Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Saturday, February 17, 2007

Hmong cultural center gets big boost

Wearing stilts and a special suit Bert Young of E & B Insulation based in Sparta applies polyurethane insulation Thursday to an interior wall of the Hmong Cultural Center which is currently being renovated. PETER THOMSON photo

By JOAN KENT / La Crosse Tribune

Dick Swantz was a happy guy this week. The co-chairman of the fundraising committee for the Hmong Community and Cultural Center received an anonymous pledge of match money up to $100,000. And when he ran into Dave Skogen, owner of Festival Foods, Skogen pledged another $50,000.

The two contributions mean that $150,000 had been contributed toward the $1 million goal of the second phase of fundraising, even though the project hadn’t yet been made public, Swantz said.

Members of the local Hmong community and their supporters are renovating the former Cerise restaurant at Ward Avenue and Mormon Coulee Road into a center for Hmong activities and programs. Hmong community members have committed to the $725,000 cost of the building while donating hours of to gutting and renovating the building.

Swantz and former mayor John Medinger are in charge of raising funds to pay for materials and labor that hasn’t been donated or that the Hmong can’t do themselves.

“It’s been a challenging effort,” Medinger said. “Several hundred people have donated money. We’ve gotten gifts from $5 to $100,000, so people have been generous, but we are going to ask them to be generous again. The (matching) grant is a great way for people to make their money go further.”

The center is going to be a wonderful asset to the community, he added. “It’s a place for the Hmong to preserve their heritage and to share it with the broader community. There will be an educational aspect where everyone, especially school children, can learn Hmong history.”

The Hmong do not have a place now, said Thai Vue, Hmong Mutual Assistance Association executive director. “The center will be very important because it is a place where they can host cultural programs, not only for Hmong, but for people throughout the region who want to know more about the Hmong.”

It’s a place where Hmong can gather for recreational activities, family congregations and memorial services, he said.

The exterior of the former restaurant looks different because an of an addition and new roof, said Eve Zellmer, project coordinator.

Inside, she said, Hmong volunteers have gutted the building and are starting to frame new walls. Their work has saved about $100,000 in labor costs, Zellmer said.

“I am very happy with the progress made now,” Vue said. “I have a good feeling every day when I go and look at the construction. It’s like a baby growing every day. I picture it when it’s done, and all the activities are there. I hope and pray the community is going to help us get over this mountain and make this center a reality.”

Joan Kent can be reached at (608) 791-8221 or jkent@lacrossetribune.com.