By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As of quitting time on Friday, Mike Marsh will be leaving the job he didn’t want – but came to love. After serving as city attorney for Bowling Green for 35 years, Marsh has quietly left his print on much that has transpired in his community.
Humble beginnings
Marsh had a somewhat dubious start with the city as a garbage man when he was attending college.
“That was when you rode on the back of the truck,” before mechanical arms did the lifting, he said.
Though his work ethic was strong, some city residents objected to his “long” hair. On multiple occasions, Colleen Smith, in the mayor’s office, fielded complaints about Marsh’s appearance.
“They got called by someone when I needed a haircut or got caught working with my shirt off,” he said with a grin. “They were always on me about my hair.”
Smith recalled those phone calls about Marsh’s red hair that hung an inch or two below his baseball cap.
“I had to contact Mike, and say ‘you have absolutely gorgeous hair, but it has to be cut,’” she said.
To which, Marsh would reply, “‘My dad will be thrilled,’” Smith said.
Then there was an incident with a former Second Ward councilman, who had loaded up his garbage can with about 50 pounds of apples from a tree in his yard. Marsh threw the contents – plus the trash can – into the garbage truck.
Smith got a call from the angry councilman, and Marsh was told to buy him a new trash can at the old Bargain City, then hand deliver that and a letter of apology to the city official.
It wasn’t unusual for Marsh to go right from work to classes at BGSU.
“I might be the only student that got dropped off in the Memorial Hall parking lot by a garbage truck.”
In those days, it was impossible for the crews to avoid getting dirty.
“By the time you got back to the shop, you would be covered by everything that squished out,” Smith said.
Marsh recalled the garbage crews being very supportive of him working toward a college degree.
“One of the drivers came to my graduation,” he said.
Marsh also dug graves by hand at Oak Grove Cemetery for the city. “That holds a special place in my heart,” he said of the cemetery.
Years later, as city attorney, Marsh worked to find families of the hundreds of people in the century-old crumbling mausoleum so their loved ones could be buried elsewhere.
“We were trying to be respectful to everyone,” he said.
Marsh recalled finding a note entombed with a little girl’s body, expressing her fear of being buried in the ground. So a hundred years after her death, the city secured a place for her in a mausoleum in Lima.
Reluctant city attorney
Marsh was approached by Mayor Ed Miller about taking over the city attorney position from retiring Pat Crowley in 1987.
“I had little kids and I wasn’t interested in a lot of night meetings,” Marsh told Miller. “It’s like having a second job. I told Ed numerous times I was not interested.”
But Miller was persistent, taking Marsh to lunch at Kaufman’s at least four times to try to convince him to take the job.
“Finally, with Ed claiming he didn’t have any options, I agreed to take the job for one year, and one year only.” Marsh told Miller he would give away his salary since he did not want to discontinue his private law practice, and Miller agreed that Marsh would not have to attend staff meetings.
That was 35 years ago.
“Well here I am, all those years later, still on the job, still on the same terms.”
Marsh worked with several mayors – Ed Miller, Alvie Perkins, Bruce Bellard, Wes Hoffman, John Quinn, Dick Edwards and the current mayor, Mike Aspacher.
“Some Democrats, some Republicans, all of them sensational leaders,” he said. “They were people who cared about the town and tried to do the right thing.”
Once representing 14 villages and cities as municipal attorney, Marsh is down to just Bowling Green.
Family tradition of service
Marsh grew up in a family rooted in community service. His grandfather, Clarence Marsh served as Wood County sheriff and later as county commissioner. That meant Mike’s father, Richard, grew up in the residence at the old county jail, next to the county courthouse. Mike’s grandmother cooked meals for the inmates, who dined in the family’s residence.
His dad practiced law for several years, serving as city attorney for many local communities. The father and son shared their downtown law office for decades.
“I am very grateful to have grown up in Bowling Green, so I hope over my years some of what I have done made the place a little better,” he said. “I can’t imagine living in a better place.”
Marsh gives credit for his success to his wife.
“There is no question I wouldn’t have amounted to anything if I hadn’t married my wife, Terri,” he said. The couple married when Marsh was 20 years old.
“I’m just a lawyer. We’re a dime a dozen.”
Unlike some in his profession, Marsh is less than loquacious. Those who regularly attend City Council meetings are accustomed (and many appreciative) of Marsh’s “no report” reports.
In keeping with his tradition of brevity at council meetings, Marsh had no report at his final meeting as city attorney last week – other than to praise his replacement, Hunter Brown.
