The Mary Beth and David A. Spooner Fund was established to ensure that the Chippewa Area History Center can be maintained and sustained into perpetuity. 

"It's such a wonderful asset to the community and a tribute to the people of Chippewa Falls," said Mary Beth, who was born and raised here. "It's remarkable that it was built completely with private funds, and we want funds to be there to keep it up and running."

Mary Beth and David are motorcycle enthusiasts who traveled across the country for more than 20 years, with their longest journey being Nova Scotia.

"We would spend our time exploring small towns off the beaten path. We marveled at how outstanding many of them were. Then we would come home and see that Chippewa Falls had every bit of that same charm," said Mary Beth. "It got us wondering why some small towns make it and others do not."

The Spooners came to the conclusion that it's the people and their loyal support of the community's assets that makes the difference.

"The history center is such a great complement to the area, when you think of all the events happening at the fairgrounds, our beautiful park, our wonderful schools," said Mary Beth. "These are all things that draw people here and may convince people to relocate to Chippewa Falls, where they might even become contributing members of the Community Foundation."