History Journal

REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS

 

BY THE EDITOR

 

CONFERENCE OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS

The first annual conference of superintendents of

parks under the custody of the Ohio State Archaeological

and Historical Society was held in the Museum and

Library building August 7 and 8, 1929. The work of

the conference is set forth in the following:

PROGRAM

FIRST ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS

Ohio State Museum

August 7 and 8, 1929

 

 

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, AUGUST 7

I :5 Introduction and Social.

1:30 A Word of Welcome .................H. C. Shetrone

Director, Ohio State Museum

1:45 Reports of Park Superintendents.

3:00 "Good Sanitation for State Parks"...Major C. S. Slade

Assistant Engineer, State Department of Health

4:00 "The Park Superintendent's Opportunity and

Responsibility with Respect to his Visiting

Public"  ............................O. J.  Demuth

Superintendent, Schoenbrunn Memorial State Park

4:30 Partial Tour of the Museum.

6:00 Dine in a Group.

7:30 Tour of Museum Resumed.

8:15 Illustrated Talk-"The First Ohioans"..H. C. Shetrone

* * * * *

THURSDAY MORNING, AUGUST 8

9:15 "Relation of Local History to State

History" ...................... Dr. Harlow Lindley

Curator of History, Ohio State Museum

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Reviews, Notes and Comments             723

 

9:30  "Park Forestry" ......................O. A. Alderman

State Department of Forestry

10:15 "A Few Principles of Landscape

Gardening".........................Victor H. Reis

Department of Horticulture, Ohio State University

1:00 "The Outlook of Conservation in

Ohio" ........................Carl L. Van Vorhis

Assistant Chief, State Department of Fish and Game

12:00  Luncheon in a Group.

 

THURSDAY AFTERNOON, AUGUST 8

1:00  "Opportunities and Responsibilities of Superin-

tendents of our State Parks"........C. B. Galbreath

Secretary Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society

1:15 "How You can be of Assistance to Your Mu-

seum's Department of Natural History"

.............................. Prof. James S. Hine

Curator of Natural History, Ohio State Museum

1:30  Round Table Discussion-Everyone will be Asked to Par-

ticipate.

1.  To what extent should accommodations be pro-

vided for public comfort, pleasure and amuse-

ment?

2.  Cultivating local interest in behalf of parks.

3. Should we have more parks?

4.  Why go to so much trouble to beautify your park?

Is it really essential after all?

5. Why should our park superintendents be invested

with police powers? When should authority be

exercised ?

6.  Should visitors have the same unrestricted access

to EVERY portion of your park?

7. What can we do during the winter?

8. Should shrubs and trees in every portion of your

park be trimmed up or cleared away just as at the

entrance? If not, why not?

9.  What makes a park better?

10. Should visitors be admitted at night?

Adjournment.

Each person named in the program was present with

the exception of Mr. Carl Van Vorhis who had been

called out of the city on official duty. He sent as a sub-

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724         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

stitute, Mr. Frank L. Brothers of the State Department

of Fish and Game, who spoke ably on the subject as-

signed to Mr. Van Vorhis.

Reports by the different superintendents were full of

interest and information and the exchange of views

could not be otherwise than helpful. All present seemed

to enjoy this opportunity to become acquainted with

those engaged in park work. A good attendance at the

auditorium of the Museum and Library building heard

Director Shetrone in his illustrated talk on the "First

Ohioans."

The tour over the Museum and the Library was ap-

preciated and thoroughly enjoyed by the visitors, a num-

ber of whom saw for the first time extensive exhibits in

the Museum and the large collection of early newspapers

in the Library.

Mr. McPherson presided at the meetings and pre-

sented the following circular to the superintendents:

THEMES FOR THOUGHT

SOME THINGS FOR PARK SUPERINTENDENTS TO THINK ABOUT

525,600 MINUTES EACH YEAR.

1. Our motto is "Service to the Visiting Public and to the State." Cour-

tesy is always a slogan.

2. Our sanitary facilities will stand inspection now or at any time.

3. Our wells and springs are absolutely sanitary.

4. What does the visitor drink from at your park?

5. No poison ivy grows where visitors congregate regularly in our park.

6. Our yard and barnyard are mowed and kept neat as a pin.

7. No rubbish of any sort is permitted to lie around. Everything is

hauled away or stored inside.

8. All our utensils and implements are kept well oiled and stored indoors

when not in use.

