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Claude Wesley Ahrens was born on August 18, 1912. He
graduated from Grinnell High School in Grinnell, IA and attended
Grinnell College. He married Dorothy "Dolly" Hey in 1937. Claude
and Dolly had one son, Paul W. Ahrens, father to Susan, Chad and
Julie.

In 1940, Claude started Ahrens Hybrid Seed Corn Company, which
he later sold to Cargill, Inc. He then launched Ahrens Manufacturing
Company, initially relying on a single product; the Miracle Whirl. The
merry-go-round set a new standard for the recreation industry.
Ahrens Manufacturing became Miracle Recreation Equipment
Company, and more revolutionary designs followed. Miracle
Recreation became the world's number one manufacturer of
playground equipment in the 1980's. Before Claude's retirement, he
and his son, Paul, had put together a series of design innovations that
resulted in sixteen patents for their company. Not satisfied with his
"retirement", Claude founded Miraco Company, which manufactures
livestock watering systems for worldwide distribution.

In 1994, Claude donated more than four million dollars and fifty
acres of land to build the Ahrens/Paschall Memorial Park and Ahrens
Family Center, a 26,000 square foot facility. The park is a tribute to
Claude's late son, Paul, who passed away in 1989 at the age of fifty,
and a friend of Paul's, Jim Paschall, who also passed away at a fairly
young age. Building a recreational park had always been a life long
dream for both Claude and his son, Paul.

The Ahrens/Paschall Memorial Park is home to eight youth softball
and baseball fields, two outdoor basketball courts, two tennis courts,
a sand volleyball court, several playground areas, shelters, a sledding
hill, and a one and a half mile outdoor walking path. The Ahrens
Family Center houses the Grinnell Community Day Care and
Preschool and Mid Iowa Community Action's Head Start program,
complete with an indoor youth gymnasium and swimming pool, where
young children are taught to swim and to enjoy many leisure activities.

Grinnell College awarded Claude an Honorary Doctorate degree in
1995 for his outstanding leadership and philanthropic gifts to the
community of Grinnell and central Iowa. This prestigious award,
however, did not stop Claude from doing and giving more.

In 1998, Claude built the Grinnell Athletic and Recreation Center, a
22,000 square foot gymnasium as a new addition to Ahrens/Paschall
Memorial Park. In the year 2000, a third addition to the park
brought forth three outdoor soccer fields for youth, as well as a golf
driving range for golfers of all ages. Today, the entire park comprises
over one hundred acres of land.

In June of 2006, the Administrative Headquarters building for both
the Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation and the Ahrens Park
Foundation opened at the Ahrens/Paschall Memorial Park.
Currently, the Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation has three
staff members and provides students of Grinnell College various
positions through the college's community work-study program.

Today, the Ahrens/Paschall Memorial Park, Ahrens Family Center,
Grinnell Athletic and Recreation Center, and the Administrative
Headquarters are privately owned and operated by the Ahrens Park
Foundation. Claude's third generation of family members is leading
his legacy to carry on his wishes of giving back to the community that
was so good to him.

"I hope it can be said that every child can learn to swing a golf
club or a tennis racquet and learn how to swim. I believe if
children learn these things they'll have less of a chance of getting
bored. If you teach children how valuable their bodies are, they
are not going to allow themselves to deteriorate."

- Claude Ahrens at the 1994 dedication ceremony of the
Ahrens/Paschall Memorial Park and Ahrens Family Center.