Joe Wargo has spent most of his life as a giver. He served America heroically in the Korean War, winning the Bronze Star and Combat Medal Badge. He’s done community service work for more than a dozen charities, raising bundles of money for many. And he helped provide athletic opportunities for thousands as a founder of the CANUSA Games.
Wargo, 74, continues working for several organizations today. That includes his beloved CANUSA Games. But ask Wargo about his induction into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame, which has selected him to receive the Special Service Award tonight, and the response is typical. Wargo gives most of the credit for his success to others.
And what a list of people he’s worked with over the years. Frank Manley, the legendary Flint sports pioneer who developed the Flint Community School concept. Arthur H. Sarvis, as in Sarvis Center. F.A. Dutch” Bower, as in Bower Theater. Robert T. Longway, as in Longway Planetarium and Longway Boulevard. And C.S. Mott, as in no explanation needed.
“To me, it was payback,” Wargo said about his years of community service. I’ll owe an awful lot to Mr. Mott and Mr. Manley. My whole life changed and I owe it to Frank Manley and C.S. Mott. I’m a pretty lucky guy.
I always mentioned that to Mr. Manley.” He said, “Pick out somebody and do the same thing. Help them along.’ I’ve tried to do that.” After the Flint native graduated in 1947 from Northern High, where he was captain of the basketball team and helped the Vikings win state titles in that sport as well as baseball, Manley picked up the tab for Wargo’s tuition at Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan).
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1951 and served in Korea before obtaining his master’s in education in 1957 from Eastern, which 30 years later honored Wargo with its Distinguished Alumni Award.
Manley hired Wargo, who began working at Mott’s children’s camp in 1944, two weeks after returning from Korea. Less than a year later, he helped give birth to the first CANUSA Games after modeling them on a yearly athletic match-up between Atlanta, Ga., and Havana, Cuba.
“It was really a challenge by Manley,” Wargo said about the birth of the CANUSA Games. That’s the way he worked, with challenges. Manley says, ‘We’ll get some games going with Canada and he challenged Pete Clancy and myself to get it going.
“I tried Sarnia and London then found some people from Hamilton who were in Lansing at a track meet. We met in my office on a Sunday morning and talked about the possibilities. We kept talking and finally tried it out with a few sports in the first CANUSA Games. “It took off from there.”
Wargo, who was an instructor at Flint Junior College before going to work for the city in a variety of capacities, was the first financial chairman for the Olympian and CANUSA and he still manages the Frank Manley Fund after 47 years. He was also instrumental in the building of Atwood Stadium and eventual installation of Astro Turf there; in the planning and building of 13 parks and $15 million in facilities; and in the development of the College and Cultural Center.
Wargo vividly remembers one historic gathering. “We had a meeting at Brookwood with all the members of the Board of Education, all the trustees of the Mott Foundation, the City Council, mayor and trustee of the IMA,” he said. “We had all of those boards in the same room, at the same dinner, at the same time.”
“It was the first time it had happened in the history of Flint and the last time it ever happened. That night we said we’d all work together and cooperate. There were a lot of good people who worked hard at it. I wish they could do that again sometime soon.”
Wargo is doing his part to help revive Flint. In addition to his longtime association with the Olympian and CANUSA Games, he also does financial work for his church and is president of his condo association. He was also part of former Mayors Woodrow Stanley’s Atwood Stadium task force.
“I’m still keeping active, but I’m starting to say no,” he said. Not surprisingly, Wargo had a simple request after talking about himself for more than 30 minutes. Can you mention Jim Bruce?” Wargo asked. “He was really my partner in the whole operation. He was the best park and recreation superintendent this city ever had.” Typical, eh? Well consider it done, Joe. After all, how can you say no to someone who has given so much and asked to for so little.
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