We celebrate a notable anniversary this month. Sixty years ago, our building opened as Marion's first full-scale YMCA athletic facility. We also note an even more amazing milestone: 150 years of service to Marion and surrounding communities by the Cedar Rapids YMCA--not many organizations can claim that!

Efforts to bring the YMCA to Linn county began in Marion in 1866, but organizers had trouble finding suitable space. Support from local pastors was lukewarm and the project fizzled. Supporters reorganized in May 1868 and opened at 6th Ave. and 11th St., where the library is today, on the second floor of a new Smyth Building. One large room accommodated prayer meetings and lectures; a second smaller space served as a reading room and was stocked with newspapers, magazines and 150 donated books. Sports didn't figure in the Y's mission then.

Organizers followed a script that had been successful for hundreds of Y's in the East and about 20 other Iowa communities-create a welcoming environment that would attract young immigrants and farm boys coming to town looking for work. Instead of jobs the young men often found trouble-- idleness, alcohol, tobacco, etc. Y's offered referrals to respectable boarding houses, job lists, community connections, instant friends and a religious atmosphere reminiscent of home.

Thirty-five Marionites signed up. They arranged educational lectures, created Marion's first public library, organized fund-raisers and participated in State and local YMCA conventions. They visited the jail and poor farm looking after the needy. But, the degrading conditions of city life didn't exist in Marion. Parents, pastors and public pressure kept local youths in line. Newcomers looking for "action" didn't stay in Marion. They saw we had more churches than saloons and went straight to Cedar Rapids! Marion's YMCA folded after just a couple of years. Members' energy could be better spent elsewhere, and for the next few decades the CR Y served as our center for services.

The YMCA wasn't the only organization created after the Civil War to address "big city" risks. A Young Men's Lecture Association formed in Cedar Rapids c.a. 1865, offering poetry, dramatic readings and other cultural entertainment in Baptist Hall. A Young Men's Library Association formed c.a. 1866 and operated through1869, offering Lyseum-type lectures and entertainments. The Young Men's Association of Cedar Rapids offered the closest competition to the YMCA. It was organized in 1866 to provide "literary and scientific lectures," a reading room, and other means to promote "moral and intellectual improvement" of young men. (Cedar Vally Times, November 29, 1866). They disappeared after 1871. The Cedar Rapids YMCA was established in 1868. They rented rooms on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 2nd St. SE, and their priorities were the same as the Marion Y's--prayer meetings, temperance lectures and adult education.

Why did the YMCA succeed when others failed? Communication, #1. Regular regional and national meetings with published reports ensured shared knowledge about lessons learned. #2, promoting from within. It's almost impossible to trace the movements of our early YMCA secretaries they moved to new or larger communities so often. #3, adaptability. With a focus on mission rather than dogma, Y leaders were quick to embrace anything that worked, including sports, when they learned it drew more young men than prayer meetings.

The YMCA latched on to a 19th century movement known today as "Muscular Christianity." It promoted participation in sports, especially team sports, for the development of healthy young men who would become the country's future political, business and social leaders. Strong wills and bodies were needed to subdue the earth, conquer evil and advance righteous causes. Many aspects of our present-day obsession with sports and physical fitness can be traced to the programs reformers started at this time.

The modern Marion YMCA movement started in 1953 when a group of Marion citizens organized a youth center in the basement of the Christie (Maid-Rite) building on the corner of 7th Avenue and 10th St. In May the group announced it would affiliate with the Cedar Rapids YMCA, and with that secured funding. In Sept. the Marion YMCA Youth Center opened as the first official branch of the CR Y. Programs included dances, craft classes, music and games. They also supervised summer playground activities and winter ice skating.

It soon became clear a larger facility was needed, and in the spring of 1958 the old Baptist church was purchased. The Cedar Rapids YMCA provided over 60% of the funding for the $21,000 acquisition. The building opened in Nov. 1958 and featured shuffleboard, badminton, volleyball, trampoline and other gym activities. In its five years of operation, the Marion Y served as a focal point for numerous local sports activities, including church softball and volleyball leagues, an Industrial Basketball League, judo classes, girls baton, tap and ballet classes, the Annual Free Throw Contest, and other outings; it sponsored an annual Winter Carnival in Thomas Park and a youth summer camp program, in addition to serving as a general purpose community center for art classes, teen dances, boys & girls crafts, club meetings, and for the ladies, lessons in cake decorating, bridge and knitting.

Just two years after opening the Marion branch Y, the organization signed an option to purchase a five acre lot on the NE corner of 10th Avenue and 31st St.--the current site. The new building opened in January, 1964. Again, the CR YMCA was instrumental, committing to match the funds raised in Marion 4:1, but in fact, contributing much more. The pool came in an expansion six years later.

In 2017 the YMCA announced a $20 million capital campaign to build a new facility that would more than double available space and allow the Y to continue serving the community with the programs and services they have offered for 150 years.

Learn more about the history of the YMCA in the current Marion Heritage Center exhibition: 150 Years of Marion Sports. Tours are available and admission is always free courtesy of the the McIntyre Foundation. ... See MoreSee Less

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