OUR STORY
More Than 90 Years of Flemish Heritage and Kewanee Community

The history of the Flemish American Club begins with Peter Moens and a few friends who wanted to organize a social club for Kewanee’s Flemish-speaking community.

Their first efforts met with opposition and discouragement, but they continued.

The group invited Henry Aerts of Chicago to Kewanee to speak about organizing a Flemish club. On Labor Day 1933, community members gathered at Kewanee City Hall to hear the idea.

Twenty-four people agreed to become members.

The following Sunday, the Club held its first meeting at the Wooden Shoe Hall and elected its first officers.

The First 1933 Officers

President: Camiel DeVriesse

Vice President: Peter Moens

Recording Secretary: Edward Beyn Jr.

Financial Secretary: Joseph Devlieger

Treasurer: Alois Van Nieuwenhuyse

Trustees: Bernard Slock, Clement Depauw and Alfonse Domien

Growth was slow but steady.

When membership reached approximately 60, the Club rented the third floor of the Eagles Hall on West Second Street.

The organization was becoming an established part of Kewanee’s Flemish community and creating opportunities for recreation, friendship and fellowship.

In 1938, the Flemish American Club celebrated its fifth anniversary.

The Club purchased an American flag and invited Belgian and Flemish clubs from other communities to join the celebration. Guests came from Moline, East Moline, Rock Island, Rockford, St. Charles, Chicago, South Bend and Mishawaka, with a delegation traveling from Detroit.

The Club’s flag was blessed by the Rev. Father Charles Frencken of St. Joseph Church.

After High Mass, a parade traveled through Kewanee’s business district. A banquet at Visitation Hall drew approximately 450 people, followed by an amateur radio program broadcast with assistance from the Moline Gazette.

Morris Beauprez
Lawrence Standaert
Julius Fontaine
Ed Goosen

back row, Edward Bisschop, color bearer; Oscar VanDerHagen, trustee; Leonard Gecrinckx, trustee; Otto Melchin. trustee; Lloyd Conner, entertainment; Theophil D'Hondt, color bearer; front row, William Burns, manager; Clementine Heaton. secretary; Maurice Lippens, president; Donna Cook, treasurer, and Paul DeCraene. vice president.

In 1941, the Flemish American Club incorporated and moved to new quarters on North Tremont Street.

That same year brought another important decision.

The Club voted to accept members of all nationalities.

According to Peter Moens’ account, membership then began growing “by leaps and bounds.”

That decision helped turn an organization created for Kewanee’s Flemish-speaking community into a Club with a much broader place in Kewanee life.

In 1948, Club members decided to build their own building at:

313 North Burr Boulevard
Kewanee, Illinois

The Club’s historical account proudly notes that the debt on the new building was paid off in a short period of time.

Members continued improving the building and purchasing new equipment through the years.

The new home supported a lively social calendar that included Rollo Bollo, shuffleboard, card games, dancing and other recreation.

The activities have changed over the decades, but gathering together has always been central to the Flemish American Club.

Historical Club materials describe dances, card games, darts, sports, dinners, holiday gatherings, ice cream socials, sweet corn boils and other member activities.

The Club has also supported the larger community by providing its ballroom for school activities and community events, including accommodations for Chamber of Commerce activities when weather moved them indoors.

Today the Flemish American Club continues that tradition of fellowship, hospitality and community involvement.