“On the Line: A Military History of Cook County” is a featured exhibit at the Cook County Historical Museum. It tells the story of Cook County service members and civilian defense volunteers, and takes advantage of the 100th anniversary of U.S. involvement with World War I. Half of the funds to pay for the military display came from the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 413.
Back on January 1, a cold New Year’s Day, the gambling manager of our local American Legion Auxiliary Unit 413, met Jack Coombe, who works with Triple Crown Gaming, in Two Harbors at the Holiday station. The purpose of the wintry trek and meeting was to pick up $1 and $2 pull-tab games to load into the leased machine the auxiliary located at Grandma Ray’s. The auxiliary’s gambling manager and her assistant needed to get that machine filled and operational by the time the doors opened on New Year’s Day!
After six months, our local auxiliary has earned over $3,600 in profit from charitable gambling, after also earning enough to pay back its start up costs.This profit enabled the organization to hand a check for a $2,500 donation to the Cook County Historical Society to help pay for its new exhibit, “On the Line.” Carrie McHugh, museum director, received the check and noted how surprised and pleased she was with this gift – in addition to the $3,000 already donated by the American Legion, the Sons, and the Auxiliary back in the spring, prior to the Memorial Day exhibit opening. The Sons and the Legion matched the $1,000 the auxiliary gave; the auxiliary’s challenge was met. In total, our local veterans organizations funded about half of the cost of the entire exhibit.
Charitable gambling gives our own local auxiliary unit a Five Star Rating, the highest you can get in Minnesota. The Minnesota Gambling Control Board calculates this rating at the end of each fiscal year, which was June 30, 2017. Our local auxiliary is proud to achieve this rating by providing such a high rate of donation, given the profit made in just six months of charitable gambling. That profit comes from those who play pull-tabs as well as from the team of volunteers who count cash, change out and order games, do the paperwork and deposits, and then file monthly reports to both the Minnesota Department of Revenue and the Minnesota Gambling Control Board. Our auxiliary keeps more money for charitable donations due to the fact that pull-tab operations are done solely by volunteers.
Prior to the start of charitable gambling, the Auxiliary carefully crafted criteria for its donations. The foundation for their criteria was what can be legally funded according to Minnesota statute, but there was a desire to focus primarily on donations which would highlight and support our local veterans. The Auxiliary is hoping that profit from charitable gambling will be significant enough in the future to potentially support scholarships, a vet dog, and many other initiatives.
Our Cook County Historical Society’s new exhibit was great for their first donation, as it was a perfect fit for their mission. “On the Line: A Military History of Cook County” meets an important need for a public space for interpreting and recognizing our county’s past engagement with military conflicts. Particularly because these conflicts were far away, the stories from Cook County touch on major themes of communication, social change, technology, and political history, and how our remote communities here dealt with such changes over time. Telling the story of a service member, civilian defense volunteer, or even a peace activist is an important interpretation of military involvement or wartime life in Cook County. The new exhibit provides an important personal touchstone for families with military connections, but in a space that is welcoming, usable, and accessible for all visitors. “On the Line” was a significant opportunity to collaborate with local organizations working with veterans and military families, especially our elders. The exhibit takes advantage of the 100th anniversary of U.S. involvement in World War I. There also is included work with WTIP on a companion radio show of theatrical readings of some letters sent home from one of our own, Albert Bally.
If you are interested in joining our local Auxiliary, there are membership forms you can pick up at Grandma Ray’s. Our auxiliary would love to engage more local girls and women who have veterans in their family. They are always looking for new ideas and energy to support their mission and meet the needs of our veterans.
If you’re looking to play $1 or $2 pull-tabs, stop by Grandma Ray’s. Maybe you’ll win a big prize, but at a minimum you can put one or two dollars in that pull-tab machine and help support our local veterans and local charitable donations made by the Auxiliary.
Visit the new military exhibit at the museum Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Leave a Reply