“Many people knew him as officer Carr. Many people knew him as Herman the Magician. But everyone knew him as Herman because he always wanted to go on a first name basis and that is how we came up with Herman Carr way,” said his son Clark Carr.
Herman Carr, who died in 2019, served in the Springfield Police Division for 27 years before retiring in 1988. He is best known for creating the Safety City program in Springfield in 1969, which saw almost 1,000 children participating each summer until he retired.
That information was shared by his son Clark, who said that Herman dedicated 20 years of his life to the Safety City program. The idea behind that program was to teach safety classes to thousands of kindergarten-age kids in the city and surrounding areas.
Herman Carr was also known for being active at local schools and engaging with students, sometimes as Herman the Magician. He also led school safety patrol students during a local parade in which that route includes the portion of West McCreight that will share his name.
“It was very important for us to have this come to fruition. McCrieght Avenue was very important to dad because when he participated in the Memorial Day parade, which was very important to him, that was the parade route that he marched the safety city patrol on every year,” said Herman’s daughter Marcia Carr Hagler.
“Plus his final resting place is right inside the gates in the mausoleum in Ferncliff. We said it would be wonderful for him to be able to look out on Herman Carr Way,” said Clark Carr.
Herman’s family has been working on getting a street named in his honor since this year, noting that the coronavirus pandemic delayed them from doing it sooner.
Half of the cost for the dual naming will come from those who filed the application for the name change while the other half of the money will come from the city.
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