Herb Jennings* - Litchfield

Herb “Two Gun” Jennings was born in Canada and came to the U.S. when he was 25 years old; Canada’s loss was our gain. His desire to be a part of America was realized when he was granted U.S Citizenship in 1932; Herb and his wife Rose demonstrated a strong aspect of the Jennings’ character. They opened their home to relatives and friends during the Great Depression providing a place to sleep and hot food. This love, respect and willingness to help others continued throughout Herb’s professional career and public life.
After the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor, Herb at the age of 36, well beyond draft age, felt it necessary to become involved in defending his chosen country. He entered the Navy and become a Seabee seeing action during the retaking of Guam and stationed there after the island was pacified. Perhaps his interest in providing recreation experiences for others began there. He was assigned the responsibility of organizing a softball program for the armed forces based on Guam. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in December 1945.
Herb moved the family to Litchfield, Michigan in 1946. There he began his career as a sales representative for Game-Time, Inc., a manufacturer of park and playground equipment. It was difficult at first but his positive outlook toward life soon enabled him to quickly make contacts, many becoming close friends that continued throughout his lifetime.

When Game Time, Inc. offered a new Cadillac to the first sales representative to sell $1 million of playground and park equipment in one year, “Two Gun” was there to receive the keys. Referring to him as “Two Gun”, a favorite nickname, Herb encouraged Game Time, Inc.’s President, to develop exciting new products and then enthusiastically supported their marketing programs locally and on a national level.

In the 1950’s and 60’s, the public wanted the recreation and parks profession to improve the quality of services being provided in Michigan. Responding to these needs, Herb and other professional recreators believed our state organization should reorganize to meet these challenges. Herb provided the impetus for this new direction for our state professional organization by encouraging our profession to become more involved in the marketing of parks and recreation services.

A well deserved tribute given Herb came after his death. The State of Michigan Legislature honored Herb by passing Resolution, No. 519. A Tribute and Memorial for Herbert Jennings, an epitaph to a legend in his own time.

Herbert “Two Gun” Jennings, well remembered by his colleagues for his leadership, dedication, revolutionary ideas and support for MRPA and the profession as a whole.