SPRING VALLEY – This community is coming together to fill a hole in the heart of Spring Valley created by a fire that destroyed a historic downtown building in 2017.

A courtyard with places for people to relax and interact with each other is replacing the empty space in a row of downtown buildings on the west side of South Broadway Avenue.

O’Connor Court, named after Steve and Char O’Connor, both of whom served in Vietnam, is a project of the Spring Valley Business Alliance with input from Hanson-Raabe VFW Post 4114, which owns the property.

An early morning fire on Oct. 9, 2017, didn’t injure any individuals, but it was devastating to the community.

The historic 1871 building was one of Spring Valley’s most historic properties and home to Johnny Ringo’s Bar and Grill, a popular spot for local residents. Additionally, this building was a resource for the local VFW, which once owned the building and still had a passageway from its neighboring hall.

A rough sketch of the plans for O’Connor Court shows plans for improvements to the vacant property between the VFW Hall on the right and the former Minnesota Joe’s on the left. Broadway Avenue, the main thoroughfare through downtown Spring Valley, is in front. (Drawing provided by Spring Valley Business Alliance)

Local business owner Shelly Skindelien, of the downtown pet grooming business Shiny Hiney, is taking the lead on the project for the alliance, which is also working on an overall downtown redesign among other community projects (see New Design for Downtown Spring Valley, published by Root River Current).

The courtyard is expected to enhance downtown, encourage foot traffic to local businesses and serve as a catalyst for other civic improvements as “it shows people that we’re investing in our community,” said Skindelien.

“I think it’s great that the business alliance wants to come in and take on that project,” said Spring Valley Mayor Justin Mlinar. “I’m extremely happy that the VFW is also in alignment with them and willing to allow them to come in and do that.”

“It’s a great addition to not only our downtown, but our entire town. Anytime that we can make a small portion of our town brighter, happier, more well-used, it benefits everybody,” Mlinar said.

Surrounding a central patio in O’Connor Court will be newly-designed landscaping, lighting, picnic tables and benches – even a ‘little free library’ is envisioned.

Accessibility for all is another consideration, and the planners welcome additional ideas from the public as development continues (additional details can be found below).

“We want it to be kind of just a relaxing spot for anybody to use anytime they’re downtown,” said Skindelien. “We’re looking for ideas,” she continued. “We’re looking to see what the community wants there.”

Following a 2017 fire, this vacant property left a gap in the row of buildings in downtown Spring Valley. (Photo by David Phillips)

Losing historic building ‘sparked’ new ideas

Spring Valley, which has several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, lost one of its gems in the 2017 fire.

The building, known as the Parsons Block and Hall, was built in 1871 for Emilus Parsons, a prosperous local real estate investor. It is significant both for its architecture and for its function as an important commercial, social and theatrical center for Spring Valley, according to a Minnesota historic properties inventory form compiled by Robert Frame of the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in 1980 when the building was owned by the VFW.

A 2006 photo taken for the Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway shows the former Parsons building in downtown Spring Valley. (Photo by A. E. Crane of the U.S. Department of Transportation)

“It was constructed at a time of great prosperity and expansion in the community, and represents the epitome of commercial development for that period,” stated Frame’s report. “Designed in a local commercial version of High Victorian Italianate, it employed expensive local materials and craftsmanship and was considered the finest structure in the area when completed.”

The building, with a second-floor meeting hall, had elaborate cornice, rusticated stone on the second level, and cut stone and cast-iron columns at the street level, which gave the exterior an ornate appearance.

The VFW owned the building for many years but decided it would rather focus on veterans’ issues rather than running a bar, so EKK Properties, owned by Matt and Aaron Kolling, and James Essig, purchased the building from the VFW. The group leased it to Ray Jacobson, who opened Johnny Ringo’s in 2007.

The VFW post operated out of the building next door, which had an entrance into Johnny Ringo’s that people could use for food and drinks during events or other activities at the VFW Hall.

VFW gets property back

After the fire, EKK cleaned up the property, which spanned two lots, and decided to donate it back to the VFW, according to Matt Kolling.

“When we bought that building from the VFW, we never really thought that it was really ours per se,” said Kolling. “It was just basically because the VFW couldn’t make it anymore.

“But I always thought that that should really be theirs, honestly. And when it burned down, we really didn’t have a use for those lots . . . so I just thought it would be a good fit.”

The VFW accepted the donation, but didn’t have a plan on how to use the property. There were some ideas, such as a veterans memorial that is now being set up on another property. The VFW did put a deck on the property, using the former entrance to Johnny Ringo’s, but it didn’t have the people-power or funds to further develop the property on its own.

