An Advisory panel of Island Park Beach House Supporters has been setup, and have had meetings
on the direction and best way to accomplish the goal of getting the Island Park Beach House back a place for the community to use.
Most likely you will know at least one, if not more of the panel members. All have been in Cedar Falls for quite some time!
Luann Alemao
Darin Beck
Scott Braun
John Deery, Sr.
Dick Dobson Jr.
Axe Haugen
Ty Kimble
Amy Lockard
Jay Stoddard
Pat Turner
Peter Voorhees
Craig Uhlenhopp
The word is getting around and the letters of support are accumulating!
The folks from the North Cedar Neighborhood Association wrote a letter of support
Thanks for your support. Let's keep the project rolling!
Here is a great article by James Dreier:
Save a Building, Make Memories
A river ran by it, then through it, and now it is gone. The flooding of the historic Cedar Falls Beach House (1922 - 2008) leaves more than an empty concrete foundation – it leaves a hole in the collective soul of the community. And the citizens of Cedar Falls (including those like myself who now live elsewhere but consider their hometown the Center-of-the-Universe) are taking action.
One might wonder why this “beach house”, sitting by the banks of the Cedar River, is worthy of our attention. Why rebuild when there are so many competing community needs? After all, it had not been used for its intended purpose (swimming at the beach?) for many decades. Why bother?
The answer lies not with the building itself, but with what happened inside. Yes brick and mortar projects are critical and most be invested in, but a truly good community invests in something more – memories. And the Beach House was a memory-factory for over 80 years. Reflection and recollection enrich our lives and bind us together as a community. The Beach House, anointed by so many of these memories, became sacred ground to those who recognized it as an integral part of what made Cedar Falls, Cedar Falls.
And because of that, good people are working to rebuild the Beach House (go to www.islandparkbeachhouse.org to see all the options for helping and donating). One up-coming event is a benefit at The Hub, 406 Main Street, Cedar Falls, on Saturday, August 22nd (4:00 p.m.). The Beaker Brothers, a band I play in, will host an evening of classic, great rock and roll with the help of our friends Checker and the Bluetones, along with others. All the musicians are donating their time with proceeds going to the re-building fund. It will be good music in a great club for a good cause and all with strong local roots. Roots that, in my case, travel down to that hallowed ground by the river.
At a teen-dance there on a warm summer evening in 1968, one of the cutest girls at my high school came up and asked ME to dance. I was stunned, but gladly accepted. Only later did I learn that her advance was not based on any sense of attraction, but as a ploy to rid her of a relentless suitor – but no matter. Flush with a new sense of confidence, I was determined to pursue it. As we danced to a local live-band that night, we could hardly know that our lives had just taken a turn. 41 years later, the dance continues.
There must be countless other stories and memories generated from that humble building: dances, reunions, weddings, or perhaps a bike ride and a moment of quiet reflection by the roiling waters of the Cedar. It is our hope that many more memories can begin there – that Cedar Falls will once again have a place where lives are celebrated, changed and most of all, remembered.
James Dreier
Thank you very much James!