Vets Club in Waukon being transformed into military museum by Allamakee County Historical Society


Display to be transitioned to military museum ... Part of the display to be featured in the new military museum being planned within the Vets Club building in Waukon will include this display of military items currently housed in the Allamakee County Courthouse Museum. This current display will be further enhanced by additional contributions from Allamakee County military veterans, including a collection from Waukon resident and Vietnam veteran Carl Johnson. Submitted photo.

Civil War drum of Lansing resident ... The drum pictured above will be part of the display in the new military museum being planned for the Vets Club building in Waukon by the Allamakee County Historical Society. The drum was used during the Civil War by a Lansing resident named John Adam Decker, a native of Germany who was a drummer for Company B of the 12th Iowa Infantry, enlisting in 1861 and re-enlisting in 1864 before being mustered out of service in early 1866 in Memphis, TN. Submitted photo.

by David M. Johnson

Most of Waukon and the immediate surrounding area is familiar with the Vets Club in Waukon. Over the years, the facility located on Allamakee Street has more recently housed a dining establishment with a number of different entrepreneurs providing that atmosphere, and prior to that it had been the site of a vast array of events from wedding receptions, to dances and other entertainment performances, to meetings and events hosted by local veterans groups.

Faced with some financial challenges and dwindling participation within those area veteran groups, an agreement was recently reached for continued use of the Vets Club in a way it has not been used in the past but that will still carry on the foundational premise of the original Vets Club - providing honor to those who have served in the military.

In the early half of this past year, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Lawrence D. Anderson Post 4117 and the American Legion Ralph Waters Post 62 chose to relinquish their long-standing lease agreement for the property to Allamakee County, which owns the land on which the Vets Club building is housed and took over ownership of the building itself from those veterans groups last year.

NEW PLAN
As the year 2020 progressed, the Allamakee County Historical Society approached the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors and offered to lease the Vets Club building, situated between the Old Allamakee County Courthouse Museum and Waukon City Hall. The Historical Society presented the Supervisors with the plan to use the Vets Club facility as a military museum, moving existing historical military memorabilia from the current Courthouse Museum to the upstairs area of the Vets Club.

Included in the establishment of that military museum would be a repository of gifts, loans of artifacts of military historical significance from around the county, and the private collection of a local Vietnam War veteran which would be the centerpiece of the new museum. Also of interest would be the maintaining and public display of military records and the continued collection and storing of those records in the building.

Members of the Historical Society made the presentation of their military museum idea and after careful consideration, the County Board of Supervisors chose to lease the Vets Club to the Historical Society with several provisions in the lease agreement. Items such as replacement, if needed, of the HVAC system, building electricity, heat, water, sewer, garbage service, lawn care and snow removal responsibilities were to remain the responsibility of the County. Structural repairs for the building, including roofing and tuck pointing were included and additional responsibilities pertaining to the viability of the building were also included in the agreement.

With this arrangement, the Vets Club and the brick building attachment will now house historical insight on the military service of both past and present county residents. Once again, this section of the city will become a focal point for the community, as the entire area where stands the present courthouse, the old courthouse, the Vets Club and City Hall were part of what was once called “courthouse square,” property set aside for the purpose of County business as Waukon and the county were being settled 170 years ago.

HISTORY
George Shattuck settled and constructed the first residence on land where Waukon is today. In 1853 the State Legislature appointed three commissioners to the area where they, Shattuck, and several other settlers of the region decided where the county seat was to be located.

An 18x30 foot building was constructed for County business about a block south of where the Vets Club is located, with an additional building added in 1857. With a series of contested events and elections taking place over the next decade, it was not until 1869 when it was finally decided Waukon would be the county seat.

The old courthouse, which is the residence today for the Historical Society and its current museum, was built for $13,655 and completed in 1861. It wasn’t until that 1869 decision that the old courthouse was finally the home for County business.

As Allamakee County continued to grow, construction of the brick building that is currently attached to the Vets Club building began after there became a need for a jail. The need for a sheriff’s office, residence and jail was fulfilled when the sheriff and jail moved into that newly constructed brick building in 1884. Contracts for brick work, stone work, excavations, heating furnace, materials for the jail, and other costs pertaining to the construction added up to a total of $10,000. Everything then remained the same until the current county courthouse was constructed around 1940, with all essential County business being moved into that new building across Allamakee Street, where it continues to be conducted at the present time.

VETS CLUB BEGINS
At the end of the first World War, local veterans gathered and established an American Legion chapter, holding their meetings at the old courthouse. At the end of the second World War, a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) chapter was organized and started by that war’s veterans and they began to look for a suitable building to have meetings.

