This pond and cabin in Amanda Township are part of the more than 50 acres given to Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District by the late Dr. Herbert Beil.
Photo courtesy of Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District.
LIMA — “‘Fascinating’ is the word I would use to describe him,” Allen County Wildlife Officer Craig Barr said.
Barr used that word to describe Dr. Herbert Beil, a man he met approximately 15 years ago when he visited Beil’s Amanda Township property for inspections required for falconers.
“He knew more than I did [about birds],” Barr said.
That connection to nature has continued in the wake of Beil’s death in 2019, with his more than 50-acre property being donated to the Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District (JAMPD).
He described Beil as a “bird guy” who maintained red-tailed hawks, pigeons, pheasants and “farm birds.”
Barr recalled that Beil had a high platform on his property that he maintained for feeding buzzards. Beil retrieved “road kill,” such as deer, opossum and raccoon to feed the vultures. The first eagle’s nest in the county was located near the Beil property.
The Beil home, located just south of state Route 117 in the middle of the woods, had large windows in the kitchen and living room where the Beils and their guests could view many of the birds on the property. The home was well-suited for the Beils’ practical lifestyle.
In Ohio, there is a season for small game hunting. Barr said Beil trained his hawks to hunt animals, such as rabbits and squirrels, during that season. Barr described the hawks as being “like part of their family.” They were maintained in an aviary on the property.
Barr clearly recalls the first time he met Beil at the Amanda Township home.
“We sat in the kitchen drinking coffee for two hours,” he said. “He was so interesting. We talked about the old world, falcons and crows. I was quite in awe of him. He was so well-rounded on a lot of things.”
“Equal pairing”
Beil was born in St. Louis, Missouri to German immigrant parents. The Beil family returned to Germany at the start of World War II, when Beil was nine years old. The Beils then returned to the United States, where Herbert entered the Havener Eye Institute at The Ohio State University. He opened his ophthalmology practice in Lima in 1964 and purchased the Amanda Township property. He retired from his practice in 1995.
Mike Baker, the son of Beil’s longtime friend, Dr. Jim Baker, described the relationship between “Herbie” Beil and his wife, Elfriede (“Elfi”) as an “equal pairing.” They met in Germany while skiing and were married on Aug. 19, 1958.
“Herbie was the dreamer and Elfi was the practical one,” said Baker.
Baker has many fond memories of “Herbie” Beil, whom he met when he was about six years old. Baker’s father and Beil often took hunting trips together.
Baker recalls Beil as, “brilliant, energetic and adventurous.”
“[He] liked to share knowledge,” he said. “You could never have a half-hour visit with Herbie and Elfi.”
Beil stayed very busy on the property, Baker said, bailing hay and caring for his birds and horses. Beil continued to have horses until only a few years before he died.
“He had the energy of a 15-year-old,” said Baker.
Beil was also a licensed pilot, obtaining a license in the 1960s and flying in and out of “the old Baty Road Airport.” Baker said Beil owned several amphibious planes during his lifetime.
When discussing the Beil property, Baker said Beil “built the ponds and made nests for the hawks.” The property was, “their little paradise.”
“[Beil was] the most consummate nature man,” Baker said.
The gift
Baker believes it was because of the Beil’s love of the property and their interest in conservation that Herbie and Elfi made a “mutual decision” to donate the property to the JAMPD. The two parcels of land were acquired following Beil’s death in 2019. Elfi died in 2021.
At their request, the property will remain a conservation area, with no plans for shelter houses or a playground.
The property has been appraised as a woodlot, according to JAMPD Director Tyler Black. Two of the four barns have been removed and the house will be removed.
“There is a lot to clean up out there,” Black said, so the area will not be open to the public for another two to five years. The JAMPD wants to be sure that “there is readily available access” and that “liabilities are low,” he said. Some trails have already been cut on the property.
Black describes the property as having “three beautiful ponds and a small feeder stream at Buck Run that feeds into the Auglaize River.” There are “rolling bluffs” with one of them consisting of a 40-foot drop down to the river. A scenic overlook is being considered for that site.
Describing the trees on the property, Black said there is, “one of the biggest swamp white oaks I’ve ever seen.” There is also, “shagbark hickory, native honeysuckle and early successional forest with everything from shrubs to mature hardwood,” he added.
There are two ravines on the property. The JAMPD is considering the need for bridges over the ravines.
Because of limitations in its ability to clean up and maintain properties, the park district is selective in the areas it acquires.
“We’re more about quality than we are about quantity,” Black said.
Some anticipated uses for the property include environmental programming on such subjects as plants, birding and fishing. There are three areas of water on the property.
The JAMPD plans to incorporate the Beil name into the property when it is open to the public. It will be referred to as a “natural” or “conservation” area rather than a park.
The connection between Beil and the park district is fitting, given Barr’s last memory of the man.
“He was walking to the mailbox with a pouch slung over his shoulder with a rope at each end,” he said. “He looked very much like Johnny Appleseed.”