“It just kind of sat stagnant again with really no plan and then basically Spring Valley Business Alliance approached us — and they drew up all the plans and had all the ideas — and basically they just pitched it to us and it’s all we had to do was have the membership vote yes or no,” said Ryan Thon, charitable gambling manager of the post for the past 11 years.

Although Thon doesn’t recall any ‘no’ votes after the presentation in April, he said there was a lot of discussion because it was a big project presented to the membership.

VFW settles on name in honor of local couple

The next big vote for the VFW was in August to decide on a name, a task the alliance left entirely to the VFW. Thon said there are many important VFW members who could have been worthy of the title, but the O’Connor family stood out because of all they had done in recent decades.

Although Steve O’Connor held important district and state positions, he was also extremely involved locally. He was an excellent public relations person, said Thon, and he had a good working knowledge of all aspects of the post, helping out with the rules in running meetings and filling in positions that became open.

“But Steve did a lot of other stuff,” added Thon. “He did Light a Tyke during Halloween, and he was always down here for the steak feed that we would do in August, marinating steaks, doing baked potatoes, and he’d be working it. And he was always here volunteering for anything we had. So, he was a very dedicated and instrumental part of this post.”

Workers started on the O’Connor Court project during the second week of September. The white lines show the sidewalk leading from the main street through the court while the circle outlines the patio in the middle of the property. (Photo by David Phillips)

It wasn’t just Steve, though, emphasized Thon. Besides being very supportive of Steve, Char, also a member of the post, showed dedication as a young woman by joining the service and requesting to go to Vietnam.

“Char is a very rare breed when it comes to a female service member, especially back in Vietnam and pre-era times because females really weren’t allowed on the front lines. They didn’t really want them in-country,” said Thon.

About 2.7 million service members were deployed to Vietnam, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but Char was one of just approximately 7,500 women stationed in Vietnam during the war.

Pieces coming together for court

Char had no idea the VFW was considering naming the green space after her and Steve until after the decision was made, just a week before groundbreaking. When she was informed, she thought they were going to make it a memorial park, but she told them she didn’t particularly like that idea.

“When they decided on O’Connor Court, I think that has a better connotation,” she said. “It sounds more upbeat than a memorial park.”

Once she saw the plans, she was enthused, noting it’s “a nice spot there” that will have many uses, ranging from events at the VFW Hall, such as weddings, reunions and graduations, as well as for community activities.

Mlinar wasn’t a city official at the time of the fire, but he also likes the concept, saying it would have been really hard to find someone to build a storefront on downtown lots that are squeezed in between two older existing buildings.

“It’s not impossible, but it appeared that it was going to be a green space forever. So that was sort of just the logical path to take is to make it permanent and spruce it up to where people would want to use it and have a picnic there, just hang out, or rest after a run or a walk,” he said.

Skindelien never dreamed this project would advance so quickly from that proposal in April, but she said several grants came through right away and things fell into place. Workers were already on the site during the second week of September.

She said she also feels this project will be a catalyst for other community improvements. “I hope it’s inspiring other things in our community to get done,” she said.

“You just start seeing some of the other community organizations getting more involved in doing things, too, whether it be the school or the community or just things that are needed. I think it inspires all of us to do better for our citizens.”

Community members from various organizations were recognized at the groundbreaking. The major contribution has been from the Spring Valley Area Community Foundation, which provided an oversized version for the event. (Photo by David Phillips)

Community impact, support for project

Although the project will benefit the entire community, Skindelien noted that in addition to visitors in town using the space, there are 36 businesses located downtown and she can envision customers of those businesses, no matter what type they are, using the court.

“People come to our place and they might not want to leave town because they only have to wait an hour,” she said, “so they will have somewhere where they can go sit or read or just relax for an hour.”

The major donation so far has been a $25,000 grant from the Spring Valley Area Community Foundation, which Skindelien said is, in a way, “community money” since it is from local donors. The VFW has also contributed a significant amount, and the alliance is applying for other funds.

The Alliance had raised, through grants and donations, about $46,000, which is enough to cover the hardscaping and other initial improvements that will be going in this fall, noted Skindelien.

The group is still working on funding for the lighting, electrical and landscaping. Likely, the landscaping will be done next spring.

Additional details will roll out as planning continues – and before you know it, community residents, business patrons and visitors will be seen and heard enjoying themselves, appreciating all that the new O’Connor Court has to offer.

The Couple Behind the Naming

Steve O’Connor, from Wichita, Kansas, and Char (Abbott) O’Connor, who grew up in LeRoy, Minn., met in San Francisco, where the two were stationed at the Presidio, an Army base that is now part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The two were there to take a specialty operating room nurses course.

They started dating, and when Steve got his orders to report to Vietnam, Char also put in for her orders, arriving a month after Steve. In Vietnam, they first served in different locations, but Steve was eventually transferred to Vung Tau, where Char was located.

