William “Bill” Rutherford
by Mike Bailey
“This place wouldn’t be the same without him.”
So said one of Bill Rutherford’s admirers 20 years ago when the Journal Star led off its local “Legacy Project” series chronicling the accomplishments of the “conservationist/lawyer/dreamer” who left an indelible imprint on his hometown ... and on a young man from Spring Bay named Kim Blickenstaff, who would grow up to become an entrepreneur and philanthropist in his own right, continuing in much the same vein as the Rutherford he now calls his mentor.
Indeed, list Rutherford’s contributions to Central Illinois and to the literal landscape here in general and it is difficult to envision where this area would be and where it seems to be going were it not for the base built by him and wife/partner Hazel, through their Forest Park Foundation.
The Rutherford Residence, “The Hazel House,” designed by Richard L. Doyle.
Across a blessed and generous life of 91 years, Rutherford acquired more than 600,000 acres of land across the globe. Before his passing in 2006, he had donated away much of it, including an astonishing 25,000 acres for public enjoyment in the Peoria area alone.
Glimpse the beautiful bluffs on the west side of the Illinois River, at the foot of Grandview Drive to points north, largely protected from urban development, and you see evidence of Rutherford’s efforts.
Ride the Rock Island Trail, the 26 miles of abandoned railway turned recreational path, as tens of thousands of people do every year, and know that it was Rutherford’s vision and indomitable spirit, put into motion.
Watch buffalo and elk in something approaching their natural habitat at Wildlife Prairie Park, and appreciate that again, it was Rutherford who showed the way in turning something withered and unproductive – in this case an abandoned strip mine – into a vibrant, 2,000-acre community treasure and environmental success story.
Hike the worn-by-countless-feet trails at Forest Park Nature Center in Peoria Heights, take in the history and cross-country ski at Jubilee College State Park, enjoy the stunning vistas from Robinson Park, or just enjoy a relaxing day at Sommer Park, and realize that those spaces are forever green rather than asphalt gray at the behest of Bill Rutherford.
Alas, it wasn’t just on the environmental and conservation fronts that the Rutherfords made such a big splash.
Enjoy a meal along Peoria Heights’ Restaurant Row in its bustling downtown, take in a concert afterwards at Tower Park, ride the glass elevator of the iconic cylinder on the site more than 200 feet above the village for an unparalleled view of the majestic Illinois River valley below, and realize that it all looks the way it does because Rutherford, along with his architect, Richard Doyle, “planted the seeds for modern-day Peoria Heights,” according to a community tribute to the two in 2007.
Take a flight out of General Wayne A. Downing International Airport, and recognize that Peoria is accessible to the rest of the nation by air because Rutherford, a pilot in his own right, helped establish the Greater Peoria Airport Authority more than 70 years ago.
Get treatment at Peoria’s Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation – a first-of-its-kind facility when founded -- and be thankful that it was Rutherford, among others, who saw a need to help wounded World War II veterans and polio victims and so many more with debilitating injuries return to productive work following those setbacks.
Witness health care becoming an ever-growing part of central Illinois’ economy and learn that it was Rutherford who, decades ago, donated a significant portion of the land making the expansion of the Downtown hospital campuses possible. The Peoria Area Community Foundation, Hult Health Education Center, Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, Lakeview Museum (now Peoria Riverfront Museum), etc., all exist because Rutherford had the foresight and the will to help turn them into reality.
In fact, the page runneth over with any recitation of the ways that Rutherford lived his motto to “leave this world a better place than you found it.” It’s why, in 1986, Newsweek magazine named the Peoria lawyer among its “100 heroes for our times.”
“This place wouldn’t be the same without him”? If anything, that’s understating it.
And now someone else has come along, influenced and inspired directly by Rutherford, to follow in his footsteps and simultaneously forge a path all his own.
Some people must leave home to find their destiny. Others grow where they’re planted. Sometimes there’s enough room in a life to do both. But no one achieves great things alone, as they stand atop the shoulders of those who reached for the stars before them.
