Benjamin Houston

Benjamin B. Houston
Cornelius Amory Pugsley Local Medal Award, 1960
Louis Benjamin "L. B." Houston (1907 -1985) received the local level Pugsley Medal in 1960 "for vision and sound judgment in the planning and development of the Dallas Parks and Recreation System, one of the finest in the country; for adherence to the highest of professional standards in administration and operation; for patience and unselfish counsel in the training and encouragement of percent and future leaders in the park and recreation movement; and for stability and wisdom in guiding the park and recreation profession to an enviable position of prestige in proficiency and public service."
In 1938, a Dallas Morning News headline stated: "Astounding story alleging pay-offs, fixed specifications on park department purchases, nepotism, and sales of city materials with splitting of proceeds." It marked the beginning of a corruption investigation of the Dallas Parks Board and department which snowballed resulting in the indictment and conviction of five individuals, and the need to appoint a new park board and new chief executive capable of reorganizing and removing all corruption from the agency.
This was the situation confronting 31-year-old L.B. Houston when he accepted the challenge of directing the department in 1939. He was to remain as director until his retirement in 1972. Houston had grown up on a farm between Prairie Dell and Saledo, Texas, and during high school in Belton he worked at the nearby Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. He had intended to study agriculture at Texas A&M University until the last minute when he learned of a program at Southern Methodist University in electrical engineering, in which a student alternately could attend school for a month and then work for a month. Thus, he went to Dallas in 1925 to attend the new engineering school at Southern Methodist University, and was a member of the department's first graduating class in 1930. He returned to SMU for graduate study in applied psychology.
After graduation he worked for a year or so with Westinghouse Manufacturing Company in Pittsburg studying electrical machinery. Houston began his 40 year career with the city of Dallas in 1932 as a survey party flagman with the Public Works Department. After rising to administrative assistant to the director of public works, he became assistant to the city manager in 1935, and immediately prior to accepting the job as parks director in 1939, he served as acting city manager for a short time. In his years in city administration, Houston had demonstrated strong budget management and public relations skills, which the Park Board identified as being prime requirements for rectifying the negative situation he was to inherit.
Initially, there was resentment among the staff that such a young man with no parks background was their boss, and there were many who feared he would embark on a mass housecleaning after the scandal. However, Houston quickly won the respect of his staff through showing fairness and respect for their knowledge and capabilities. His engineering background led to a quest for efficiency and a demand for greater professionalism from the staff. Houston perceived his role to be analogous to the city manager's position. He operated park affairs, recommended action to the board, and steadfastly separated the policy making and administrative functions. He quickly displayed an adept touch in pursuing this role, developing rapport with both the board and staff. Their trust in him gave him a virtual free hand within budget constraints. Houston had the combination of integrity, intelligence and industriousness that was required to develop the Dallas system from its ignominious status in 1939, to the point where it received national recognition when it was compared to other city park systems in the nation.
Houston's managerial excellence was revered as he was reappointed to his director's position by sixteen different park boards. He was fortunate in that many other good senior managers in the department also stayed for long periods of time. There was similar longevity among the park board members, especially with Ray Hubbard who presided over the board from 1943-1972. This stability made long range planning and effective team management possible during Houston's tenure. The senior management team was a cautious, non-extravagant group that followed the directions and policies of the park board which was an executive, not an advisory board, comprised of strong civic leaders. As a result, Houston's department ran efficiently and smoothly with no obvious intra-departmental conflicts caused by differing attitudes or opinions. In his quiet, unassuming, modest way, Houston spent countless hours patiently counseling and advising young people embarking on a park and recreation career. Many of his proteges became prominent leaders in the field.
During the building boom in Dallas following World War II, Houston bought park land with the goal of having a neighborhood park within walking distance of every child. He realized that before a city is able to build athletic facilities or provide recreation programs, it must have land. Land is the basic building block from which a park system emerges. Accordingly, Dallas increased its park acreage. The number of park sites increased from 51 to 288 during Houston's directorship and the concomitant increase in acreage was from 5,295 to 16,225 acres. Most of this land was acquired using bonding authority which was consistently approved by the voters.
When Houston was appointed director, the department�s operating budget was slightly over $400,000, but by his retirement it had increased to almost $12 million. The first recreation center was opened in Dallas in 1953. When he retired, the city had 21 recreation centers, and 21 large pools. In each year of his tenure, the park board's percentage of the city budget increased as residents realized the importance of recreation. He presided over the difficult challenge of racial integration of the recreation facilities and it was achieved without fights, vindictiveness or apparent complications.
Houston's ability to make progress even under fire was aptly displayed when work began on Turtle Creek Drive in 1959. The Public Works Department had decided to widen the service drive in order to prevent traffic jams. Conservationists, garden clubs, and the Dallas Morning News strongly protested that this would destroy the natural beauty. Houston sidetracked press criticism after a series of meetings concerning several plans about Turtle Creek by proactively addressing the issue. The park department followed the street crews with plantings, and soon after the widening was completed, thousands of azaleas blossomed. The drivers on the modernized parkway were amazed and ample praise flowed along with "we were wrong" editorials from the newspaper. Quick, alert action avoided continued hard feelings and even turn criticism into praise.
The Turtle Creek incident is one example of Houston's public relations ability. Early in his administration he had divested himself of personnel matters below the foreman or division head level. This allowed him time for larger decision making and to meet the public. Infuriated citizens rarely left Houston's office as angry as when they arrived. He listened, discussed, and if the complaint had legitimacy, promised actions. If the complaint could not be changed, he patiently allowed expression of displeasure and explained the policy of the department to the individual.
In 1956, Houston was appointed a member of a team of park experts to study organizational and operational procedures of the National Capital Parks System. In 1960, he was appointed by the interior secretary to a three-year committee heading the "Parks for America" program. He invested effort in developing the park management curriculum at Texas Tech, advising on course content and supporting the department's study projects. He won many national park-related awards, including the Everly Silver Medal Award of the American Institute of Park Executives in 1965. He was nationally recognized for his work as a park administrator. In 1955, he was awarded a lifetime honorary fellowship of the American Institute of Park Executives. At that time, only 23 other men had received the honor since the group was formed in 1898. The National Park and Recreation Association's Distinguished Service Award was awarded to Houston in 1969. Houston served as president or director of: the American Institute of Park Executives; the Southwest Park and Recreation Institute, the National Recreation Association; the Texas Recreation Association; and the Texas Beach and Pool Association. He was a founding trustee of the National Recreation and Park Association. He worked actively as an officer in the Boy Scouts of America, and contributed his time and efforts as a member of the advisory board of the Y.M.C.A. In addition to receiving numerous other honors and recognitions, Houston was constantly in demand for presentations, and he served as an adjunct professor at Texas Tech University.
One of his colleagues observed, "L.B. Houston stands tall, in his own quiet and effective way, among the giants of our profession." He was honored by the Park Board when it named a park developed in 1963 as the L.B. Houston Park. This park was unique in the Dallas system because it included a golf course as well as other special facilities. The only public shooting range in the city was there, and was used by both the Dallas Police and the Park Police for practice and training. The only successful nature trail in the city was in an isolated section of the park. Because this one park was so adaptable to several types of special activities, it was expanded in 1965 to 885 acres and subsequently there were several small additions of property from part of the Elm Fork greenbelt program.
Source
Jebsen, H., Newton, R. M. & Hogan, P. R. (1976). Centennial History of the Dallas, Texas Park System. Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University, Department of Park Administration, Landscape Architecture and Horticulture & Department of History.

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