Charles J.

Dawes
15500 Bubbling Wells Rd # 101
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240-7059
760-338-8860
charlesjdawes@hotmail.com

October 2, 2018

The Dawes Arboretum

7770 Jacksontown Rd SE
Newark, OH 43056

OPEN LETTER TO TRUSTEES OF THE DAWES ARBORETUM

RE: CHARGING OF FEES FOR ENTRY TO THE ARBORETUM

Dear Trustees,

It is my understanding that The Dawes Arboretum is currently in a period of public vetting prior
to the proposed implementation of fees to be paid by the public to gain entrance to The
Arboretum beginning in Spring 2019. Please know this letter is written in a spirit of goodwill and
respectful gratitude for the service which current and past trustees, staff, volunteers, donors,
neighbors and other members of the arboretum community provide at all levels.

It is the intent of this letter to provide a historical context and rational refutation of the purported
“necessity” for entry fees at The Arboretum. There is nothing historical which may be pointed at
to say that these fees are justified. Despite efforts within Arboretum ranks which have persisted
for decades, a rational case cannot be presented to justify entry fees are critically necessary for
The Arboretum’s survival as an institution with an endowment in the tens of millions of dollars.
Entry fees, if implemented, create unnecessary, unanticipated difficulties for The Arboretum and
are an unnecessary barrier to those who most need continued, unimpeded, free access to its
grounds.

When they founded The Dawes Arboretum, Beman and Bertie Dawes went to extraordinary
lengths to ensure the financial success and general well-being of the institution. By agreeing with
their parents on the founding principles of The Arboretum, which included “…in order to give
pleasure to the public and education to the youth….”, the children (Gates, Cutler, C. Burr, Henry
and Dorothy) agreed to serve as Trustees and, unknown to most people, agreed to forfeit the
majority of what would have been their own personal inheritances, monies which went instead to
The Arboretum by prior understanding. The above story is related because much of The
Arboretum’s financial security today is the result of great personal sacrifice by Founding
Trustees, and successive generations of Trustees, who believed and continue to believe that the
concept of free and open access by the public to The Arboretum is a founding principle. If it
forfeits this principle, The Arboretum loses one of its greatest traits and strengths.

In the months immediately following The Arboretum’s founding in June, 1929, the Great
Depression struck the country and the world. The hardships faced are difficult to imagine today,
but it is not an understatement to say that Beman and Bertie Dawes, their children and others
who served as Trustees, faced and resisted closing The Arboretum on several occasions due to
financial hardship. By keeping its gates open during the worst of times, The Arboretum became
known as a place where everyone was welcome to come, free of charge, to experience the
splendor of trees and the beauty of nature – a meaningful refuge away from the trials and
tribulations of the Great Depression which tore at the fabric of our nation at the time. Sadly, for
many in our society a similar situation of financial hardship and economic uncertainty exists
today.

After Beman and Bertie’s deaths, their children and others remained as Trustees. Over the years,
the founding generation of family Trustees were replaced on the board by their children. For
decades the next generation, my generation, with Dorothy Mann, Mary Jo Higgins, and Mary
Jane Bolon serving as Chairs of the board, others in the family filled supporting roles in varying
tenures both on the board (Rufus Beach, Paul Hibbard, Sally Hauser, Beman Dawes) and on staff
(me). During those years, critical issues arose and were eventually dealt with. It was during those
years that the concept of charging a fee to enter The Arboretum was introduced and became
increasingly promoted under the false premise that such fees were eventually inevitable. The
charging of fees to enter The Arboretum is not and never has been inevitable. Such fees can and
should be avoided. From the beginning it has been a guiding principle of The Arboretum that
access to its grounds are free and open to the public at no charge.

The charging of fees to enter The Arboretum breaks with 90 years of hard-fought precedent and
relentless effort by the founders, their children, and their children’s children that The Arboretum
welcome all visitors freely. Since its founding The Arboretum has become known as an
institution which is free of charge to everyone in society regardless of class, race, sexual
preference, religion, and/or economic ability to pay. Now, for the first time, Trustees consider
implementing a policy which tells one segment of our society who do not have the funds for
admission, they cannot enter. In whatever manner the charging of fees is guised, whether it is the
intended message or not, “If you can’t pay, you can’t come in” will be the message which will
greet the visiting public. Even requiring members to show cards for admission creates a barrier
which was never intended.

I have great respect for Luke Messinger, Executive Director. Luke assures me that he will do his
best to ensure that no one is prevented from entering The Arboretum as the new entry fee
program is implemented. Respectfully I believe that it is not possible to accomplish
implementing fees while at the same time excluding no one. If Trustees want to ensure that no
one is prevented from entering The Arboretum due to their not being able to pay, Trustees should
not implement a fee program in the first place. Even generous-sounding proposals like free
passes issued by the public library, free admission to school groups, free admission for the
elderly, free admission up-to-a limit for weddings, 3 free days a year, etc. create an unnecessary
burden on the visiting public which The Arboretum has avoided over the course of its history.
Such a policy is in violation of the original intent of the Founders.