“In two weeks, I can report Hunter Brown will be sitting in that chair,” Marsh said to council members. “He’s going to do a good job for you.”
Smoothing rough issues
Marsh has seen his share of controversial ordinances and sticky zoning requests in the city over the years.
“Every couple of years, you get a zoning issue that causes angst,” he said.
Marsh has a way of smoothing over issues that ruffle feathers, Smith said.
“When the city got complaints and we expected it would get nasty,” Marsh was often asked to resolve the problem, Smith said.
“Mike just has a way about him, dealing with people,” she said. “The city will miss that. He often brought the level of escalation down with controversial issues.”
The biggest blow to Marsh as city attorney was the death of assistant city prosecutor Jodie Stearns, who was struck by a car while out on a morning run in 2006.
“The worst day on this job for me was the day Jodie Stearns was killed,” Marsh said. “That was the first and only staff meeting I ever held. That was a bad day.”
Across party lines
Nearly every Monday and Friday, Marsh has lunch downtown with fellow Republican leaders who share Bowling Green as home – Ohio Higher Education Chancellor Randy Gardner, Wood County Common Pleas Judge Matt Reger, and retired county auditor Mike Sibbersen.
The group has met in the same booth at Easy Street Cafe for nearly 30 years, Gardner said.
But Marsh doesn’t just spend time with fellow Republicans.
“Mike has earned the respect of people from all political persuasions,” Gardner said.
For years, Marsh and his father met for coffee each morning at Cranker’s or Kermit’s with Democratic leaders Al and Dick Newlove, and Al Baldwin.
“Dick and I still do to this day,” Marsh said. They are joined by downtown businessman Floyd Craft – now at Grounds for Thought – all of them committed to finding ways to better Bowling Green.
“I think we all try to work on city stuff from a community standpoint,” Marsh said. “I hope it continues.”
The long-term friendships across party lines occasionally surprise people who pass the group meeting each morning at Grounds. But most regulars are now accustomed to the unlikely match.
“It used to be fun to watch people walk by and say, ‘what do those two have to talk about together?’” Dick Newlove said. The answer – sports, BGSU, “a little bit of everything.”
“Obviously we’re not closely aligned” politically, Newlove said. But that hasn’t stopped them from working together to create the city’s economic development office and pass school ballot issues.
“We’ve run school levies together,” Newlove said. “We don’t talk about those kind of politics. So many people let this stuff get in the way of everything.”
Most weekday mornings, Floyd Craft also pulls up a chair with Marsh and Newlove.
“I don’t think they invited me. I just joined them,” he said. What do they discuss? “Anything and everything,” Craft said. “There’s no discussion of politics, except local.”
Giving his best for BG
Marsh has divided his time between many institutions and organizations. He has served on the BGSU Board of Trustees, and chaired the local Republican party for more than three decades.
“Bowling Green and Wood County are blessed with a lot of leading citizens,” Gardner said. “There is no one I can think of who has done more for Bowling Green to make a difference.”
Above all, Marsh is a public servant.
“To me, he’s always been able to rise past political challenges,” Gardner said.
Craft shared similar thoughts.
“He’s very level headed,” he said of Marsh. “He loves Bowling Green. He’s always thinking of what’s best for Bowling Green in the long run and not the short term.”
His friends pointed out that Marsh likes to not be center stage.
“He does a lot of things for a lot of people (and organizations), and doesn’t charge them for it,” Craft said. “He does a lot of things that he takes no credit for.”
Big shoes …
As Marsh leaves, the job of city attorney will transition to a full-time position.
“It’s time for somebody younger and new,” he said. “People deciding what the town ought to be in 20 to 30 years ought to be people younger than me.”
Marsh has no intention of retiring completely.
“I expect to continue my law practice indefinitely, though maybe in a more limited role, and I have some good young people in this office that I expect will step up and take over a lot of the things that I do now.”
“I can’t imagine not doing something,” he said.
As a believer in young people bringing new ideas and breathing new life into organizations, Marsh has been stepping back in his involvement with the Wood County Republican Party, the Board of Elections, Bowling Green Economic Development, and various church and civic organizations.
“I am a great believer in having young people come in with new ideas and make organizations better,” he said.
Mayor Mike Aspacher said he has long admired Marsh’s breadth of knowledge.
“It’s amazing how well he knows the Bowling Green community,” Aspacher said. “He’s just such a great resource in so many ways. Mike can provide clarity on so many things.”
“These are big shoes that need to be filled,” the mayor said. “It’s quite a legacy for anybody to live up to.”
