Joe Ford was a naturalist, an explorer, and an adventurer — all traits that led him to become a founding director of the Owensboro Area Museum and to being named Owensboro’s official naturalist by the City. Although he died in 2014, his legacy lives on through the Joe Ford Nature Center and Park.
During the Owensboro Rotary Club’s Wednesday meeting, Donna Goodlet from the Nature Center gave an overview of Ford’s life and the impact he made on Owensboro.
“For years, he was the go-to guy that the hospitals called if anyone came with a suspicious bite,” Goodlet said. “He would identify the bite, identify the animal, and suggest possible remedies. I’m curious to know how many people’s lives were saved by Joe.”
The Joe Ford Nature Trails connect to the Greenbelt and are owned by the City of Owensboro, which Goodlet said is a great help in the maintenance of the park. They have a total of five trails, which allow visitors to simply take time to enjoy the outdoors in a natural state.
“Joe and Grace Ford believed in nature,” Goodlet said. “Not a lot of signage, not a lot of busyness, but to let nature take over.”
There is a variety of wildlife to be found both on the trails and in the Nature Center’s building. There are numerous ecosystems outside, but inside you could find a turtle, snakes, a bearded dragon, and even a tarantula.
Bob Christie, an emeritus member of the Joe Ford Nature Center board, has a great amount of knowledge about all kinds of animals, which is one reason why one of the five trails are named in his honor. Christie accompanied Goodlet for the presentation and brought along visual aids — two of the center’s snakes.
“TJ is a king snake. He’s very friendly, he loves Bob, and he likes to eat other snakes, particularly poisonous ones,” Goodlet said. “Sunshine is an albino corn snake and eats mice and rats.”
Sunshine stayed draped around Christie’s neck for the majority of the presentation.
The Joe Ford Nature Center’s mission statement is to “preserve Joe and Grace Ford’s legacy to nature and the natural cultural history of our region by providing educational programs and maintaining that place as an area to commune with nature.”
To see firsthand what the Joe Ford legacy is all about, the park is open 365 days a year during daylight hours. For more information, you can find them on Facebook here.
