Hortonville American Legion raises funds for new community center

HORTONVILLE, Wis. (WBAY) - American Legion Post 55 in Hortonville held a fundraising event Sunday at Bridgewood in Neenah to support the construction of a new community center.

The post has been without a permanent home for 102 years. The proposed $3 million facility would provide space for roughly 300 people to gather, cook, host activities, and connect with one another.

“These guys are trying to do a super big thing. It’s a big hill to climb to try to build this building with the limited resources they have. So, they need all the help they can get,” said Don Nieland, an Army veteran.

Veterans Support Network Post 55 in Hortonville has been without a home for 102 years, but this $3-million facility looks to change that.

The facility would serve as a gathering place for veterans throughout the Fox River Valley area.

“Veterans like to listen to other veterans. This would be very positive for our community and the whole Fox River Valley. They could come out, and we’ll gladly have them come here to listen, and we could talk. We could refer them to different,” said Bob Ziegert, former post commander of American Legion Post 55.

Nieland said the center would help veterans who have experienced combat trauma.

“There are people that have a lot of problems. Especially if you were in a war or a battle. Those people really have suffered. I’m fortunate I didn’t to have that. But I feel for those that did. And this is part of their program that can be reached out and helped with buildings and people like this,” Nieland said.

Post 55 plans to collaborate and host more community events in the future as part of their fundraising efforts.