Waid Robert Vanderpoel (1922–2003) was an American financier and conservationist. He was an advocate of open space, land conservation, and prairie restoration. He was instrumental in sparing a large tract of land from development in Chicago’s northwest suburbs.
Born in Norwood Park, Chicago, Vanderpoel earned a business and finance degree from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, and served as a U.S. Army corporal 1943–45. He was a well-known financier during his career, working for the 1st National Bank of Chicago, Caterpillar, and other area businesses.
Vanderpoel was also a widely admired rock gardener, devoting much of his five-acre property in Barrington, Illinois, to the vocation. He was a member of the North American Rock Garden Society and co-authored Handbook on Troughs (1996.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Waid Vanderpoel
The most successful businessman is the man who holds onto the old just as long as it is good and grabs the new just as soon as it is better.
—Waid Vanderpoel
Topics: Business
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