Veterans continue to serve comrades by repairing worn seats at veterans auditorium

CEDAR RAPIDS — Until recently, the 632 seats in the Cedar Rapids' Veterans Memorial Building auditorium hadn't changed much since they were first installed in 1927.

Time took its toll. Stuffing poked through cushions, and many of the worn covers on the wooden chairs were patched with duct tape.

Army veteran Jim Payton, of Cedar Rapids, thought it was a shame to have such scruffy chairs in the otherwise newly renovated building, which underwent a major restoration after the Floods of 2008.

FEMA funds wouldn't pay for the chairs to be upgraded during the renovation because they were above the flood line. The disrepair was due to age, not water damage. The lowest bid for the project came in at $55,000 just for labor, not including materials, so the Veterans Memorial Commission decided to shelve the project until a later date.

Payton didn't want to wait. After he retired from his job as a correctional officer in February, he set up a workshop in the Memorial Building basement and organized fellow veterans at the Iowa Veterans Welcome Center, which has an office in the building, to take on the restoration themselves.

'I saw the terrible shape of the seats,' Payton says. 'I didn't think it was fitting for veterans to come back into this building and see the auditorium in the state it was in.'

The veterans built workbenches from leftover construction materials from the building's renovation. The Memorial Commission bought the material — 10 roles of black Naugahyde, which Kamal's Carpet, Rugs and Upholstery in Cedar Rapids sold to the organization at half price. The total bill so far has come in at around $5,000.

'The veterans are doing it for free,' says Iowa Veterans Welcome Center board President Roger Wiest.

Since they started working in May — stripping off the worn out fabric cushion covers and reupholstering them with the vinyl, the small team of volunteers have put in more than 120 hours of work and reupholstered all the bottoms of the chairs. They're only half way done — next they will start in on the backs.

Sgt. Jerry List, of Cedar Rapids, did four tours in Iraq with the National Guard and returned home in 2009. He's been a diligent part of the restoration team.

'Now I get to serve and do my duty again,' he says. 'But with this duty. I can walk around with a smile on my face.'

In addition to the upholstery work, the volunteers plan to install a 'fallen soldiers' chair in the auditorium. It will be blocked off with gold rope and will sit empty in honor of those who sacrificed their lives in the armed services.

The group also wants to add a flag display to the auditorium and install railings in front of seats on the upper level of the auditorium, which currently can't be used due to safety concerns. They hope to upgrade the sound and lighting systems as well.

Right now, the auditorium is primarily used as the home court for the Cedar Rapids Rollergirls derby team. Payton pictures movie screenings, theater performances and other activities held there in years to come.

'There's a whole building up here and unlimited amounts of usage we can get from this,' Payton says. 'We want veterans to know this is here. It's another venue for the city to show off.'