The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections The University of Toledo

Finding Aid

Calvin M. Lakin Papers, 1946-1996

MSS-144

Size: 6 linear feet

Provenance: received from Laurie B. Sams, daughter of Calvin M. Lakin

Access: open

Related Collections: John Grigsby Papers, MSS-128, one of the founders of TMACOG; Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments Records MSS-114; and the Toledo Mayoral and City Council Papers, MSS-061.

 

Processing Note: The materials had been arranged in folders by Calvin M. Lakin, but because many of the materials overlapped or were received loose-leaf, the materials have been rearranged under more specific headings while keeping as close as possible to original order. All materials within each folder have been arranged in chronological order.

 

Copyright: The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns.  Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code.  The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections reserves the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

 

Completed by: Maria Halovanic, Archival Assistant, Summer 2000.

 

Biographical Sketch

 

Calvin M. Lakin, born on June 5, 1919 in Freeburg, Missouri, had an extensive career in city management before he became the Executive Director of the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) in 1970, a position he held for twenty-two years.

 

From 1941 to 1945, Lakin served in the United States Army as an Artillery Captain in the Pacific Theater of World War II. After receiving an honorable discharge, he attended the University of Kansas City, earning first a B.A. in Government and Social Science in 1949, followed by a Master's in Public Administration from the University of Kansas at Lawrence in 1951. While he was attending school, Lakin was already building his resume, working as a Community Coordinator in Kansas City, Missouri, and then as an Assistant City Manager in Russell, Kansas. In June of 1951, he became the City Manager of Norway, Michigan, then City Manager of Mexico, Missouri and finally City Manager of Port Huron, Michigan. From 1963-1968 he was a Public Administration Service Advisor to foreign governments, and in 1968 he became a faculty member of Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee, providing research and advice to local government on urban development programs.

 

In 1970, Lakin was appointed executive director of TMACOG, a voluntary organization of local governments in regions of Ohio and Michigan. TMACOG was formed in 1968 primarily to review federally funded projects and to address the federal initiative and local intergovernmental needs, but grew to include the Water Quality Planning Agency and Transportation Planning. During the 1970's, TMACOG was imperative in the development of Toledo's physical infrastructure, and soon became recognized by both the state and federal government as "the areawide agency responsible for planned rural development and urban growth, better transportation systems, improved water and air quality, wiser use of energy and natural resources, and long-term economic vitality."1

 

Despite its recognition, the early 1980's proved to be difficult times for TMACOG when federal funds were channeled through states with emphasis on state programs and block funding. These changes caused TMACOG to downsize and the Michigan townships of Bedford, Erie and Whiteford to leave TMACOG in 1985. Despite the setbacks, TMACOG became involved in railroads, residential energy conservation, air and water pollution, mass transit and economic development. In the late 1980's, TMACOG planned programs which enabled them to focus on local needs, including sewers, ties with the agricultural community and organized assistance with rural areas, and implementations of the remedial action plan for the Maumee River Basin. It was through these programs that TMACOG established its base of treating infrastructures as natural resources, and solidified its mission "to strengthen local government capabilities through cooperative action to solve areawide problems which cannot be resolved by any single government acting alone."2

 

Lakin was an active community member during his years in TMACOG, founding the Maumee Valley Future Society, as well as the Foresight Institute to conduct research and provide consultation on economic and community development. He was also a member of the World Future Society, the US HUD Advisory Committee on 701 Committee Planning, the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), the International City Management Association (ICMA), and Lourdes College Board of Trustees.

 

In 1992, Lakin retired from his position of executive director of TMACOG, but was still retained as a consultant until 1995. He passed away on March 27, 1997.

 

Scope and Content Note

 

The materials in this collection are comprised mainly of papers from Calvin M. Lakin's career as executive director of Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) although some of the papers relate to his career both before and after TMACOG. The papers have been arranged into seven series: S1. TMACOG, S2. Foresight Institute, and S3. Sister Cities, which relate directly to TMACOG activities; S4. Public Administration Services and S5. Consulting, which are papers compiled both before and after Lakin's position at TMACOG; and S6. Notebooks, and S7. Printed Material, which are informational material compiled during Lakin's entire professional career.

 

The TMACOG Series is the largest series, and to facilitate research, has been divided into three subseries: TMACOG General, TMACOG Committees, and TMACOG Water and Sewer. The TMACOG General subseries consists of programs, correspondence, conference material, the history of TMACOG and various other office papers. The second subseries, TMACOG Committees, consists of meeting minutes and printed material generated by the various committees and taskforces of TMACOG. The final subseries, TMACOG Water and Sewer is comprised of printed material, meeting minutes and correspondence that relate to TMACOG's efforts to create safe and clean community water systems within Toledo and the Great Lakes region.

 

The second series, Foresight Institute, are papers from the consulting group which Calvin Lakin founded in 1984 to conduct research and advise government in the areas of economic and community development. These papers consist of meeting minutes, correspondence, agendas, and plans for future programs.

