On Saturday, Oct. 15, more than 50 people celebrated the grand opening of the Connor Forestry Center at Kemp Natural Resources Station in Woodruff, WI. The Center was made possible through a generous gift from Mary Connor Pierce and her husband Dudley Pierce.The 4,500-square foot building includes a large 80-person classroom named after Mary’s father Gordon Robert Phelps Connor and a 35-person classroom named after her grandfather William Duncan Connor. Both men played significant roles in Wisconsin’s forestry industry (see plaques below).

Speakers at the dedication included Scott Bowe, superintendent of Kemp Station, Dean Kate VandenBosch and Mary Connor Pierce. Tom Steele, emeritus superintendent of Kemp Station, closed the program by describing how Mary’s legacy gift in honor of her family will have another lasting legacy as the Connor Forestry Center will serve as a place to train future leaders in forestry and natural resource management for decades to come.