Dixon Then and Now: The Old Vets' Hall Was a Social Hub for 85 Years

Veterans’ organizations have been popular in Solano County over the years, with Travis Air Force Base lending some clout to their status. Also, returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan potentially bring some new blood to the groups.

Dixon’s American Legion Post 208 in Dixon was formed just after World War I, in 1920, and Dixon’s Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 8151 is a relative newcomer, having been formed in 1988.

Soon after the Legion post in Dixon was constituted with around 30 members, it began meeting or holding events at places such as Madden Hall at the fairgrounds, in the Weyand Building and in the IOOF building. The Legion post soon began a push for a Legion hall and community building. Fortunately for the post, the Schulze family of Schulze store fame (see my recent column about them) donated some land for the building. A bank loan was then obtained using the property as collateral – that is, a mortgage was created. For only around $12,000 the land was cleared and the two-story building with a basement was built which still stands today at 231 First Street in the downtown. It was dedicated in 1924. However, its glory days are over, and today it stands empty and dour-looking.  

But for many years the building was a very active community center where many social occasions, meetings and fundraisers were held. The walls could tell many stories about music and dancing, speeches, and food being served.

As an example of the political sway that veterans held in the county, around 1928 the county supervisors decided to fund the establishment of veterans’ halls in the other five cities in the county, although they were not legally required to do so. A special tax was levied for the purpose.

Some controversy developed because Dixon’s, the first one built, had been self-funded, and Vallejo was asking for more than $110,000 for its hall. Of course, not all the cities had a Schulze family to donate land for their halls. Eventually, the various Legion posts made peace with each other, the county money was doled out according to consensus, and the halls were built. Through a complicated arrangement later, the county essentially bought Dixon’s hall from the Legion for $12,000 and became the building’s owner.

Dixon’s hall was of stucco-wall construction and had a kitchen. The dance floor measured 45 by 60 feet. In 1925 the building as a whole was expanded. A bar was available for specific events.   At first there was a balcony and open space along the upper story, a favored spot from which to watch the annual May Fair parade. In 1955, that space was built over to add a game room. Offices for the veterans’ organizations were in the second story.  

The building had heat and eventually air conditioning, but both were barely adequate.

From early photographs, the building was first painted white or a light-toned color, presenting a much cheerier appearance than the blue-gray color it carries now.

Looking over a long list of organizations which used what came to be called the Vet’s Memorial Hall, one sees fundraisers for the Boy Scouts and Campfire Girls, a “Buck Stew” event for Legion posts around the county in 1928, Rotary and Game clubs activities in 1933 and 1940, a Legion Auxiliary “Country Store” event to raise money for the USO during World War II, a firemen’s Christmas party in 1944, a Circle D Barn Dance in 1945, and as men returned from the War, dances every Saturday night. There were big turkey dinners in 1946 and ’47 and the Legion Auxiliary had a Carnival with bingo. In ’48, the hall hosted a father and sons banquet, followed later in the year by a fashion show and tea. In ’49 it cost only $1.25 to attend a pre-Easter dance.

During the 1950, farmers and teacher’s associations met in the hall, free chest X-rays and polio shots were provided, and wedding anniversaries were celebrated. In 1978 a pancake breakfast to benefit muscular dystrophy research was served up, and in 1980 the hall functioned as a polling place. There were crab and spaghetti feeds, wine and cheese dances, and dances to benefit the town’s soccer team.

In 1989 and 1996 bingo events helped pay for lights at Dixon High’s football field and for Fourth of July fireworks. Blood drives were held in the hall. Around 2000, Legion oratorical contests for high school students brightened the place.

During the 1980s and 90s, Dixon’s Legion Post 208 had spent over $20,000 for the upkeep of the old hall. But there were problems with a leaky roof, the upstairs office got hot in the summer, and the bathrooms didn’t meet requirements for people with disabilities. Still, there were those who thought the building could be rehabilitated.

The county board of supervisors, however, decided it would be more cost-effective to find a newer space. So it purchased a new and unoccupied multi-unit commercial building at the corner of First Street and Regency Parkway. Over $1.4 million was spent by the county buy the property and the same amount again to revise the room layouts, install central heating and cooling, build offices for the three veterans’ groups, and a large kitchen. It was a proud moment in 2009 when the building was dedicated. The amount of usable space had been virtually doubled.

However, as this is being written in 2011, that proud moment is somewhat tarnished because of financial and governance difficulties. The new Veteran’s Memorial Hall is used rent-free, and run by a group consisting of the Legion, its auxiliary, and the VFW (each of which have one vote), which is responsible for running the place, and paying for utilities and upkeep.

The voting control essentially lies with the voting bloc of the Legion and its auxiliary, and they elected to open a bar and coffee shop which were open daily. That meant the entire building was heated or cooled daily. PG&E utility bills were much higher than expected (certainly higher than for the previous building), were contested by the Legion (which was running day-to-day affairs in the building), and required some financial assistance from the county.

In the last action as this column was written, a county-prompted audit by a CPA claimed lax or non-existent financial record-keeping, poor accountability, and failure to follow some laws and agreements.

Meanwhile, the VFW post wants equal voting rights with the Legion bloc. The coffee shop operation recently closed down, while the bar remains open daily. A recent development is the establishment of a statewide linked bingo game which the hall is part of; the profits benefit the Legion.

And the old vets’ hall downtown, which pretty much existed without all this controversy for so many years? The county is trying to decide what it can do with the building. Unfortunately, it’s located in a block without any pizazz and without much commercial appeal, so it may just sit there for a long time – living in Dixon’s past.