 

The third series, Sister Cities, is comprised of information and correspondence from various overseas partnerships that Calvin Lakin helped to establish and maintain. This series has been arranged into folders according to country.

 

The forth series, Public Administration Services, are papers compiled by Lakin previous to his position at TMACOG. These papers include his monthly reports while traveling abroad in the Mid-East and South-East Asia, correspondence, and a report and planning program on the Kalamazoo Mass Transportation System.

 

The fifth series, Consulting, is a small series of Lakin's papers after his retirement from TMACOG when he was hired as a consultant. These papers include calendars of his activities, contracts with TMACOG, and information on the Citizen's Democracy Corps, an international consulting firm.

 

The sixth series, Notebooks, is information compiled by Lakin during his entire career. Due to preservation of the materials, the papers have been removed from their binders and separated into folders. The Notebooks include information from conferences, a senior thesis, and an Urban System Analysis.

 

The final series, Printed Material, consists of newspaper clippings, newsletters and brochures compiled over the course of fifty years. The newspaper clippings include personal as well as professional articles on Lakin and related activities.

 

 

Folder List

Box	Folder	Arrangement
1                                                       2                   2                                   3                                                         3                       4	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 26 27 28     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22     23 24 25 26 1 2 3     4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13     14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28     29 30 31 32 33     1 2 3 4 5     6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13     14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25	S1. TMACOG     General           Annual Work Program, 1993           Annual Work Program Addendum, 1993           Budget, 1992           Canadian RAP (Remedial Action Plan)           Canadian RAP, Correspondence           Chairman Emeritus/Founders Recognition           Charts and Blank Forms           Comptroller Activities           Correspondence, 1991-1997           Directory of Local Public Officials           The Forum for History and Business, Conference (1 of 3)           The Forum for History and Business, Conference (2 of 3)           The Forum for History and Business, Conference (3 of 3)           General Assembly           History, 1968-1980           History,  1980-1993           ICMA, China Visit, 1981           ICMA, Miscellaneous, 1981-1993           Lakin Biography           Maumee River Remedial Action Plan           Maumee Valley COG           Member Handbook, 1994           National Association of Regional Councils, (NARC)           Regional Roles           Retirement           Roth and Clark Fees 1991-1992       TMACOG Committees           Air Quality Task Force, 1992           Areawide Growth Policies, Minutes, 1991           Areawide Growth Policies, Minutes, 1992-1993           Areawide Growth Policies, Correspondence           Areawide Growth Policies, "Areawide Economic District" Drafts           Areawide Growth Policies "Areawide Econ. District" Corresp.           Areawide Growth Policies, Printed Material 1991- 1993           Capacity Building Committee, 1981           Energy Task Force, 1990-1991           Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, 1991           Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, 1992           Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, Oct 1992- June 1993           Management Committee Meeting 1990-1992           Management Committee, Correspondence 1986-1992           Network Committee, 1981-1982           Northern Wood Planning Committee Meeting, 1990-1991           Northern Wood Planning Committee Meeting, 1992           Northern Wood Planning Committee, Correspondence 1990-1992           Policy Decision Making Committee, 1981-1982           Strategic Planning Committee 1988-1989           Strategic Planning Committee, Environment           Taxsharing Team1988-1991       TMACOG Water and Sewer            Fulton County            Legal Institute of Great Lakes            Lake Erie West            Regional Water and Sewer System Study            Toxins            Water Supply Issues            Wood Co., Perrysburg Water Sewer Exchange     S2. Foresight Institute            Agenda, 1994-1996             Agenda, 1997             Daylog             Foresight Info, (1 of 2)             Foresight Info, (2 of 2)             Formation, 1984, 1993             "In Search of Community"             Meeting Minutes, 1993-1994             New Programs, 1994 - 1995             Notes, 1993             S3. Sister Cities             Bulgaria             Canada             China             Croatia             Croatia, Connections             Czech Republic             Hungary             Lithuania             Poland             Poland, Printed Materials             Romania             Russia             Slovak, Latvia, Poland             Slovakia, Lithuania             Ukraine             S4. Public Administration Service              Correspondence, 1963, 1966-67              Kalamazoo Mass Transportation, Introduction              Kalamazoo Mass Transportation              Kalamazoo Mass Transportation, Kalamazoo Planning Program              Monthly Reports, 1964-1965   S5. Consulting             Calendar, 1994               Calendar, 1995               Citizens' Democracy Corps.               Contracts, 1992               Contracts, 1993   S6. Notebooks               Economic Outlook 1980-1985               Futurics III (1 of 3)               Futurics III (2 of 3)               Futurics III (3 of 3)               Matzinger, James, Writings               Urban System Analysis (1 of 3)               Urban System Analysis (2 of 3)               Urban System Analysis (3 of 3)   S7. Printed Material                "Community Politics"                "Future Survey"                Industrial Parks, Regional Information               "Intellectual Capital Exchange"                Lagrange Development Corp.                Newspaper Clippings, 1946-1963                Newspaper Clippings,                "Noetic Sciences Newsletter"                "Ohio Foresight"                Ottawa County                TMACOG                Miscellaneous