American beeches only produce a single flush of growth per season. Asian and European varities produce more and are more vigorous in general--more akin to hornbeam (which are relatives) than to American beech.
I spent YEARS thinking I'd only get one flush per season with this tree. It is almost as prolific as an elm; providing 2-3 flushes a season.
I've found that American beech while it does have thin bark does not really need paper wrap on wiring, if you use softer wire--or even copper. Depends on how you wire as what you wire with. And scars don't take decades to heal, but that of course, depends on the scar. In my experience, with slower growing American Beech, large pruning wounds callus vigorously and even push new buds--which is a pretty rare thing for a tree to do.
I have let a little wire dig in, and it will scar, but I've also found that branches are a delight to wire, and that they "hold" by the time you should remove them...so I haven't found a need to use paper.
I'd say this tree had more potential pre-pruning, but the pruning didn't destroy it. It does have a "beechiness" to it. Bar branches are part of that...just because they're bar branches doesn't really negate them. If they're bar branches that are distracting, yeah, they're bad. If they're bar branches that "work" what's the problem?
I'd hollow out the large pruning scar at least half an inch deep, to give the callus tissue some room to fill in. If you don't you will have a large callus ring that wil become a large lump of callus ring...
I've been digging out that hole in the back and filling it in. So far, it's closed about 20%. It has plenty of space to close over, but I still suspect (to johng's point) it will take years to complete.
Each year, I expose the cambium, add another ring of cut putty, then put paste over the whole wound to prevent rot; here is a series of that process from '09. This year, I filled it with epoxy putty as well.