New Legacy Park Dedicated to Chester L. Krause
October 13 was the 71st anniversary of the first issue of Numismatic News. Not even inclement weather could dampen the festivities.
Inclement weather in the form of day-long rain dampened attendees but didn’t dampen their spirits as they took part in the Oct. 13 dedication of the Chester L. Krause Legacy Park in Iola, Wis.
October 13 was the 71st anniversary of the first issue of Numismatic News. More than 200 people from the coin hobby, old car hobby, Legacy Park committee, donors, and former Krause Publications employees poured into Iola Historical Society’s (IHS) Machine Shed to honor Chester L. Krause, founder of Krause Publications. The new park is located at the corner of Chet Krause Drive and Water Street, directly across from the first Krause Publications building.
The event was scheduled to be held at the park with a ceremonial flag-raising and an unveiling of a statue honoring Krause. Also on-site, for those who braved the weather, is an attractive mural with a larger-than-life image of Krause by artist Jordyn Brennan. A bronze statue of Krause by noted sculptor Eugene Daub arrived in Iola too late for installment at the park prior to the dedication and was unveiled near the end of the ceremony at the IHS machine shed.
Clifford Mishler, current president of the IHS and a past president of Krause Publications, greeted guests for the early afternoon program.
“I want to welcome you all here today. I’m very pleased with the turnout on a rather miserable day,” Mishler began. “But I hope you will all enjoy the program that has been lined up for you.
“Given today’s weather conditions, you are probably wondering why in the world we would have picked the date Friday the 13th to have this event. Now that’s certainly not an unreasonable question to ask. But in a way, the date was picked for us by Chet. Chet picked it 71 years ago today. That was the date that was printed below the flag on the first issue of Numismatic News, October 13th, 1952. It must not have been a Friday the 13th because I think he ended up having pretty good luck. And really, that date of October 13th, 1952, really provided the impetus for why we are here today.”
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A flag-raising ceremony at the park also had to be foregone. Instead, there was a presentation of the flag from the Sheveland Taylor Post 14 of the American Legion, followed by the National Anthem with the Iola-Scandinavia High School Band, conducted by Corey Landon, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mishler, who described it as a “distinct pleasure” to have worked for and with Chet Krause for the past 55 years prior to Krause’s passing in 2016, said of the relocated dedication and the unfinished nature of the park:
“Chet provided me some guidelines early in my career at Krause Publications, one of them was that when you are in the publishing business when the deadline arrives you go to press with whatever you have and that is exactly what we have done as far as the development of the Krause Legacy Park. It isn’t where the committee or I would have liked to have seen it at this particular stage of the game, but we are getting there and I think that is in keeping with what our practice was with this.”
Following this, Village of Iola Trustee David C. Harper, former editor of Numismatic News, presented a proclamation for the village board proclaiming it Chester L. Krause Day in Iola. The honor bestowed by the Village of Iola Board of Trustees on Oct. 10, read by Harper, detailed Krause’s humble beginnings on a farm near Iola through his service in World War II as a mechanic and work after the war as a carpenter and home builder, to his establishment of a publishing empire that once employed more than 400 people at its headquarters in Iola.
Current American Numismatic Association President Tom Uram was next to the podium and noted that: “The most prominent numismatic award for any coin collector is the American Numismatic Association’s Farran Zerbe Award. This is a service award bestowed upon Chet and it was bestowed upon him at the convention in 1977 ... This was the highest national honor that could be achieved by any one coin collector and, amazingly, in the year 2022 … the name of the award, the highest award in numismatic circles, was changed to better honor an individual who led an unselfish life helping the downtrodden, assisting the sick and the afflicted and exemplifying the best of human decency not only in numismatic endeavors but also in life: Mr. Chester L. Krause.”
Uram was the first recipient of the newly named Chester L. Krause Memorial Distinguished Service Award at the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money in 2022 and told those attending the Legacy Park dedication: “Although I never met Chet, nor had I ever spoken to him, I felt a warm attachment for him and all that he had done and accomplished. To say that I was honored would be an understatement. To state that I was humbled would certainly be close.”
Though Chet Krause is well-known in the coin hobby, he is highly esteemed in the old car hobby as well. Krause, along with Mishler, founded the annual Iola Car Show, which has grown to one of the largest in the nation.
Ken Nimocks, president of the Society of Automotive Historians, explained that the car show started a little over 50 years ago with 14 vehicles. This past year, according to Nimocks, the show, which is on the “bucket list” for many old car enthusiasts, attracted more than 130,000 people, 2,000 vehicles, and 4,000 slot spaces.
One of the philanthropic efforts Krause is most associated with is the Rawhide Boys Ranch (now Rawhide Youth Services).
John Gillespie, a co-founder in 1965 of the Rawhide Boys Ranch, New London, Wis., was next to honor Krause. Chet, as noted by Gillespie, was a major donor to the ranch, which services wayward youth. The field house there is named for Chet Krause. Alan B. Loux, president and chief executive officer, said that Krause’s legacy and Rawhide’s legacy were inexorably linked.
Another of Krause’s funding concerns was the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wis. Terri Wilczek, chief development officer for Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation, said Krause was instrumental in many fundraising efforts for medical research and was the fourth recipient of the foundation’s prestigious Heritage Award.
On the local level, Jennifer Schustek, president of the Village of Iola, noted, “You really can’t travel anywhere through the village of Iola without passing something that Chet has made possible. Everybody loved Chet.”
Krause’s niece, Pattie (Krause) Dickhut, spoke on behalf of the family, thanking those in attendance and observing that Chet was always involved in some project for the community outside of work. She concluded, “Chet was a young man with an idea. I don’t think in his wildest dreams he would ever have imagined what it would grow into and how it touched this whole community.”
