Cleveland Scene Magazine December 10, 2008

Anyone who cares that the place where the Cuyahoga River pours out into Lake Erie remains undeveloped – one of the few areas where a person can walk along the shore and touch the water – owes a debt to the late Ed Hauser. There’s no telling how many people he introduced to that scrap of land known as Whiskey Island, either by taking them on tours or by calling attention to the place during the many years he dedicated to preserving it. While the city of Cleveland duked it out with the county over control of the property, Hauser’s was the loudest and most substantive voice arguing for its preservation as a park. With the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority coveting it for westward expansion, and the city fighting for control but making no promises about its future, Hauser fought against steep odds and eventually won. Whiskey Island, the peninsula bordered by the old river channel to the south, the Cuyahoga to the east and Lake Erie to the north, is now known as Wendy Park. Thanks to Hauser, it’s going to stay that way. That was one of several battles Hauser took up in his 10 years of activism following his layoff from an engineering job at LTV steel.