In July 1919, 25 men met at the Keystone City Hall to secure a charter for a local chapter of the American Legion. Officers were elected, and the post was named the Merkel Post 107 in honor of Mangus Merkel, the first serviceman from the Keystone area to die in World War I. The name was amended in 1949 to honor Luverne Bockholt, the first area serviceman killed during World War II.
Legion meetings for the Merkel-Bocholt Post 107 were a number of locations before the I.O.O.F. building was purchased in 1951. Over the years, rooms within the large facility have been rented for use as apartments, beauty shops, and a local doctor office.
The Friar-Watson Post No. 642 of the American Legion was organized in the Buchanan County community of Hazleton in March 1931. The following month, Congress formerly chartered the post, which had 26 founding members. After meeting in various club rooms, a nearby County schoolhouse was purchased and moved to Hazleton for use as an American Legion hall.
The school served the Legion until 1955, when its growing membership required more space. The present cement block structure was dedicated on January 29, 1956. The building is used regularly for meetings by both the Legion and Legion Auxiliary, along with a number of groups within the community.
The new Center Point Post Office was dedicated Saturday, June 13, 1970, with a ceremony including Marines from Waterloo and an address from Cedar Rapids-based U.S. Postal Service official Richard M. Loftus. Construction had begun on the 1,944-square-feet facility in July 1969, and the building was first occupied March 1. Postal service was first established in October 1844.
Forty-one residents became charter members of the Grand River Lions Club during a banquet held on March 1, 1955. Over a hundred Lions Club members from surrounding communities joined in the celebration, which featured singing of the song “America,” the Pledge of Allegiance, and an invocation by the local Methodist pastor. Dinner was followed by several speakers, including the president of the nearby Kellerton Lions Club, who presented the bell and gavel for use by the new Grand River group.
The Lions Club moved to their present building in the fall of 1974; with a door connecting to the adjacent American Legion Hall, the space quickly became a community gathering spot. The Lions Club have sponsored a number of projects in their 60-year history, including Easter Egg hunts, candy for the school holiday program, and creation of a new community park.
Organization of the Hamburg Public Library dates to 1886, when the first library was established in the local high school. An 1890 fire destroyed the library, but the community stepped to the plate with money and book donations to rebuild the collection. By 1915, a permanent library space was desired, and Mayor Richards wrote Andrew Carnegie requesting a grant for a new facility. The following year, a $9,000 grant was awarded, and the new library was dedicated in June 1919.
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