Rollin Wheeler's recollections

(Editor's Note: In the Flagstaff's Galaxy of Illustrious Leaders, The Star of Rollin Wheeler burns forever bright. His fingerprints are all over the projects and progress of the pivotal mid- 20th century years. The park across from City Hall bears his name. Wheeler was born in 1903 and came to Flagstaff in 1929. He was a teacher and coach at Flagstaff High School and became active in city politics in the 1950's. He served as Mayor from 1960 to 1968 and was involved in the birth of Buffalo Park from the very "git go". Wheeler was interviewed by Susan Rogers in December 1975 as part of a bicentennial project directed by John I. Irwin head of Special Collections and Archives at Northern Arizona University.  Below are his comments on Buffalo Park from that interview.)

ROLLIN WHEELER: "Well, Buffalo Park was an idea that was conceived in the eyes of members of the Chamber of Commerce, and the city went along with 'em to a point. But it became a little bit, oh, should I say unmanageable and unfeasible, in that the expense got out of hand. And at one time we had a plan - in fact, the plans are still there - for commercial and residential development of the Mesa. But then the astral branch of the USGS up there - the astral people, as we call 'em - wanted to built a site here. We were talking about all the various projects, you know, orbiting the earth and going to the moon and so forth and so on. So that building, or those buildings, were constructed up there, and plans for residential development were just held in abeyance. And the same way with Buffalo Park. I don't know what the future of that is. The land is up there, roughly 750 odd acres, plus it's pretty rocky for development up there. Other areas of the town have been developed that were just as rocky. It's all city-owned land. We got that during my years on the council and as mayor. It required an act of Congress in order to make an exchange on it. So the city has that land up there, which I don't know what they'll use it for in the future. It has lots of potential."

 Source: https://archive.library.nau.edu/digital/collection/cpa/id/64405