Maybe you’ve seen the name before as you’ve strolled through Disneyland. Fowler. As in Fowler’s Harbor. The place where the Columbia usually ties up at night. That quiet little spot along the Rivers of America where that elegant sailing ship has been undergoing a long overdue overhaul for the past few months.
Well, Fowler’s Harbor isn’t one of those quaint names that the Imagineers just cooked up. This part of the Anaheim theme park is actually named in honor of the veteran who helped to make Disneyland a reality: Admiral Joe Fowler.
You see, Joe Fowler was the construction supervisor on the Anaheim theme park. The guy that C.V. Wood hired to rip out all those orange trees and — in just one year’s time — transform the Ball Road sub division into “The Happiest Place on Earth.”
Now a lesser man might have balked at a challenge like that. Particularly a 60-year-old who’d just spent 32 years in the Navy. Your average Joe would have probably thought that: “This is not the time in my life when I should be taking on ridiculous new projects. This is the time when I should be kicking back & enjoying my retirement.”
Well, Admiral Joe was NOT your average Joe. At the very least, Fowler was not the retiring type. For — almost immediately after exiting the service (FYI: Joe retired with the rank of Rear Admiral. Fowler also recieved numerous commendations during WW II for the excellent work he did supervising the construction of ships used in the war effort) — he set up his very own construction firm. Which Joe hoped to use to build subdivisions in Southern California.
In fact, that was just where Woody found Fowler in the Spring of 1954. Right in the middle of constructing a new housing development for San Jose. C.V. (Who’d previously met the Admiral on a project that the two of them had done some consulting work for the Pentagon) asked Joe if he’d be interested in helping out Walt Disney.
Fowler initially said “No.” Because (obviously) the Admiral already had his hands full with this San Jose subdivision. But C.V. cajoled Joe and then Walt wined & dined the Admiral and his wife, Maurie. And the next thing that he knew, the Admiral was out in Anaheim — trying to turn Disney’s dream into a reality.
Which — as it turns out — was the start of Fowler’s second career. Where the Admiral became the major domo of virtually every large scale construction project that Walt Disney Productions undertook for the years 1954 through 1972.
Which might make you think that Walt & Joe immedaitely became the best of buddies. But that wasn’t really the case. I remember hearing stories about how — in the Fall of 1954 — Disney was absolutely furious with Fowler. Supposedly because of all the money that the Admiral was blowing on the construction of elements that the public wouldn’t ever see or enjoy at Disneyland.
It was then that Admiral Joe had to explain to Walt the way things worked in the real world. That really-for-real buildings weren’t like movie sets. That these structures were going to need solid concrete foundations if they were going to stand straight & tall for years yet to come.
And — if the Rivers of America was actually going to have a working replica of a Mississippi steamboat … Well, then the theme park was also going to need a dry dock area where that ship could go to be regularly serviced.
It was this particular expense (I.E. The cost of constructing the “Mark Twain” ‘s dry dock) that really stuck in Walt’s craw. Which is why Disney took to derisively calling this spot along Disneyland’s Rivers of America “Joe’s Ditch.”
Of course, over time, Walt eventually came to understand & appreciate all the extra care & consideration that Admiral Joe had put into the construction of the Anaheim theme park. That Fowler wasn’t really wasting Disney’s money on unnecessary extravagances. But — rather — Admiral Joe was actually making use of everything that he’d learned during those decades that he’d served in the Navy. That Fowler wanted Disneyland to be something that would be easy to maintain & operate. That all the structures that Joe had built for the Anaheim theme park would be able to stand up to the regular pounding that they’d recieve from the public. That Disneyland was something that had been built to last.
You know what else Walt began to appreciate about Admiral Joe? His positive attitude. No matter what challenge Disney threw at him, Fowler’s standard reply was always: “Can do, Walt.” Admiral Joe was also one of the only people associated with the Disneyland project who never ever expressed a doubt that construction of the theme park would actually be completed in time for its previously announced July 17, 1955 opening date. If that was the day that Disney had promised the public that his family fun park would be open for business … Well, Fowler would do his damnest to make sure that Disneyland actually met that deadline.
This was why — in spite of their somewhat rough beginning — that Walt Disney & Admiral Joe Fowler eventually became a great team. Not to mention good friends. This is also why Walt — in the decade that lay ahead — would repeatedly turn to Admiral Joe whenever Walt Disney Productions was facing a particularly daunting challenge (I.E. Getting Disneyland’s Matterhorn, Submarine Voyage and Alweg Monorail up out of the ground in just one year’s time; facing down an equally pressing deadline for the construction & installation of the four themed shows that Walt Disney Productions presented at the 1964 World’s Fair in NYC, etc.).
Of course, some might say that Fowler performed his greatest service for the Disney Corporation after Walt died in December of 1966. When Admiral Joe waded into the swamps of Central Florida and — with the help of another WW II vet, General William “Joe” Potter — turned that tangle of cypress trees into the world class resort that we all know & love today.
I bring up Admiral Joe’s contribution to Walt Disney Productions because … Well, it’s Veterans Day today. A time when we typically honor those who’ve served our country.
Me personally? I think that there’s a lot to admire about a man like Admiral Joe Fowler. A man who served his country for 32 years, going to god-forsaken spots in China & the Phillipines and turning jungles into working shipyards … Who — at the age of 60 — still had the energy & the drive to take on a project like Disneyland. Who then stayed on the job for the Mouse for another 18 years, only agreeing to step down after construction of Phase One of the Walt Disney World project had finally been completed.
So — the next time you’re out in Anaheim and you stroll by Fowler’s Harbor — take a moment to remember the veteran who (thanks to his talent & tenacity) helped make Disneyland & WDW things that would pass the test of time.
Happy Veterans’ Day, everyone!