Donation Photo
JOSEPH AND EDWARD RYAN TRUST IS GIVING $250,000 TO THE WEST COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE NEW ATHLETIC COMPLEX
School District receives a major gift to move the project forward

WEST LIBERTY, IA – The West Liberty School District is receiving a major gift from the Joseph and Edward Ryan Trust.  The Ryan Trust Board met with Superintendent, Shaun Kruger, and Activities Director, Adam Loria, in mid-May to inform them of the decision to give $250,000 to help build the new athletic complex which will be located south of the high school.  The Ryan Trust is going to sponsor the indoor training facility which will be named for the trust.

“This is a major milestone for the project,” said Kruger. “We discussed Ryan Trust early on but didn’t expect this level of support.  This means we can start discussing planning steps for the indoor facility. 

The administrators had a lengthy meeting with the Ryan Trust Board, which includes Bob Cline, Priscilla Haessig, and Jason Cassady.  The Board manages trust distributions and meets four times a year to review funding requests and make financial awards to organizations that meet the criteria and have compelling and thorough grant applications.  Since its inception, the Ryan Trust has given over three million dollars to West Liberty Area projects.

Who are Joseph and Edward Ryan?

The Ryan family settled in the West Liberty area in the 1800s and farmed just south of Highway 6 on the West side of town heading towards Iowa City.  They were located right on the border of Johnson and Muscatine County, and the family farmhouse still stands today.

“There is a pretty yellow farmhouse on Highway 6 when you go towards Iowa City,” said Bob Cline, who knew Joe Ryan personally. “That is the Ryan family home.  The trust still owns the farm ground and rents it out.”

According to Cline, the Ryans were a conservative, hard-working farm family and members of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in West Liberty.  They had three children – two sons (Joe and Ed) and a daughter (Eileen) – and none of them married.  Joe and Ed farmed the family farm all their lives.  Eileen became a nun and Catholic school teacher and joined a convent located in Dubuque, Iowa.  Joe was the oldest, the dominant of the three children, and graduated valedictorian of West Liberty High School in 1929. 

“Joe was very quiet and hard-working,” said Cline. “He was extremely humble and smart and would do anything for anyone in need.  He didn’t spend money on himself.  In his final days on the farm, he had an old furnace that needed to be fixed, but he’d bang a chair on the floor above it each morning to fire it up instead of calling a repairman.”

Local History

The Ryan family always prioritized education and watched as West Liberty evolved as a community and school district over the years.  They witnessed the beginning of several academic and athletic programs, including the construction of the football field, Memorial Field, located on Elm Street.  This is where the football team still plays today.

“In the early days the football team played inside the racetrack at the West Liberty fairgrounds,” said Cline. “The infield was used as pasture for cows, which helped keep the grass short, and the football team would scoop manure before each game to get the field ready.  Sometimes they missed a pile.”

The West Liberty Fairgrounds is listed on the National Register of Historic Places with the National Park Service, and the track and infield are two structures that are listed in part because of the history Bob Cline relayed.

In 1952 Memorial Field was built by the school district.  World War II had ended, and the U.S. was in the middle of the Korean War.  Several West Liberty residents were veterans of the wars, including Joe Ryan who was drafted for World War II and served in Europe.  The decision was made to name the facility Memorial Field in their honor.  The last football game of the year was always played against West Branch on Veteran’s Day.  The school district plans to keep the current field and will carry the Memorial Field name to the new facility.

“We are definitely hanging on to the current football field and track,” said Kruger.  “It’s a great place for practice, youth sports, and the public uses the track for walking.  As the district grows, we will need that space.”

Early in the project, the decision was made to keep the Memorial Field name for the new football stadium.

“I didn’t know the history of the Memorial Field name until we met with the Ryan Trust,” said Activities Director, Adam Loria.  “In early committee meetings, we discussed the Memorial Field name and felt it would be best to carry it to the new facility.  After hearing this story, I’m very glad we made that decision.  This history is amazing, and I’m humbled to continue the story as Activities Director.”

The Joseph and Edward Ryan Trust

In 1934 during the Great Depression, banks were struggling, and the Ryan family was evaluating options for their savings.  Since they were right on the county line, they looked at banks in Iowa City and West Liberty, ultimately deciding on West Liberty State Bank.

“In 1934 West Liberty was a very progressive community,” said Cline.  “We had the first swimming pool in eastern Iowa, the first brick streets, our own water plant, our own electric plant.  West Liberty had a lot to offer.  Joe was easygoing

and wanted some friends and a place to play euchre, so he and his father decided to make West Liberty their home base.”

That one decision would prove monumental for West Liberty.  In 1991 Joe Ryan met with the Barclay Law firm to set up a trust for the family estate.  Having no heirs, he set up a very simple trust leaving the entire estate for the benefit of West Liberty area residents. 

“The trust was only three lines long,” said Cline.  “He wanted to do something good for West Liberty and listed education, athletics, and general well-being as his priorities.  The proceeds, interest-only, will be spent on projects that fit these criteria.  We look at how many people will be impacted and how much the organization is putting into the project itself.  We like to see at least half coming from the organization asking for funds.”

Joe Ryan died in 2003, and Bob Cline is one of the original Board members.  The trust dictates that the president of West Liberty State Bank, currently Jason Cassady, and two community members serve on the Board.  The other Board member is Priscilla Haessig, a life-long West Liberty resident, former Wilton Community School District teacher, and active community volunteer.  The Trust made its first gift to help build the new high school.

“We gave $250,000 to the school when the high school was built, and the south wing is named for the Ryans,” said Haessig.  “We considered this when deciding what to donate for the athletic complex.  Building the high school was a major step forward for the district, and we believe this project will be as well.  As a teacher, I saw the benefits firsthand.  Even if kids struggle in school, they will work hard to be eligible for extracurricular activities.”

The Board said they selected the Indoor Facility because it will impact many different athletes as well as band members and other students.  It fits the philosophy of donating to projects that reach the most people. 

The Future

The Ryan Trust has funded many important projects over the last 20 years, and the Ryan Family imprint on the community will grow as the trust continues.

“What an honor to receive this gift and to put the Ryan Family name on this project, specifically the indoor facility,” said Superintendent Shaun Kruger. “I have loved every minute of getting to know this community, and the more I learn about the history, the more it reinforces the decision I made to call West Liberty home.  I cannot thank the board members enough for the gift and the history they shared with us.”

There was no way for Joe Ryan to know the impact his incredible gift would have on the community, but his memory will live in community projects funded by the trust and the opportunity they give to tell his story.  Many people have written tributes about Joe Ryan over the years noting his extreme generosity and humble, quiet nature.  He supported needy individuals and organizations throughout his life and placed a high priority on his faith, never working on Sundays and always prioritizing service to his church.  Much can be said to sum up his life, but perhaps it was best said by his nephew, with whom he was very close.

“The dim light seen in the window of that lonely farmhouse on a dark Iowa night is now gone forever.  But the glow of Joe’s indomitable spirit will brighten the streets of his beloved West Liberty for generations to come.  He has seen to that.” – Albert Angerer, April 2003. 


Contacts:
            Shaun Kruger, West Liberty Superintendent 319-627-2116
            Adam Loria, West Liberty Activities Director 319-627-2116