Army officials told them that only if they were married would they try to keep them together, Char said, so they decided to wed in Vietnam in June 1967. That required military authority, which meant finding a way to get to Saigon and walking their paperwork through the various departments. Once they got approval, Steve found a Chinook helicopter going back to Vung Tau to hitch a ride so they could wed the next day.

 After a year in Vietnam, the O’Connors came back to the United States. When Char became pregnant, she had to leave the military, which was standard practice back then. Meanwhile, Steve decided to make a career in the service. Sean, the couple’s first child, was born while the couple was at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri in 1969

O’Connors have many years of service

When Steve was attending the University of Minnesota for his master’s degree in nursing administration, the family bought an acreage north of Spring Valley in 1981 to build a house. However, after getting his degree, the Army called him back to San Francisco for Steve to become the operating room supervisor at Letterman General Hospital, which is now closed. Then they went to San Antonio, where Steve became the director of the Army operating room technician course.

Char and Steve O’Connor take some time away from their many local activities to enjoy a VFW cruise around 2003. (Photo courtesy of Char O’Connor)

The couple made a lot of moves as Steve worked at many facilities across the United States, including Walter Reed National Military Medical Center just outside Washington, D.C.

“We lived in a lot of places,” said Char. “We teased our kids about it. If they came home and we’d taken pictures off the wall for some reason, they thought we were moving.”

Steve retired from the Army in 1986, and the family returned to Spring Valley. They raised sheep, finding a niche market for Middle Eastern people who would use their facility for halal slaughter, which is governed by Islamic dietary law.

Steve also became quite involved in the VFW, serving as commander of the local post several times and going on to serve as district and state commander.

In 1988, he was selected to serve on the newly formed State Veterans Home board of directors by Gov. Rudy Perpich, who wanted veterans to oversee operations of the homes in Minnesota, which were having staffing and quality control problems. He served for about 10 years, some of that time as chairman.

He was also an advocate for veterans’ causes, serving on committees in both St. Paul and Washington, D.C.

Char worked at the Stewartville Care Center for 29 years, retiring about 10 years ago. She is also a VFW member and is responsible for scheduling the VFW Hall.

The couple moved into the City of Spring Valley in 2006. Around 2013, Steve was diagnosed with lung cancer and in January 2023, he died.

The O’Connors’ children followed in their military and healthcare footsteps. Sean, who lives in the Philippines, has retired from the Army Special Forces after serving time in Desert Storm and then Afghanistan. Katie and Brian both live in Spring Valley, working in the health field at Mayo Clinic.

O’Connor Court will have Curbside Appeal, Amenities

Plans for Spring Valley’s new O’Connor Court begin with a central patio, a line of arborvitae to block wind, other trees spaced throughout the property, three light poles, picnic tables, at least four benches permanently mounted around the outside of the patio, planters and a pergola over part of the existing deck that extends from the VFW Hall, which is the building on the north side of the green space.

Permanent benches will also be located along the outside of the deck, and an 18-inch tall brick legacy wall with caps on top will line the front of the property on both sides of the flagpole to provide casual seating.

Other additions are a little free library that the Friends of the Spring Valley Public Library is putting together and a dog station with bags for dog waste. A possible addition being considered is a mural on the building to the south.

Jason Howard with JJBK Construction is acting as the project manager. Todd Ihrke from the Tree House is doing the retaining walls and landscaping, while Scott McConnell from McConnell Electric is doing the electrical work and O’Connell Excavating is doing the grading.

O’Connor Court will add a new dimension to downtown Spring Valley. (Photo by David Phillips)

Aesthetic improvements, practical applications

The handicapped-accessible concrete paths in the court will tie into the Broadway Avenue sidewalk as they extend through the property to the patio, deck and concrete pad in back for parking. There will be recessed lighting in the concrete sidewalk and patio.

The light poles and the area around the deck will have electrical outlets, while the front wall will have a 50-amp service, which will be useful for vendors during the monthly Wednesdays on Broadway, the popcorn wagon and special events that may be held downtown, which has a few places to plug in for temporary uses.

The flagpole will have a planter around the base. Just behind the pole will be an area with recessed bricks that people can make donations in memory or honor of someone to help fund the project.

The alliance is also seeking sponsors for memorial trees, benches and picnic tables, which will have plaques noting these contributions.

Plans are still a bit fluid, though. For example, the central patio is 21 feet in diameter with an outlet in the middle, so the alliance is considering putting in seasonal art installations or perhaps a Christmas tree that can stay lit up during the holidays.

The Spring Valley Business Alliance welcomes your ideas, questions and suggestions.