Kenneth B. McMicken

Inducted in 2012

Mar 1

Litchfield Park - Maricopa County

Inducted in 2012

Kenneth McMicken came to Arizona with his wife and two small boys in 1918 at the request of his cousin, Paul W. Litchfield (link to bio), Chairman of the board for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. At the time, the Company was desperate to find a new source of long-stemmed cotton to manufacture their corded pneumatic tires. During World War I, German submarines prowling the ocean waters caused the company's supply of Egyptian cotton to dry up. Their domestic source, the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia, was no longer available because of a boll weevil infestation. Arizona's climate and growing conditions are similar to Egypt's, so Litchfield sent McMicken to the Valley to establish a cotton operation to provide the much-needed fiber.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Kenneth was a son of the soil. His father worked on Wall Street, but the family owned a small farm, and Kenneth was always involved in its operation. As a youngster, he would spend as much time as possible on his grandmother's farm in New Jersey. Tragedy struck the family when Kenneth was just twelve years old. His mother passed away, and then when he was 18, his father died. Despite all that happened, he was determined to get a good education. He enrolled in Adelphi Academy in Brooklyn. The school burned down while he was there. Still, he went on to graduate from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and later attended New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University.

One of his earliest projects after joining Goodyear Tire and Rubber was to study cotton farmers' growing methods in the Nile Valley in Egypt. With a favorable feasibility report, Kenneth began establishing a cotton operation for the company in the Valley of the Sun.

McMicken's dedication to agricultural advancement was further demonstrated when he worked with the University of Arizona to develop pure seed strains. His efforts were instrumental in the establishment of the Arizona Crop Improvement Association, an organization aimed at producing better agricultural seeds. Kenneth's expertise in cotton cultivation earned him international recognition. The Peruvian government sought his advice to improve their cotton industry, a testament to his global influence.In 1943, he represented the entire United States cotton belt at meetings in Washington, D.C., on boll weevil control.

In addition to being an authority on cotton, Kenneth developed noteworthy cattle feeding, soil conservation, and pest control methods, making Goodyear Farms a national leader in production and management. In his spare time, he helped build the town that carries his cousin's name, Litchfield Park.

Water conservation was a high priority for McMicken, and he was a prime mover in the efforts to provide adequate flood control for Trilby Wash. Kenneth, W.W. Lane, and Colonel Dale Bumstead were instrumental in the formation of the Agua Fria Soil Conservation District in 1945 with Kenneth as its chairman. Heavy flooding from three successive summer storms in 1951 accelerated the efforts to provide much-needed flood control. Damage totaled $3 million. Rich farmland was washed away, highway and railroad bridges were washed out, telephone poles and power lines were downed, and the roads to Luke AFB were inundated and impassable. The water-damaged homes in Litchfield Park, Goodyear, Avondale, the Goodyear Aircraft Plant, and the Litchfield Naval Air Facility (now Phoenix Goodyear Airport) were underwater. Something had to be done to prevent another disaster. Senator Carl Hayden was asked to help. His efforts allocated funds to a dam to protect the area. The federal government, state, and local interests ultimately shared costs.

The dam was completed in 1956 and named McMicken Dam in honor of his untiring work and leadership; Kenneth was touted as "a man who made Goodyear Farms everything a farmer dreams of. He was recognized throughout this country and by several foreign governments as one of the foremost experts in the growing of cotton. But cotton was not his only interest. He loved horses and was known throughout the Quarter horse community for the quality of the horses he bred and trained, several of which received national recognition.

Kenneth McMicken retired as vice president and general manager of Goodyear Farms in 1958 at the age of 76 after 40 years of service. He remained a director and consultant for the 16,000-acre farm until his death in 1959.

Kenneth and his wife Ethel had two children: Bob and Bruce.