Cooperating with the Legion, the VFW leased the brick building from the County that once housed the county jail and built the present Vets Club hall in 1947 with volunteer labor. Both the Legion and VFW shared the facility, which was and still is an extremely rare occurrence.

Adding to the mix, a women’s auxiliary was established and they too began to share the buildings. Primarily due to money raised by the auxiliary, there was a major facelift to the brick building and the adjacent hall. In the early 1980s, there was tuck pointing on the brick, electrical rewiring, sidewalk repair, and varnishing of the floor of the Vets Club hall.

TIME FOR CHANGE
As the years have gone by, it has come to the point of time where membership is down in both organizations, as the VFW has 163 members and the Legion is at 130 members. With 75% of the VFW’s membership over 70 years of age, a dwindling interest by the younger generation and the upkeep of the premises becoming a challenge, the organizations decided on the present course of releasing their responsibility of the building. The Allamakee County Historical Society has now assumed that responsibility and decided that the future of the property would become an integral element of a military history presentation.

The Historical Society strongly feels it has a responsibility to preserve the local past to ensure there is a physical presence for the present and especially for the future. Some remember that there were once two cannons from the American Civil War that were on the current courthouse lawn, one was by the Civil War statue toward the south end and the second was remembered as being on the north courthouse lawn directly across from the Martin-Grau Funeral Home.

The story is told that veterans of World War I wanted to donate the metal from the cannons for the war effort as World War II was raging. Spanish-American War veterans opposed the idea based on their past relationship with Civil War veterans and out of respect for them; they did not want the cannons given away. The cannons were still donated to be melted down and, thus, the county lost valuable connections to the Civil War.

That particular situation is why it is felt to be so important to relish and save any and all physical artifacts from past engagements that Allamakee County veterans have experienced, so future generations may have some connection to the past generations. Historical military paraphernalia that is already collected and in possession of the Historical Society, plus the accumulation of artifacts of historical value from across the county will add to the grandeur of the new military museum being planned for the Vets Club.

The center piece of the museum’s collection will be the 40-year private collection of Waukon resident and Vietnam War veteran Carl Johnson. His collection highlights the perspective of an infantryman in the conflict plus other issues such as the opposition to the American involvement in Vietnam by the anti-war movement.

WORK TO BE DONE
At the present time, before anything can be set up in the museum, there are renovations being completed to the Vets Club building. The museum contacted a consulting firm to inspect the facility and provide suggestions on what direction the museum could take to develop a professional and aesthetic display within the museum.

Compliance with general building safety, handicap access, fire safety compliance with building codes, and needed improvements oversight was provided by an architect who was consulted by the Society. His inspection of the building and recommendations to the physical condition were taken into account.

Local electrician Dan Straate agreed to inspect the building in accordance with the recommendations of the museum firm and the architect to assist in implementing their recommendations for preparation of the building for museum use.  Straate then consulted local contractors Kurth Plumbing, Prime Electric and Dan Meyer Construction, who in turn inspected the building and provided their suggestions. Straate also consulted relevant inspectors.

The renovations to the Vets Club building have and will include permanent repairs to the main floor in both the 1884 building and 1950s hall addition, refinishing walls and ceilings, installing ventilation/cooling/humidity control equipment, installing new lighting, a handicapped accessible entrance, and a handicapped accessible restroom.

The primary display area will be the former upstairs hall with one section of the former kitchen in the 1884 building being used as a mini-auditorium for educational programming, and the other former kitchen will be used for a lounge/veterans canteen area. The goal for now is the readying of the hall for the museum and the remainder of the property acquisition will be developed later.

A Veterans Advisory Committee is being assembled to assist in preparation and installation of museum exhibits. From New Albin to Postville, to Harpers Ferry and Lansing, and encompassing Waterville,  Dorchester, Waukon and all areas in between, it is hoped the entire county will be well represented in the museum development. As the museum is being prepared, financial considerations such as donations, private contributions and other possibilities are being explored to assist in project financing.

When all is done, the goal is to have the museum open five days per week during the summer months from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Special consideration will be given to tours for schools, veterans groups, tourist groups touring the area, and any or all gatherings that wish to view the museum. As the preparations approach finality, the Society will narrow down any aspects that might need attention to complete the museum and everything displayed within its confines.

The Allamakee Historical Society is working diligently to reach its goal of offering the public something that has both a high educational value but also offers a presentation that informs and will inspire individuals with a format that explains the sacrifices of the military community and local veterans. It  is the project’s goal that not only will the community have something to be proud of, but the museum should attract a number of people living outside the county who may also be able to share in this honorable endeavor.