Wichita ? As head of the Kansas State Historical Society, Ramon Powers has used his considerable political skills to promote preservation but has not avoided controversy in his effort to tie Kansans more tightly to their past.

In his 14 years as executive director, he has worked to renovate and enhance every site the society manages and has saved others from destruction. He’ll retire Friday.

“These have been some of the most exciting, fulfilling years of my life,” said Powers, 62. “I think we have created a team of people whose work is the business of collecting, preserving and interpreting history. They do their jobs with great enthusiasm.”

Martha Slater, a friend and colleague who has worked in Kansas tourism for 20 years, said Powers has given Kansans a greater sense of identity to the places they call home.

“He has a incredible understanding of the essence of Kansas,” says Slater, of Hutchinson and a member of the Kansas Sampler Foundation. “We have had long talks about what drives Kansans and our concern about the self-esteem of Kansas.”

Powers angered Civil War buffs in recent weeks by banning battle re-enactments or any sort of simulated warfare on the society’s 15 historical sites.

Six years ago, he disappointed some historical preservationists by not fighting harder to save the Allis Hotel in downtown Wichita, which was eventually demolished.

His critics have not forgotten those slights.

“He is not a fellow you can ignore. You get the feeling that when he walks into a room, and until he takes its temperature, he wants you to ignore him. But you cannot ignore him,” said Jim Guy, a member of the Wichita Historic Preservation Board.

Nevertheless, Powers has made more Kansans aware of the importance of preserving state and local history, Guys said.

Powers went to work saving the Adair Cabin in Osawatomie, which contained artifacts of John Brown’s life and battles.

In 1995, a thief stole artifacts from the cabin and set it afire, doing $160,000 in damage. That would have been enough to force closure in most states.

Powers and his staff raised more than $207,000, from the state and federal governments and through other preservationists. It was enough to restore the cabin and create new exhibits.

“He has always worked to keep Kansas history on track,” said Dave Webb, historian and assistant director at the Kansas Heritage Center in Dodge City. “Ramon is a person who knows his way around not only the historical society but the Capitol building.”

The director of the historical society is appointed by the governor. A successor for Powers has not been named.

Powers joined the historical society as assistant executive director in 1988 and became director a year later. Before that, he was a professor of history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and an instructor of history at Haskell Indian Junior College.

“All of us have a deep feeling about place  where we were born and where we grew up,” Powers said. ” … These ties are deep within me and my family  that’s the sense I want to help all Kansas have, that tie to a place.”