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thedrifter
04-19-07, 04:29 PM
Last modified: Thursday, April 19, 2007 10:19 AM CDT
Fundraising campaign for field kicks off today

By Rod Stetzer rod.stetzer@lee.net

Dutch Hollen played football for both the Chippewa Marines and the U.S. Marines.

He’s proud of his military service during World War II and the Korean War.

But the 1938 graduate of Chip-pewa Falls Senior High School wishes that somehow his body would allow him to again play the game he loves.

“What I’ve got out of football has been nothing but fun,” he said.

That’s why he recently walked up to Jake Leinenkugel and handed him an unsolicited $100 donation to renovate Dorais Field, which is adjacent to Chi-Hi.

The contribution moved Leinen-kugel, whose wife Peggy is one of the co-leaders of a campaign to raise nearly $2 million to renovate Dorais Field.

The fundraising campaign was officially announced today in a ceremony on the field.

Hollen’s donation was appreciated by Chippewa Falls Superintendent Mike Schoch.

“It’s something. It tells me that people are understanding what we’re trying to do,” Schoch said.

Hollen, who along with his wife, Geri, lives at 19412 57th Ave., said he hopes his donation will spur others.

The renovation includes installing an artificial field at Dorais, meaning that other sporting and non-sporting groups will be able to use it.

“I think this deal is good, not only for football, but for other activities,” Hollen said.

The artificial turf field would have sure come in handy when Hollen played his games.

Before Dorais was built in 1976, all football games locally were played at the Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds in Chippewa Falls.

Hollen recalls playing on the field after the fair’s stage shows were done.

“You’d find anything on that field,” he said.

And landing on a portion of the field that extended into the fair’s race track stung players.

“It was tough landing out there,” Hollen said.

It turns out the 1937 Cardinals team was talented, posting a 6-1-1 record under Coach C.B. Roels.

“We did a pretty good job,” he said.

The team tied La Crosse Central, with no score, on a muddy field. Then, on the final game of the season on Nov. 11, the Cards lost their only game of the season to Eau Claire High School, 20-13, in a rivalry that dates back to 1911.

Hollen, who played end on both offense and defense, went on to play football for the semi-pro Chippewa Marines team.

The Marines have the distinction of being the second-to-the-last semi-pro team that the Packers ever played (a game the Packers won). The pros used to have to barnstorm to supplement their meager income.

When World War II arrived, Hollen served the U.S. Marines aviation in the south Pacific from 1942-46.

He continued to play football in the service and after the war ended.

In October 1950, he was called back to the Marines during the Korean War.

He played with the Marine team in El Toro, Calif. for the remaining game of that year and for the entire 1951 season.

He also played football for the Chippewa Marines in 1952 and part of 1953.

“(I) called it quits in 1953,” he said.

Hollen said he hasn’t been to a game lately at Dorais Field, but reads about the games in the Herald and listens to them on the radio.

That’s why he decided to donate toward the field renovation.

“I hope a lot more people kick in,” he said.

How to help

Send donations for the Dorais Field renovation to: Community Foundation of Chippewa County, PO Box 153, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729. Be sure to note on the check the donation is for Dorais Field.

Or contribute online at the foundation’s Website: www.comfdncc.org.

Ellie