Organizers of the effort to restore two ticket booths at Franklin Field in Marshalltown are realizing the field meant a great deal to those who used it decades ago.
The effort, known as the Franklin Field Gateway Project, is seeking to raise $130,000 by May 31 to pay for the renovation of the booths to serve as historical markers at the area where the high school formerly hosted football games.
The booths are at the site of the track and football field next to Franklin Elementary School. These also serve as an entrance to 13th Street near the Iowa Veterans Home and the effort will landscape the area around the booths and add new fencing.
"To me it's such a neat project because it has connections to the past and the future," said John Hermanson, a Marshalltown resident who has led the project. "It affects the neighborhood, the schools and the community in general."
The group has sent out brochures and letters to try to solicit donations, especially targeting Marshalltown High School graduates of the past.
"What I'm getting (back) are the memories that people have of Franklin Field," said Jane Bauer, fundraising chair of the project.
Groups from several MHS classes of the past are getting together to raise funds collectively for the project. Individual donations are also coming in from across the country including Arizona, California and Florida.
"I'm just amazed," Bauer said.
The project got a boost from the recent announcement of a $25,000 challenge grant from the Martha Ellen Tye Foundation. Bauer hopes to raise a total of $100,000 for the project by May 1. The project will not use any school district money and is expected to be completed by the fall. The school district had plans originally to demolish the structures which have fallen into disrepair in recent years before this community group stepped up with a different idea.
Hermanson is confident they will reach the fundraising goal in time for the project to begin this summer.
"If we're going to do this thing we are going to make sure it's done right," he said.
For more information on the project or to donate call Bauer at 641-753-3126.