9. What greets the visitor's eye when he drives into your park?

10. Our park is as well kept at the far side as it is in front.

11. The fences are all in good condition.

12. Will paint and whitewash improve appearances?

13. Every sign is well painted and a credit to the park. Either thus or

away with them.

14. What is your landscaping program? Or is that necessary and essen-

tial in a park?

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Reviews, Notes and Comments                   725

 

15. What comforts have you provided for visitors?

16. We have plenty of picnic tables and seats.

17. Our roadways are well graveled and we keep them well dragged.

18. All dead trees have been cut and removed.

19. Have you ditched the low places?

20. It is very rarely considered advisable to burn park lands over. Too

many trees and shrubs are damaged or destroyed.

21. We have only three broken windows at this park.

22. Do you provide clean amusements for visitors? How many horse-

shoe courts have you? Tennis courts? Swings?

23. Would playground apparatus interest the kiddies?

24. Have you a working program for the future? Or is your park "fully

developed"?

25. How will you store your tables, seats, equipment, etc., this winter?

26. Why is there a park where you live?

27. I can name and briefly describe all other State Parks in Ohio.

28. I can direct tourists to them.

29. Should our park be 100 per cent maintained by public funds?

30. How else should it be at least partially supported?

31. We are working to the end that local interest is being cultivated in

behalf of this park.

32. We send in promptly all bills carefully itemized and in duplicate.

33. Our reports to Columbus are detailed and explicit.

34. What kind of books are we keeping? Why, of course, the kind that

will portray balances promptly and serve as a record of events for

the future.

35. We file away a copy of all bills. We can do this because we make

out or secure all bills in triplicate form.

36. Hunting is absolutely prohibited at our park. All the wild animals,

the birds, the trees and the wild flowers are rigorously protected.

37. We plant a tree in preference to cutting one.

38. We know that we have authority to protect all property within our

park and we do that very thing. We are firm in enforcing this yet

we endeavor to be courteous at the same time.

39. We are not compelled to stand back and be mocked, have the laws

violated and property damaged. We prevent all infractions by a

courteous warning, but if really necessary an arrest will follow. We

exercise good judgment, however.

40. We fully understand the laws pertaining to kindling fires and regulate

such in our park.

41. We are working to create a game refuge with our park as a nucleus.

Why should we not lead in the effort to secure game from the State

to stock up this refuge?

42. This fall and winter we plan to spend time in looking after the wood-

lot, cutting dead trees, repairing fence, working about the buildings,

repairing and painting tables and seats, etc. We will be ready for

the big rush next spring. Another thing-we plan to read up and

study the history of all State Parks. Then next season we will an-

swer any intelligent question on the subject. We may have to appeal

to the Business Agent for reading matter.

43. Will the personal appearance of the superintendent and his family

have any bearing on the popularity and success of your park?

44. My position should be dignified-and the word "dignity" is in my vo-

cabulary.

45. We have a growing stock of forest and evergreen trees lined out in

nursery rows. These are being cultivated for transplanting in the

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726         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications future. The State Forester, Mr. E. M. Secrest, very generously provided them for our park. 46. The Golden Rule may be applied at the State Parks. 47. Before another season comes we will see that "plenty" of highway signs are posted in our section of the State in order to direct visitors without confusion. This must be done uniformly and we will work out a plan and program with the Business Agent and he, in turn, with the State Highway Department, in order to comply with all regulations and obtain complete cooperation. 48. We are saving all clippings referring to our park. 49. How many local organizations and individuals are interested in your park? What have they done for it? 50. Ask the Business Agent how you can be of service to the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society other than in superintending this park. 51. Hoy many new members to the Ohio State Archaeological and Histor- ical Society have you been instrumental in obtaining? Is that a serv- ice to the Society and the new member? We have plenty of applica- tion blanks for distribution. 52. We are making an effort at all times to cooperate in a broad way with the Museum and the State Society. We are members of that Society, it is OUR Museum, and we are taking a personal interest in its affairs. 53. Just how should a park look, anyway? 54. By this time we have concluded that superintending a park is a job and a real business-but at the same time WE WILL DO IT. 55. When you see our park in a year from now you will know that we have been busy. Some of the parks have been made game preserves and bird refuges. There was manifest at this confer- ence a desire that this regulation should apply to all the larger parks and that it should be rigidly enforced, to the end that the enemies of wild game and song birds should be effectually excluded.

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