John D. Pennekamp Biography

John D. Pennekamp

Pennekamp grew up in Ohio, and began working in the newspaper business at age 14, eventually becoming the news editor of the Cincinnati Post. In 1925, he moved to the Miami Herald, where he was to work for the next fifty years as news editor, managing editor, and daily columnist, among other positions. One of his passions was conservation, and he devoted much of his newspaper work and free time to environmental causes in Florida. Among his greatest achievements was his leadership in saving the Everglades from over development and establishing the Everglades National Park in 1947. In 1960, Pennekamp was instrumental in getting the Florida Board of Parks and Historic Memorial to create a 75-mile offshore sea park on Key Largo that was named the John D. Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.