KRAUSE LEGACY PARK DEDICATION (PEARL)

I attended the Chester L Krause Legacy Park dedication on October 13, 2023. The date was selected as it was the published date of the initial issue of Numismatic News - October 13, 1952. The park was dedicated by the Village of Iola Wisconsin, headquarters of Krause Publications, in memory of Mr. Krause's (see photo below) service to his community and to mankind.

 
(Image compliments of Numismatic News)

For those unfamiliar with Mr. Krause, he was the creator, owner and publisher of Numismatic News and owner of Krause Publications which published numerous other hobby magazines and hundreds of books. Numismatic News was the initial building block of Krause Publications. Krause Publications included old car magazines which also led to him establishing the annual old car show in Iola Wisconsin and one of the largest such shows in the nation. When he decided to retire, he set up an Employee Stock Option Plan so his employees could own their employer.

Beyond publishing, Mr. Krause (who preferred to be called just plain Chet) was a leader in the numismatic community, in the charitable community and in the community where he lived all his life as well as our nation. He heavily contributed his efforts and financial support to the American Numismatic Association and numerous other collector organizations. He was instrumental in in establishing the Numismatic Ambassador Award – an award for numismatic leaders nominated by and voted on by fellow collectors. He also contributed his efforts and resources to medical, social. educational, civic and other organizations. He was a humble but highly regarded philanthropist.

Mr. Krause was selected and highly deserved to receive nearly every service and other award given by the major numismatic organizations before he passed away in 2016.

I flew into Appleton Wisconsin on the 12th and drove to Iola for the 13th dedication. Before the dedication I had lunch at the Crystal Café. As advised by Clifford Mishler, their pie was worth the trip by itself. While at the cafe I met Tom Uram, American Numismatic Association (ANA) President, and Mitch Ernst, Central States Numismatic Society (CSNS) President, and we discussed a variety of numismatic subjects. As a remembrance, we recreated the scene, see below, where Clifford Mishler and David Harper have their traditional Thursday lunches under Mr. Krause's photograph.

 
Left to right: Mitch Ernst, Tom Uram, Sandy Pearl

 
Left to right: Sandy Pearl, Mitch Ernst, Tom Uram

After lunch I attended the dedication being held in the Iola Historical Society's Machine Shed Museum/Exhibition Building as it was raining the entire day.

Clifford Mishler, President of the society and ANA Past-President, was the Master of Ceremony. The dedication was attended by representatives of Mr. Krause's family, the dedication committee, Iola's Board of Trustees, past Krause Publications employees, the numismatic and old car communities, the VFW (Mr. Krause was a WWII veteran), the Iola-Scandinavian High School band (who performed the National Anthem and other music), numerous charities supported by Mr. Krause and 225 people from the general community (see photos below).

 

Clifford Mishler, past CEO of Krause Publications, and David Harper, past editor of Numismatic News and Village of Iola Trustee participated in the dedication.

The dedication included presentations from Iola officials, charity and collector communities. A flag was presented by the VFW for the park flagpole. Mr. Krause's niece provided a response for the Mr. Krause's family.

 
Left to right: Clifford Mischler, Dave Harper, Chet Krause statue

After the presentations the Mr. Mishler unveiled the park sculpture of Mr. Krause created by Eugene Daub. The sculpture will be installed at the park.

After the dedication I drove back to Appleton and flew home on the 14th. I was honored to attend the dedication honoring a truly nice and impressive hobby and civic leader.

To read a Numismatic News article by Bob Van Ryzin, see:
New Legacy Park Dedicated to Chester L. Krause (https://www.numismaticnews.net/us-coins/new-legacy-park-dedicated-to-chester-l-krause)

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