Well, I'm Off To The Heywood Jablowme Library

Harry William Baals (November 16, 1886 – May 9, 1954) was the Republican Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 1934–1947 and from 1951 until his death in 1954.

When he first took office he consolidated city departments and lowered city tax rates. He launched construction of Fort Wayne’s massive underground sewage system and built the city sewage treatment plant, still being used today.
During World War II the Mayor Baals directed war materials drives, upgraded city equipment and services, and broke ground for Baer Field, now Fort Wayne International Airport. In the 1950's he got the old Nickel Plate Railroad tracks running through downtown to be elevated, opening up the north side of Fort Wayne for development.

Harry Baals Drive was named in honor of the late mayor, extending east from Parnell Avenue, north and west of the St. Joseph River in Johnny Appleseed Park. In recent years, the double entendre arising from Baals's name has led Indiana officials to shy away from naming streets and buildings after him; the aforementioned street has since been renamed "H. W. Baals Drive."

In early 2011 Fort Wayne city officials invited people to suggest names for a new government building. The winner with with 23,826 votes was the "Harry Baals Government Center," more than ten times the votes received by the closest contender. But city officials appear to be backing away from the name. The city's deputy mayor, Beth Malloy, indicated the city would likely not name the building after Baals. "We realize that while Harry Baals was a respected mayor, not everyone outside of Fort Wayne will know that," said Malloy. "We wanted to pick something that would reflect our pride in our community beyond the boundaries of Fort Wayne."

Harry Baals's descendants have since taken to pronouncing their name 'Bales'.