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Sheveland-Taylor

American Legion Post 14

Information about Park Sign

The Beginning of Veterans Memorial Park

In 1968 the Sheveland-Taylor American Legion Post 14 started a project to establish a park, which was ultimately named Veterans Memorial Park, it was spearheaded by late Legionnaire Robert Dougherty. The park is made up of three parcels of property that were acquired over a period of time.
The first parcel which runs along the south side of the South Branch of the Little Wolf River, from Main Street up to Lake Iola, was acquired from Iola Lake Estate, Inc. on June 24, 1968. Deeded to The American Legion Post 14 by James Olson and Edmond Thoe.
The very first monument placed in the park consisted of the large concrete panel built by Legionnaires eight years after acquiring the first parcel of property in 1976. It shows the State of Wisconsin on it with the location of Iola being highlighted on the map. On the base of the monument is a bronze plaque that reads “Dedicated to Veterans of the Iola Scandinavia Area. Erected 1976 Post 14.”
There are three flag poles that were erected at the same time directly behind the State of Wisconsin Monument, currently displayed on the center pole are the American flag and the Wisconsin State flag. The American Legion flag and The American Legion Auxiliary flag are displayed on poles located on each side.
The second parcel which was south of parcel 1 with Lake Iola on the east side and the Post Office bordered the south side of the property, it was acquired from Howard Bestul and David Bestul deeded by same to The American Legion Post 14 on October 24, 1983, fifteen years after the first parcel. The third and final parcel was also south of parcel 1 with Main Street bordering the west side and the Post Office bordering the property on the south side, and parcel two on the east side, it was acquired from Peter Van Dyke Jr. and Barbara Van Dyke and deeded to The American Legion Post 14 on April 12, 1988, twenty years after the first parcel. Map shows the three parcels of property that the Sheveland-Taylor American Legion Post 14 owns and has the park at. Note you can see the location of the monuments and sidewalks along with other features at the park. Main Street is at the bottom of the image and Lake Iola is at the top of the image. The yellow lines show the property line of the three parcels.