Renovation of Veterans Hall

Renovation of Veterans Hall

In the high Rocky Mountains of Colorado sits the small town of Woodland Park. With a population of less than 8,000 it is the home of Eric V. Dickson American Legion Post 1980. What today is known as Veterans Hall was originally built in 1935 by the Manitou Park Grange. For years the building was used by various community groups for meetings and other activities, but due to lack of funding for repairs this historical building was slowly falling apart. In 2001 the building was purchased by Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 6051 of Woodland Park with the stipulation that the memorabilia left by the Grange remain so that if they wished to use the facility again they could. The facility is now used by both the VFW and Post 1980.
In 2015 a grant was received from the Home Depot Foundation for the renovation of the facility. This grant not only funded the lumber, paint, sheetrock, wiring and fixtures necessary to modernize the facility, but also organized volunteers, employees of Home Depot and their vendors, to do the work. When the contents of the building were taken out and stored, memorabilia dating back prior to World War II was found. A virtual historical treasure trove. The renovation was coordinated by a local contracting company, D.M.I Builders. The Home Depot Foundation supplied over 170 volunteers who worked on the renovation which began the 11th of April and was completed the 11th of May, when a dedication ceremony was held by the VFW and Post 1980.

Photo provided by Larry Ingram attached.