Former Scranton Mayor Wenzel honored as shade tree 'Commissioner Emeritus for Life'

Jan. 27—SCRANTON — An inspiration. A true public servant. A champion of the city's natural environment and urban forests. A hero.

That's how friends and officials described decorated Vietnam War combat veteran and former Mayor David Wenzel, 77, at a Friday ceremony honoring his service on Scranton's Shade Tree Commission and to the city more broadly.

As Scranton's 27th mayor, Wenzel led the city from 1986-1990. He recently retired from the Shade Tree Commission, where he'd served since the city revived it in 2015, and gained the honor Friday of "Commissioner Emeritus for Life" under a proclamation signed by Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and former Mayors Gene Peters, Jim Connors and Wayne Evans.

"He's my hero," Connors said of Wenzel. "He's all of our heroes here in Scranton."

Wenzel, who was in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps at the University of Scranton before graduating and being sent to Vietnam, stepped on a land mine in early 1971. He lost both legs above the knee, his left arm above the wrist and eventually most sight in his left eye.

Nevertheless, the Army veteran went on to serve as Scranton's tax collector, then as its mayor, and later spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention. Wenzel wrote a history book, "Scranton's Mayors," in 2006, in addition to serving as a tireless advocate for Americans with disabilities. The ADA-accessible David Wenzel Treehouse at Nay Aug Park is named in his honor.

Wenzel also spearheaded a signature project launched in 2015 to plant 150 trees in Scranton in honor of the city's sesquicentennial, which it marked in 2016. The project, called "Scranton: 150 trees, 150 years," formally concluded in 2018 with the final 11 trees planted at the then-new Duffy Park, named after late Lt. Col. Frank J. Duffy, who was killed in World War I.

"That was his gift to the city," Shade Tree Commission member Joe Riccardo said. "One of many gifts, but he has been a champion of trees and the environment all his life. When he was mayor, the city first obtained the designation of Tree City USA."

The 150 trees were planted throughout Scranton at parks, schools, along the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail and at other locations. Thirty trees planted in Hanlon's Grove in Nay Aug Park represent the city's mayors.

When asked why he wanted 150 trees planted, Wenzel said, "I went over to Vietnam to ... destroy a lot of things, but now I want to build, and that's what I want to do in my hometown."

Evans and city Forester Tony Santoli both called Wenzel an inspiration.

"I don't make a habit of coming across the street to City Hall anymore ... but this is one that I couldn't turn down." Evans said. "When somebody says 'hey, can you come over and honor Dave Wenzel,' I'll be there every time."

Cognetti noted she and the other attendees deeply appreciate Wenzel's service to the country and to Scranton.

"You never stop," she told Wenzel. "You truly are timeless."

Contact the writer: jhorvath@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9141; @jhorvathTT on Twitter.