Howard
B. BloomerHoward
B. BloomerHoward B. Bloomer (1871-1953) of Detroit, Michigan, received the Pugsley Gold Medal in 1935 “for his generous gifts of parks to the State of Michigan and for his aid in the state and national parks fields.” He is considered the father of Michigan’s state and metropolitan park systems, having directly helped establish fifteen parks in his lifetime. Bloomer was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He went to public school in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, and then attended Newton Academy and the Bryant & Stratton Business University, both in Baltimore. Bloomer was among the first class of 69 students to graduate from the Detroit College of Law, (now an affiliate of Michigan State University, which is the oldest continually operating independent law school in the country. His cohort included a future circuit judge, supreme court justice and ambassador. Bloomer was elected president of the college’s alumni association in 1945, and a trustee in 1946. An annual award to the highest-ranking member of the first year class is still given in the name of his wife, Amy B. Bloomer, whom he married in 1903.
Bloomer was a member of the Detroit law firm of MacGregor and Bloomer and, with MacGregor, published Michigan Corporation Law and Limited Partnership Associations. It was as a young lawyer that Bloomer made the connection that would enable him to put his concerns about the growth of Detroit and the loss of local walks and woodlands into action. One day, two brothers visited Bloomer to discuss a loan they needed to obtain in order to finance the expansion of their machine shop. Troubled by the onerous nature of the loan’s terms, Bloomer arranged an alternative source of funding for the pair, and soon became their trusted business advisor. Later, he would suggest to them that, rather than supply the parts for automobiles, as they had been doing, they should simply build entire cars themselves. The brothers’ names were Horace E. and John F. Dodge. Bloomer would later become vice president and board chairman of Dodge Brothers, Inc. which in its day was the world’s second largest automobile company; he was the only legal counsel they ever employed. Upon his encouragement, the brothers bequeathed eleven parcels of land – the largest being 2,600 acres – to the state for recreational purposes. Ten of the Dodge parks were situated within 50 miles of Detroit, in Oakland, Macomb, Monroe and Livingston counties, and they accommodated 300,000 day and overnight visitors in 1926.
Besides his influence on the Dodge brothers, Bloomer expressed his concern for the preservation of recreational lands – for “fresh air, sunshine, recreation and happiness,” as he wrote in a letter in 1949 – in many other forums. He was a member of the Michigan Conservation Commission from 1923-27, and chair of that commission from 1927 to 1928. He became a member of the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority’s Board of Commissioners in 1945, a position he held until his death. In a letter to then-Governor Mennen Williams in April 1953 requesting Bloomer’s reappointment to the Board, the six other commissioners described him as, “undoubtedly one of the most distinguished public servants and benefactors in the development of recreation in the State of Michigan.” In another correspondence they commented that, “Future generations of Michigan people will be forever the beneficiaries of Howard Bloomer’s generosity and zeal in the cause of our park program.” Bloomer also served on the board of directors of the National Conference of State Parks from 1925-1958 and, in 1937, was appointed a life member.
Bloomer’s concerns extended beyond large outdoor recreational spaces, however, and he played an active role in both the Boys and Girls Scout movements, as well as the Boys Clubs. A founder of the Boys Club of Detroit in 1925, he accepted their presidency in 1936. “Uncle Howard’s,” as he was affectionately known, philanthropy enabled the club to move from their original meeting place in an abandoned factory building on Michigan Avenue, to a new building on Livernois Avenue. The Howard B. Bloomer Club, now a branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, continues to provide a positive environment for all children in the area.
Bloomer was a firm believer in the philosophy that one should give away as much as one spent on oneself: he said he “expects – and hopes – to die a poor man.” During his life, he and his wife donated land for four parks, totaling close to 300 acres, in Oakland County. Upon his death, his 155-acre country estate passed into the hands of the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority. A portion of the land, complete with caretaker’s cottage, was retained, however, for the care of his six horses until their own deaths. According to his son, horseback riding was “my father’s favorite, and only, recreational activity.” He is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery beside his wife, who died in 1945.