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One day in 1928 John F. Harris, a New York financier who had grown up in
Lincoln in the seventies and eighties, met a boyhood friend who still
lived here. The rusty gate of memory swung back—it had been 40 years
since Harris left Lincoln—and sharply accentuated before him stood the
past. In a rush of deep affection for all that had gone into his boyhood
he immediately resolved upon a memorial to his parents, to be located in
the city in which he had grown to manhood. The result was Lincoln’s
largest park. His boyhood friend—George Woods—picked out the 600 acre
site and Mr. Harris came to Lincoln and approved. He was urged to use
the family name for the park, but when he visited the site of his old
home at 16th and K and stood at the graves of his parents in Wyuka, he
decided on another—one which would name his parents in a broader sense
and include all these with whom they had toiled in the
wilderness—Pioneers.
George Harris, the father, came to Lincoln in the early seventies as
land commissioner for the Burlington, and as part of his work brought
thousands of people to the state. Later one of the sons, George B.
Harris, became president of the Burlington. John F. Harris went to New
York and became a successful financier. It was Mr. Harris’ wish not to
drive nature from the rolling stretch of prairie presented to Lincoln,
only to help her turn her most hospitable face to the city. One of the
hills forms a natural amphitheater from which many programs and services
have been heard. Lakes beautify the rolling surface of the park. Herds
of buffalo and elk are a reminder of the early days. Near the east
entrance stands a buffalo in bronze, also given by Mr. Harris, and made
in Paris by the famous sculptor, George Gaudet.