386 ADDRESSES AND STATE PAPERS

combine to make Gunpowder State Park the largest State Park in
Maryland.

It is uniquely fitting that the first public use area is named for S.
Lawrence Hammerman, past chairman of our State Forest and Parks
Commission. The very existence of this park is — in many ways —
due to his vision, his dedication, and his perseverance.

Let us never forget that in designating the name Hammerman for
this area, we are not only bestowing honor upon the man but upon
the area. For this name has come to reflect and symbolize the character
of the man and to represent a life of public service, philanthropy, and
personal fulfillment.

S. L. Hammerman was born on a farm and was to refer to himself
as "a country boy, a farm boy" throughout his life. Perhaps it was
the early years of his life that created his great affinity for the beauty
of nature untamed and his unique appreciation of the tranquility of
nature unmolested. This extraordinary love of the land was later char-
acteristically redefined in terms of civic dedication and translated into
action that assured all his fellow citizens the opportunity to share the
gifts of serenity, inspiration and recreation, which only vast stretches
of woodlands can provide.

For S. L. Hammerman, there was only one way of approaching life
and that was at full force. He often said: "Nothing happens by itself. "
He understood that to gain in life you had to work and, often, to
struggle. He also felt, and felt deeply, that where success has been
achieved through community recognition, the successful had an ob-
ligation to the community. His was a singular sense of civic pride and
civic gratitude.

Thus, as his real estate business flourished, he turned more and
more of his energy and talents to public service, to politics, to philan-
thropy. As a man who never compromised with his conscience, either
in his private or public endeavors, S. L. Hammerman became the
builder of great projects and great men.

But for all of his vast interests, his greatest vocation became his
greatest contribution to the Maryland public, the result of his twenty-
five years of efforts to realize improved and expanded public recreation
and parks programs.

S. L. Hammerman was not simply dedicated to preserving the na-
tural heritage of the people — he was tenacious in his determination
not to give up one inch of parkland. To achieve this goal he over-