Gorham Archives, Hay Library, Brown University, Providence, R.I.
Date
1937
Material
Cast bronze
Dimensions
4 in. (10.2 cm) [diameter]
Description
Cast by Gorham Co. Bronze Division, Nov. 1, 1937.
Markings
MARGO FRANKEL
Provenance / Location
Location unknown
Alternate Title(s)
n/a
Notes / Sources
Artist Card and Photo Card in the Gorham Co archives, Hay Library, Brown University, Providence, R.I.
Margo K. Frankel (1870-1948) received the Pugsley Bronze Medal for her services in extending the Iowa State Park system in 1932. Frankel was married to Henry Frankel who was a prominent business leader in the Des Moines community. By 1920, Frankel was in leadership roles with the Des Moines Garden Club, Audubon Society and the Greater Des Moines Committee. Frankel intended to have students initiate plantings in the school grounds and use exercise as a platform for them to learn more about Iowa's trees, shrubs and flowers. This program established a strong contact with Dr. Louis Pammel of Iowa State College (now University) in Ames, and expanded it to include classroom presentations and field trips.
The conservation movement in Iowa was begun in earnest by Louis Pammel and Thomas McBride, another botanist at the University of Iowa. Their efforts resulted in the establishment of Iowa State Board of Conservation in 1917 and three years later the dedication of backbone, Iowa's first state park. In 1930, when Devils Backbone area was renamed and dedicated as Pammel State Park, it was Frankel who coordinated the program. As chair, Frankel held tremendous influence over the state park system. Frankel retired from the Commission in 1937, leaving behind a remarkable legacy. At the time of her death in 1948, Henry Frankel donated a small tract of woodland on the outskirts of Des Moines and named it Margo Frankel Woods.
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