(Le Mars) — During Wednesday evening’s Historical Preservation Commission celebration of the downtown district being listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, Le Mars Chamber officials presented Iris Hemmingson with the Le Mars Volunteer of the Year Award.
Hemmingson, serves as the chair person for the Le Mars Historical Preservation Commission. She serves on the Main Street Design Committee which oversees the awarding of the City of Le Mars façade grants. She has been extremely involved in the Main Street program focusing on historic preservation and restoration work of downtown buildings. Iris was involved with the American Legion Club façade restoration work. She knew the importance of preserving the miracle brick on the building and asked the Legion trustees to restore the miracle block brick and leave it exposed on the front of the building. This is the last building in downtown Le Mars that was made from this local brick product and Iris was able to educate the Trustees of the importance of the preservation of the façade. Iris also wrote a grant and received funding for Le Mars to do a year long study on each building in a designated area in downtown Le Mars. This study allowed for Le Mars to make application to the National Park Service requesting listing on the National Registry of Historic Places. Iris put in hundreds of hours doing extensive research on the buildings. With her dedication, Le Mars’ downtown is now listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Our congratulations to Iris Hemmingson.
