P. J. Hoffmaster

On visits home to Lansing, Genevieve made a point of staying in touch with her college friend, Pete Hoffmaster. P.J. Hoffmaster had been appointed to serve as Michigan’s first Superintendent of State Parks. Recognizing their common interests, Hoffmaster solicited Genevieve’s help and support in expanding Michigan’s small state park system. In 1925, Genevieve returned to Michigan to work for the Breitmeyer Flower Company in Detroit. On weekends, she scouted the state for potential parklands. Genevieve’s volunteer efforts and exhaustive written reports were instrumental in making Hoffmaster’s vision of an expanded park system become a reality. When Hoffmaster was promoted to Director of Conservation in 1934, Michigan had 72 state parks and nine million annual visitors. Most notable among her early state park credits were the establishment of Ludington and Hartwick Pines State Parks.

Realizing the need for thorough research and detailed reports as her quest for quality parklands continued, Genevieve relied on the expertise of friends in the Michigan Botanical Club. She later formed the Natural Areas Council. The Council is still active today, studying and recommending properties worthy of state protection.

Genevieve Gillette, June 1969

One of the things that set Genevieve apart from other effective women volunteers was that she had to earn her own living. During the years she assisted Hoffmaster, she supported herself by working on landscaping projects for the City of Lakeland, Florida, the Detroit Parks and Recreation Department, and for the federally funded greenbelt project at the West Acres Housing Project near Pontiac. She also maintained a private practice in Ann Arbor. Her larger commissions included Albion College, Ferris State University and Starr Commonwealth for Boys.

Following the untimely death of Hoffmaster in 1951, Genevieve gathered together active citizens and conservation groups concerned with the neglect of state parks. From these modest meetings in her living room grew the Michigan Parks Association, established to influence the direction and funding for the future of state parks. In 1959, at age 61, Genevieve set out on a tireless lobbying effort in the State Legislature to pass a 100 million dollar bond to rebuild a deteriorating state park system.