For the first time in 36 years, Jim Brower intends to experience a carefree summer.

The Oregon man retired last week from Ohio State Parks, with which he spent 31 of nearly 34 years as Maumee Bay State Park's first manager. While Mr. Brower plans to do volunteer work at Maumee Bay, including assembling a park history from items he has gathered over the years, the 54-year-old also wants to simply spend leisure time there and at other parks.

"I'm looking forward to enjoying a summer where you don't have to worry about the weekends and holidays," Mr. Brower said last week while taking a break from cleaning out his office, which he dubbed his "cage."

Mr. Brower has headed up Maumee Bay since 1978, a few years after the state started buying area land, and he was involved with its planning and development. When the park's 252-site campground opened in 1981, Mr. Brower recalled, he easily could count how many campers were there at any one time.

"We didn't really fill up our campground until 1988," Mr. Brower said. "It was a lot different then."

Long-time campers, seasonal employees, and others will be surprised to learn Mr. Brower has retired, said Steve Stibaner, assistant manager for law enforcement.

Mr. Stibaner and Scott Denham, assistant manager for park maintenance, were both hired by Mr. Brower and have been at Maumee Bay for nearly 30 years. The trio always discussed park operations, Mr. Stibaner said.

"I just can't say enough about this guy," Mr. Stibaner said. "He's been a good leader for us. He's been a good friend, and he's going to be missed by a lot of people."

A Dayton native, Mr. Brower grew up near Kiser Lake State Park near St. Paris. He was interested in public service and switched from premed at Ohio State University to parks and recreation, earning a bachelor's in natural resources in 1976.

Mr. Brower started working seasonal jobs at Kiser Lake in 1973, including lifeguard, park ranger, and maintenance crew leader, before becoming a full-time park ranger at Grand Lake St. Marys State Park. His next step before being promoted to Maumee Bay's park manager was campground manager at East Harbor State Park.

Much has changed over the years, not just at Maume Bay, but with the Ohio State Parks system, Mr. Brower said. Cutbacks statewide, for example, have whittled Maumee Bay's employment from a peak of 78 mostly seasonal workers to 53 now, he said.

"I was dealing with cuts even as we expanded the park," Mr. Brower said.

With Mr. Brower's retirement, all state parks in northwest Ohio will have two managers instead of four. His replacement, Scott Doty, who last was regional manager for Lake Erie Islands and an assistant manager at Maumee Bay, also will oversee Harrison Lake, Mary Jane Thurston, Van Buren, and Independence Dam state parks, which Mr. Brower began doing last year.

Mr. Brower and his wife, Judy, raised their two sons, James, 22, and Jeff, 20, at Maumee Bay. They moved from the park to a nearby Oregon home 1 1/2 years ago, and Mr. Brower will begin searching for a second career in the fall.

Even though being park manager meant putting in a lot of extra hours, especially on weekends and holidays, there were special times too, Mr. Brower said. From a vantage point by Maumee Bay's amphitheater, for example, Mr. Brower would see people biking, going to the lodge, swimming, and otherwise enjoying themselves, he said.

"You see all that at one time and one place, and it's like, 'Well, it's worth it,'•" Mr. Brower said.

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at:

jmckinnon@theblade.com

or 419-724-6087.

First Published April 8, 2009, 3:20 p.m.