I ask that Luke and Trustees reconsider the expense and ramifications which would be incurred
by administering such a program. The staffing and infrastructure changes alone are not
insignificant and will incur unnecessary expense at The Arboretum. Please consider the vitriol
that could be created in the public sphere if this is implemented. Think of the multi-generational
conflict which could potentially engulf our own family should this unnecessary entry fee be
pursued. Not insignificantly if these fees are implemented, The Dawes Arboretum grounds will

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become inaccessible to some members of our own family who are descendants of Arboretum
Founders as well as to an ever-growing segment of the general public. Such is not an over-
statement, but a reality which must be understood by those who now make this important
decision.

It is too easy for some to point at the sole benefit this entry fee program generates, namely,
substantial income for The Arboretum, for these folks to then say it will be beneficial for The
Arboretum. Such an approach overlooks the disadvantages this fee program would
unintentionally give rise to. There are more issues than mere financial gain which must be
considered. Have other sources of funding been completely exhausted? Is foundation giving
exhausted? Are corporate sponsorships and donations completely exhausted? Are professional
fund-raising campaigns really exhausted? Are membership campaigns exhausted? No, of course
these sources of funding for The Arboretum are not exhausted.

Wonderfully, additional sources of revenue such as those mentioned above, are only just now
beginning to succeed as The Arboretum begins, for the first time in its history, to implement a
truly professional fund-raising program. Congratulations are due staff and trustees. The
Arboretum is now on the road to continued success. I implore Trustees to not overdo recent
fund-raising successes such as corporate sponsorships by implementing entry fees which will
affect everyone. This is not a good idea and creates the ever-growing impression that more
money is never enough at The Arboretum. There are other sources of income which should
continue to be investigated and developed.

For four decades I have advocated a source of income at The Arboretum which remains
unexplored. I have begged, pleaded, that professionally-led educational tours be conducted on
tour buses with intercoms. Originating and concluding at the Visitors Center, these bus tours
would be offered at regularly-scheduled intervals throughout the day, every day. Fees would be
charged for those optionally wishing to take the hour-long tour as it proceeds through the
grounds (suggested $10 per adult, $5 for children). In sharp contrast to the current, spottily-
scheduled carry-all tours which take a much-needed tractor out of commission and subject
participants to the uncertainties of climatic conditions, The Arboretum has an opportunity
available in the comfort of a tour bus to reach tens of thousands of visitors a year. Such tours
remain an untapped source of revenue which would clearly fulfill many of the educational goals
envisioned by the Founders.

Comparable in size to airport shuttle buses with large windows and temperature-controlled
interiors, these tour buses would present an educational overview of various aspects of The
Arboretum. These tours would give visitors something to look forward to as an option to self-
guided tours currently available. The presentations would be taped and prepared by professional
staff on subjects of horticulture, nature and history. Such bus tours would have an added
beneficial impact in that fewer individual cars would be driving through The Arboretum, more
visitors would have educational experiences, and significant revenue would be generated.

Interestingly I have been requesting that visitors be given the opportunity to pay for educational
bus tours of Arboretum grounds at least for as many years as entry fees have been promoted by
some. Why not give the concept of paid bus tours a try to see how much income could be
generated before implementing an entry fee program which will change the dynamics of The

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Arboretum forever? Truly there are many additional means by which The Arboretum can
generate additional revenue without having entry fees.

To conclude, implementing fees to enter The Arboretum: (1) destroys a founding principle upon
which the Arboretum is based; (2) ignores 90 years of painstaking precedent to avoid such; (3) is
grossly unfair to those who cannot afford it; (4) creates unnecessary public distrust and anger and
creates the potential for multi-generational conflict for years to come, (5) erodes confidence in
current members and supporters by pushing the envelope too far, and most importantly; (6) sets
an unnecessary barrier to a group of individuals and families who most need the blessings which
The Dawes Arboretum offers uniquely and until now, freely.

I am sending this letter to Luke with the request that he forward it to all Trustees, including Mary
Jane, Beman, Josephine, Theresa and Dana. Such is the trust I have in Luke that he is willing to
distribute a position paper which challenges some of the assumptions which has enabled the
concept of entry fees to proceed to this point. In so doing I also request that this letter be
included in the minutes of the next Trustee meeting for the record. The decisions being made
right now by Trustees on the subject of entry fees will affect The Dawes Arboretum from this
day forward.

Everyone understands that the issue of entry fees at The Arboretum has been around for many
years. Simply because the issue has been around or because other institutions have fees, does not
mean this issue should be acquiesced upon by The Arboretum. That other institutions are
charging entry fees, such as Kingwood Center or The Works, is a perfect reason why such fees
should be resisted at The Dawes Arboretum. Let The Arboretum shine amongst its peers as an
example of an institution which holds dearly to its founding principles.

Free access to its grounds by the public is one of many traits which makes The Arboretum
unique in the world.

Cherish the fact that entry fees are not necessary. Stand by this time-honored principle and
protect it as generations have in the past.

May The Dawes Arboretum flourish with goodwill amongst all, wise guidance from its
leaders, and unimpeded open access to everyone from all walks of life for many years to
come.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Charles J. Dawes, Ph.D.

Grandson of Arboretum Founders,
Former Arboretum Staff Member,
Co-author of Tribute to Bertie Burr and Beman Gates Dawes: A Narrative and Pictorial
Biography of Their Lives, presented at The Arboretum’s fiftieth rededication ceremonies.

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