Albert Milford Turner (1868-1944) received the Pugsley Silver Medal in 1931 for his services as field secretary of the Connecticut State Park and Forest Commission. Born in 1868, in Linchfield, Connecticut, Turner came from illustrious lineage. His academic training began at Wilbraham Academy, Massacusetts and culminated with a degree in civil engineering from Yale in1890. After graduation he had short experiences as a school teacher in his home town and then with the Erie Railroad in New Jersey before returning in 1892 to work for engineering firm of Albert. B Hill of New Haven, laying out trolley lines and bits of State roads. In1909, the Connecticut legislature crated a temporary state park commission and charged it with preparing a plan for acquiring and organizing parklands.
It was one thing to establisha few state parks but something elae to plan, develop and operate them effectively. Turner pioneered this system approach in 1914 report to the Connecticut legislature that discussed such factors as natural sustainability, distribution, size, accessability and level of development of park properties.Turner believed that the parks should be kept as natural as possible with only those minimum facilities that are absolutley necessary for the convenience of users.