LYONS, Edwin B.

LYONS, Edwin B. (Centralia, IL-Dubuque, IA, Sept. 15, 1970). Lyons purchased BAYLESS BUSINESS COLLEGE in 1909. It was one of five he eventually owned in Iowa. He operated it until it was sold in 1959. Lyons, remembered for the E. B. LYONS INTERPRETATIVE CENTER bearing his name, established Dubuque's famous PEONY TRAIL in 1947 in memory of his wife. Through a trust fund, he fulfilled his wife's dream with a trail of peony plants on the islands along two miles of Grandview Avenue and in city parks. For many years Lyons served as a director of the YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION (Y.M.C.A.) He was also treasurer and business manager for the UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE.

In 1962 Lyons offered $12,000 to develop a nine-hole, par-3, golf course adjacent to BUNKER HILL GOLF COURSE. He suggested that the 18th hole could be moved southward to make room for the new course. The 18th, a par-4, would become a par-3. This would provide just over seven acres at the west end of Bunker Hill, including the practice range, for the suggested course. The idea was rejected by the Dubuque Recreation Commission as a result of a letter received from C. D. Wagstaff, the golf course architect of the renovated Bunker Hill course, who did not recommend the change. (1)

In 1972 trustees of the estate announced that a trust fund with $290,000 had been established to give funds to the Dubuque Park Board and the City of Dubuque. The money was for use within or outside the city limits to acquire or develop additional park and recreation areas.

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Source:

1. "Lyon's Golf Offer Rejected," Telegraph Herald, September 1, 1962, p. 1