Ironwood celebrates Memorial Building's 100th anniversary

By LARRY HOLCOMBE

[email protected]

Ironwood - Ironwood marked the 100th anniversary of its Memorial Building Friday evening with the taking of a photo - a mass photo of everyone who came to a brief program held in front of the grand structure on the corner of McLeod Avenue and Marquette Street.

The idea was to re-create a photo taken on Aug. 27, 1923, at the dedication of the building. That photo coincided with a state convention of the American Legion.

Ironwood Mayor Kim Corcoran spoke from the front steps of the building on Friday, telling some of the history of how the building came about. She said Ironwood was growing, nearing a population of 20,000 as it welcomed home veterans from World War I. She said the city needed room for offices, but also for gatherings. Mayor James O'Neill spearheaded an effort to construct a building that gave the American Legion Post 5 and Ironwood Woman's Club a permanent home. With the support of those organizations a $750,000 bond issue was passed. Unfortunately, O'Neill died before construction was complete.

Corcoran said the building not only included city offices and quarters for the organizations above, but also three kitchens, a pool, a gymnasium and an auditorium for all kinds of gatherings including "hoppin' and boppin' at sock hops."

She remarked on the bronze doughboy statue in the lobby and the bronze plaques with the names of those who served and those who died in war; as well as the stained glass windows in the auditorium and fire department trophies on display in the lobby.

She called the building a "fantastic tribute" to the soldiers from the community.

Commissioner Jim Mildren read a poem he wrote for the occasion, entitled "Celebrating 100 Years."

"Let freedom ring again on the corner of McLeod and Marquette, the Ironwood Memorial Building - a monument to remember forever the valor and sacrifice of the American soldier and the Ironwood families," the poem said in part. Mildren's prose spoke of how the building honors those who fought in World War I - the war to end all wars - and how the community's church bells rang as the soldiers came home.

David Manki, an Ironwood native and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, spoke about the place in history the building has had in the community's life.

"The leaders who made the Memorial Building a reality knew it could and would be a place people could gather and make decisions for our community. It would be a symbol of their commitment to our heritage."

He said he loves going into the building and seeing the statue of the World War I soldier, the plaques with the names of the people from Ironwood who fought in the Civil War, the Spanish American War, and World War I and World War II.

"The stained glass windows remain a treasure," he said. "I like to walk into the auditorium and I remember the Tamburitzans playing their music and the barbershop quartets singing their wonderful harmonies. Our parents voted for FDR, Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon in this building."

He said he's played basketball and pickleball in the gymnasium, and also talked of attending everything from scout meetings and athletic banquets to proms and class reunions, as well as Memorial Day ceremonies in the building.

"Tonight, we become part of the history of the city of Ironwood. I'm glad you chose to join us. It's so nice to see so many people here," he said. "The Memorial Building is our gathering place, to remember, to have fun and to let our voices be heard."

The Luther L. Wright High School band played the national anthem at the beginning of the ceremony.

Corcoran and Mildren led tours of the building Friday afternoon. Corcoran said they had about 60 people take the tours.

City Manager Paul Anderson estimated about 250 people were in attendance for the photo that was taken in front of the building that had been draped with American flags and red, white and blue bunting. The building was similarly decorated in the 1923 photo which also included veterans with flags, bands, dignitaries and lots of people, young and old.

City Clerk Jen Jacobson said the old photo has a few old cars in behind the people, so a new electric car was brought in for the 2023 photo.

Jake Ring of Ringo Productions took the official photo - a high resolution image of the front of the building and all those assembled. (Both the 2023 and 1923 photos can be found on Page 22.)

Ring also launched a drone for a short video of the group that can be seen on the city's Facebook page. More than one in attendance noted there weren't any drones in 1923.

The group in the 1923 shot extends further to the east along McLeod Avenue. A few of the buildings in the photo don't exist anymore, but Salem Lutheran Church and its parsonage are in both photos. The steeple of Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church is not seen in the 1923 photo because the building wasn't built until 1925. As Corcoran said, it was a time of growth in Ironwood.

The three-day 1923 state American Legion convention began the day the photo was taken. The Daily Globe ran stories about the proceedings including how a man from Grand Haven defeated another from Grand Rapids in an election for state commander. There were meetings, banquets and a ball held in the Memorial Building and a grand parade along the streets of Ironwood. A state meeting of the American Legion Auxiliary was held in the Masonic Temple over the same days.

There were special live vaudeville shows at the local theaters - not the Ironwood Theatre, though, as it wasn't built until 1928. A native American pow-pow was held at the same time, and tribal members participated in the parade. There was a circus in town that, according to one story included a "freak show" with a "mule-faced woman."

While the Daily Globe typically printed 12 pages a day, it mustered a 48-page paper on Aug. 27 to welcome the legionnaires to town. There were many stories about grand buildings in the region including the Gogebic Country Club, Grand View Hospital, the Gogebic County Courthouse and the new Washington Elementary School in Bessemer. There was also a story about how construction was set to begin in the coming weeks on a new Luther L. Wright High School that would include a swimming pool.

The mayor of Bessemer declared the city offices closed and asked local business to do the same, so they could see the parade and take part in the other happenings around the convention. A story the next day talked about how a lone Bessemer policeman seemed to have the streets to himself except for "a pair of laggards" who were waiting for a bus to Ironwood.

Finally, another Daily Globe story, tells how organizers in Wakefield expected more than a 1,000 people to attend the dedication of the Wakefield Memorial Building during the convention, predicting it would surely be the largest indoor gathering ever in Wakefield.

Ironwood's Memorial Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The building was remodeled in 1996.