MONTICELLO - The local American Legion Post here has lost its longtime meeting spot, it being sold in late December to owners of a start-up daycare center, but Monticello Village President LaVerne Crooks hopes it won't mean a loss of morale for the veterans organization of which he himself is a member.
Yet fellow member Harold Babler, who serves as secretary/treasurer of Amstutz-Marty American Legion Post 256, strongly feels otherwise.
"This probably means the end of our post - a lot are already losing interest," said the World War II veteran, adding that the location for its next meeting is unknown. "The officers had to meet at the Citgo station to discuss this. We don't think it's the right thing for the village to do and people are disgusted.
"And for him (Crooks) to do something like that - heck, he's one of us - angers a whole lot of people."
Crooks is inviting the group to make Village Hall its new home.
"They know they can use the board room whenever they want," said Crooks, a Vietnam veteran. "A lot of other groups use it, including other area Legion posts. Our Monticello post is dwindling in numbers, between 20 and 25, so there's plenty of room for them.
"And it has handicap-accessible bathrooms - something their old building didn't have."
The old building, located at 316 E. Coates Ave., also has a failing furnace, faulty windows and a shot roof, Crooks said. The Legion only meets there three or four times per year, he said, and although the building was considered a community center, there was little interest in use by villagers.
"No one wanted to pay to lease it out for parties or anything, and the only time the village used it was twice for referendums when we knew we'd have a big turnout," he said.
Meanwhile, it's been a money pit for the village with untold additional costs needed to bring it up to code and make it desirable.
"We've been paying $6,000 per year just in electric bills," said Crooks, who estimated the village has spent as much as $80,000 on it over the years. "I'm not going to pump taxpayer dollars into something that sits vacant 95 percent of the month."
Is Crooks worried the decision to sell could be seen as heartless by some, especially knowing it housed a group of war veterans?
"That mindset might appear, but not by those who know the situation," he said. "Actually, most people have been supportive - we get a new business in town where there's need. It will be nice for families to not have to drive their children outside of town for daycare."
The Legion purchased the 4-acre parcel of land and built the structure in the late 1980s.
"We members did it almost all by hand," said Babler, whose ranks were near 50 at the time. "We also had guys who brought stones from a quarry they owned or wood from their properties. And we also erected the great (Vietnam War) monument in town (off Wisconsin 69) and planted a bunch of trees there."
Money would eventually get tight for the post, so the village bought the building from its members in 1998 as they struggled to maintain it.
"We hoped they'd put up ball diamonds and things like that and make it a place the whole village could enjoy, out in that open space," Babler said. "But it never happened."
The village did establish the building as a community center and has since allowed for the group to continue to meet there, free of charge, per an agreement, according to Babler. If the building was ever torn down and a new one built, the same applied, he added.
The building sold for $60,000 on Dec. 30 to Riley and Kevin Johnson, who plan to refurbish it beginning this spring and open their free-standing daycare center in about a year. It will be the only one of its kind in Monticello.
As for Crooks' suggestion that the post meet at Village Hall, Babler said it is too small for a membership he says now stands at 32 and lacks a comfortable setting. Meanwhile, the relics, archives, and war keepsakes such as guns and uniforms have been moved out into a barn belonging to a post member, Babler said.
He doubted the post could ever rally enough to build a new building of its own.
"A lot of the younger guys aren't that active and the older guys can't hold the events like we used to in order to raise funds," said Babler, who was captured in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge and shipped five days in a cattle car without food or water to a German prisoner of war camp.
"That's what hurts," he added. "A lot of us went through an awful lot and you'd think we'd be treated better."
Regarding the monument, Crooks noted it will forever remain an important symbol for both the village and the Legion members, and hoped the veterans would maintain it regardless of their situation.
Yet fellow member Harold Babler, who serves as secretary/treasurer of Amstutz-Marty American Legion Post 256, strongly feels otherwise.
"This probably means the end of our post - a lot are already losing interest," said the World War II veteran, adding that the location for its next meeting is unknown. "The officers had to meet at the Citgo station to discuss this. We don't think it's the right thing for the village to do and people are disgusted.
"And for him (Crooks) to do something like that - heck, he's one of us - angers a whole lot of people."
Crooks is inviting the group to make Village Hall its new home.
"They know they can use the board room whenever they want," said Crooks, a Vietnam veteran. "A lot of other groups use it, including other area Legion posts. Our Monticello post is dwindling in numbers, between 20 and 25, so there's plenty of room for them.
"And it has handicap-accessible bathrooms - something their old building didn't have."
The old building, located at 316 E. Coates Ave., also has a failing furnace, faulty windows and a shot roof, Crooks said. The Legion only meets there three or four times per year, he said, and although the building was considered a community center, there was little interest in use by villagers.
"No one wanted to pay to lease it out for parties or anything, and the only time the village used it was twice for referendums when we knew we'd have a big turnout," he said.
Meanwhile, it's been a money pit for the village with untold additional costs needed to bring it up to code and make it desirable.
"We've been paying $6,000 per year just in electric bills," said Crooks, who estimated the village has spent as much as $80,000 on it over the years. "I'm not going to pump taxpayer dollars into something that sits vacant 95 percent of the month."
Is Crooks worried the decision to sell could be seen as heartless by some, especially knowing it housed a group of war veterans?
"That mindset might appear, but not by those who know the situation," he said. "Actually, most people have been supportive - we get a new business in town where there's need. It will be nice for families to not have to drive their children outside of town for daycare."
The Legion purchased the 4-acre parcel of land and built the structure in the late 1980s.
"We members did it almost all by hand," said Babler, whose ranks were near 50 at the time. "We also had guys who brought stones from a quarry they owned or wood from their properties. And we also erected the great (Vietnam War) monument in town (off Wisconsin 69) and planted a bunch of trees there."
Money would eventually get tight for the post, so the village bought the building from its members in 1998 as they struggled to maintain it.
"We hoped they'd put up ball diamonds and things like that and make it a place the whole village could enjoy, out in that open space," Babler said. "But it never happened."
The village did establish the building as a community center and has since allowed for the group to continue to meet there, free of charge, per an agreement, according to Babler. If the building was ever torn down and a new one built, the same applied, he added.
The building sold for $60,000 on Dec. 30 to Riley and Kevin Johnson, who plan to refurbish it beginning this spring and open their free-standing daycare center in about a year. It will be the only one of its kind in Monticello.
As for Crooks' suggestion that the post meet at Village Hall, Babler said it is too small for a membership he says now stands at 32 and lacks a comfortable setting. Meanwhile, the relics, archives, and war keepsakes such as guns and uniforms have been moved out into a barn belonging to a post member, Babler said.
He doubted the post could ever rally enough to build a new building of its own.
"A lot of the younger guys aren't that active and the older guys can't hold the events like we used to in order to raise funds," said Babler, who was captured in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge and shipped five days in a cattle car without food or water to a German prisoner of war camp.
"That's what hurts," he added. "A lot of us went through an awful lot and you'd think we'd be treated better."
Regarding the monument, Crooks noted it will forever remain an important symbol for both the village and the Legion members, and hoped the veterans would maintain it regardless of their situation.