Homer Fish

Every man, woman and child in Wheeling, W. Va. belongs by birthright to the country club. The "country club" is 1,000-acre Oglebay Park, Wheeling's magnificent recreation area, which over the past 25 years Homer Fish has developed into the country's model municipal park.

Parks Superintendent Fish started from scratch with a farm willed the city. Today, nestling in the rolling, naturally landscaped country are a golf course, tennis courts, a swimming pool, riding academy, museum, arboretum and a summer theater, a trout lake, a ski tow and clusters of vacation cabins. In sections of their own are a caddie camp, a sports camp and day camps for smaller children. Wheeling's symphony orchestra plays under the stars; dances, antique shows, horse shows and gardening classes are eagerly attended.

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of Homer Fish's park is that it virtually supports itself by charging for some facilities. New construction is financed from a trust fund into which Fish funnels energetically solicited gifts. "We all have so much more leisure today," says Fish, "that a park like this fulfills an urgent need."