Jacobs ends 40-year run with Sterling parks

STERLING – After 40 years with the Sterling Park District, Doug Jacobs has literally had a hand in just about every project undertaken during that time.

Jacobs, 64, director of parks and planning, announced his retirement earlier this year and on Friday put in his last day on the job. What started out as a maintenance job has morphed into something much more over the years. He has worked with Parks Director Larry Schuldt for 37 of his 40 years, and as Schuldt’s right-hand man they have formed the kind of long-lasting partnership that you don’t see much anymore in today’s workplace.

“Doug’s job has evolved over the years,” Schuldt said. When he started out, it was more of a get your hands dirty position, but now it’s an administrative job. He does a lot of planning for construction and renovation projects, is involved in a lot of grants, and he’s been our go-to guy for ADA issues.”

Being in the right place at the right time played a big role in landing at the park district, Jacobs said. Originally from Morrison, the self-proclaimed “tree-hugger” headed west to go to college in Montana. He became homesick, however, and enrolled at Sauk Valley Community College. He then headed to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where he earned a degree in forestry.

Fate then intervened to bring him back to the Sauk Valley.

“I was lucky to get a job in Sterling with the IDNR, and then I found out Sterling Park District had a superintendent of parks job open,” Jacobs said. “Frank Duis was here then and he hired Roger Opiela, but he asked me if I’d be interested in a maintenance job.”

It turned out that Jacobs wasn’t the only one who was called back home.

“Roger was from Wisconsin, and about a year and a half later, he decided to go back there,” Jacobs said. “Roger wanted me to take the position.”

Soon after, Schuldt, a Rock Falls native, also found himself at the right place at the right time. Schuldt had just wrapped up work on his master’s degree and was back home working as the Lawrence Park pool manager.

“It just happened that the superintendent of recreation resigned,” Schuldt said. “I got that job, and Doug and I have been together ever since.”

Some of Jacobs’ most vivid career memories involve disasters of various types – not surprising when you head up maintenance operations at a park district. Several years ago, a huge windstorm hit Sinnissippi Park, leveling 95 trees, some 350 years old. Another windstorm tore off half the roof at the Duis Center, which played a key role in the building’s future.

“We were trying to decide whether to renovate or rebuild it then, and the storm became the impetus in 2010 for remodeling the entire center,” Jacobs said.

Fires also left their mark on the park district during Jacobs’ time on the job. Two were at Westwood, but perhaps the most memorable blaze was at the Dillon Home in the mid-’80s.

“There was a lightning strike to the electrical there that caught a couch on fire and it spread in the south porch area,” Jacobs said. “The fire department said they were about 1 to 2 minutes from losing the whole home.”

Jacobs has seen a lot of changes in 4 decades of parks and recreation work. While recreation used to be more about functionality, people now care more about the aesthetics, which is a driver in renovations. Most noteworthy for him, however, is the way people think about health and the environment.

“People are making a conscious effort to be green and they are also more determined to be healthy long term,” Jacobs said. “The walking paths and all of the renovations at Duis and Westwood are about creating more opportunities for people to become healthier.”

While Jacobs said he will miss the interactions with the park district staff, he will have plenty to keep him busy in the next chapter of his life. He figures he’ll help his wife, Amanda, with the business she runs, Beautiful You Boutique in Sterling. With daughters and grandchildren in nearby Rock Falls and Clinton, Iowa, he’s looking forward to some additional quality time with family. He’ll also spend some time shifting from park district to home projects and enjoy some of his favorite hobbies – landscaping, reading, and building models.