KEY CITY GUN CLUB

KEY CITY GUN CLUB. This organization was first mentioned in the 1870s. Prizes were offered to members of the club for winning competitions. In April an oil painting went to the winner who hit 24 out of 30 glass balls. (1) Following the contest, a dance for club members and their wives was held at the LORIMIER HOUSE. (2)

Competitions were important events. On May 24, 1878 the Dubuque club competed in Independence, Iowa against their gun club. "Comfortable seats in the shade" were arranged for spectators of the friendly match in which there were no prizes. (3) The Key City Gun Club traveled to Ainsworth Springs on July 4, 1878 to complete for a prize medal. (4) In July 1878 a shooting contest was held by club members at the foot of 6th Street. The Wormood silver medal was won from Charles Gregorie by Fred Miller. If Miller retained it during three contests, he would be named the champion shot of the club. (5)

Competitions were also held as benefits. Volunteers working for the HOME FOR THE FRIENDLESS operated a refreshment stand and received revenue from seating in the grandstand at a meet held in July, 1878. (6) In August 1878 the Key City Gun Club challenged the DUBUQUE SHOOTING SOCIETY to a match with glass balls at the DUBUQUE DRIVING PARK. Twelve members of each club participated. The expenses of the competition were evenly divided with the proceeds being given to the HOME FOR THE FRIENDLESS. (7)

Apparently the club was dissolved and then restarted. In August, 1884 an announcement was made that the club was being organized and, in the absence of live birds, clay pigeons and glass balls would be used. Officers included Henry Drenzy, president; Henry Schwegler, vice president; and Frank Dersch, secretary. (8)

New Year's Day, 1885 witnessed trap shooting using captured black birds by the club on the levee. (9) A second competition using live birds was held in March. (10) In April the competition on the levee featured ten glass balls at eighteen yards and ten mechanical black birds at the same distance for the gold medal. (11)

On March 19, 1886 members of the Key City Gun Club competed with the JULIEN GUN CLUB. The meet was held east of the CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE, AND ST. PAUL RAILROAD roundhouse, the favored grounds of the Julien Club. A crowd estimated at 500 witnessed the event despite smoke from the shops making it "unpleasant for the marksmen." The final tally showed the Key City club had won. (12)

The club scheduled monthly shoots during 1915. The first was held on the Fincel farm along Peru Road to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of world champion Fred Gilbert of Spirit Lake in competitive shooting. (13)

The last newspaper record of the club appeared in 1916. In June a registered trapshooting tournament was scheduled for the DUBUQUE SHOOTING PARK. Among famous shooters present were Fred Whitney representing the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, Fred Guilbert of the Dupont Company, Mr. Hymer of the Hercules Powder Company and Mr. Russell of the Remington Company. Among the prizes offered were a hunting coat, a steel fishing rod, and a fountain pen. (14)

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Source:

1. "Key City Gun Club" Dubuque Herald, April 25, 1878, p. 4

2. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, April 26, 1878, p. 4

3. "Dubuque vs Independence," Dubuque Herald, May 19, 1878, p. 4

4. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, June 21, 1878, p. 4

5. "Key City Gun Club," Dubuque Herald, July 10, 1878, p. 4

6. "A Day's Sport," Dubuque Herald, July 28, 1878, p. 4

7. "Challenge," Dubuque Herald, August 3, 1878, p. 4

8. "Key City Gun Club," The Daily Herald, August 8, 1924, p. 3

9. "Trap Shooting," The Dubuque Herald, January 3, 1885, p. 4

10. "Shooting Match," The Dubuque Herald, March 31, 1885, p. 4

11. "Key City Gun Club's Shoot," The Dubuque Herald, April 21, 1885, p. 4

12. "The Shooting Contest," The Herald, March 20, 1886, p. 4

13. "Trapshooters to Compete Today," Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, March 14, 1915, p. 21

14. "Hold Registered Shoot on Friday," Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, June 18, 1916, p. 20