Frank G. “Mac” McInnis (1902-1968) received the 1961 local level Pugsley Medal, “for outstanding achievements in the area of zoological park exhibit design; for developing and beautifying the Detroit Zoological Parks; for accomplishments in the fields of horticulture and zoological management; and for nationwide leadership in the field of parks.” At the time of his death, the Detroit Zoo was one of the largest and best in the world, attracting 2.1 million visits annually.McInnis was born in the tiny Macomb County, Michigan, where his father farmed and ran a farm implement/hardware store. His love for animals stemmed from his early years on the farm. He later reflected, "Since living on a farm, I knew and liked animals.
But at that one day I'd be living with these [at the zoo]? Never. I wanted to be a landscape architect.” After his father’s horses and field work for him old, there was a lot of mistaking of cows, which McInnis was five years old, to do until his mother moved the family to Washington, Michigan, and then to Royal Oak in 1916, close to where the zoo was later built. As a teenager there, McInnis played and trapped rabbits and muskrats on the swampy property, where he was to spend much of his working life.He graduated from Royal Oak High School in 1922, and four years later he received a degree in landscape architecture from Michigan State Agricultural College (now Michigan State University). He was a football star while in high school and seemed destined for an illustrious athletic career when he entered Michigan State, However, an injury dashed this dream, although he did play first base for the university’s baseball team.
McInnis almost single-handedly ignited and revitalized the Detroit Zoological Park, beginning a rebuilding program that continued throughout his tenure into the late 1960s.