KERPER, John A.

KERPER, John A. (New Vienna, IA, Dec. 17,1873--Dubuque, IA, Mar. 7, 1956). Kerper is remembered for his tireless efforts to improve transportation on the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. Associated for forty years with projects on the Upper Mississippi, he has been credited with the vision for developing the riverfront. His hopes for a nine-foot CHANNEL were realized with the completion of the locks and dams. For his work, he was remembered as the "Father of the Nine-Foot Channel."

After attending district schools, Kerper enrolled in the Northern Illinois Normal School. He completed his education with a course at the Dixon Commercial College in 1891. He returned to work on the family farm for three years and then moved to Farley. There he worked until 1896 as a bookkeeper and salesman for the George McGee Lumber and Implement Company. He joined the MEUSER-SEIPPEL LUMBER COMPANY in East Dubuque in a similar capacity and followed Peter J. SEIPPEL back to Dubuque. When the PETER J. SEIPPEL LUMBER COMPANY was organized on February 25, 1904, Kerper was elected secretary. (1)

Kerper served twenty-eight years on the Dubuque Dock Board. He began as secretary of the group and then became president, a position he held until the year before his death. A charter member of the UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, he established an attendance record by never missing a meeting from the group's beginning in 1921 until February 1956. Kerper was honored by the group in 1955 when it made him its first life member. Kerper was also a former director of the Mississippi Valley Association. In February 1956, he was awarded a lifetime membership for his service as director and member of the committee on water resources and flood control.

Principally remembered for his efforts to improve river transportation, Kerper was also instrumental in the improvement of air service to Dubuque. He was one of the first to suggest the construction of a new airport for the city and often traveled to Washington, D.C. to confer with members of the Civil Aeronautics Board.

Kerper served as president of the DUBUQUE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE in 1932. In 1940 he retired as secretary of PETER J. SEIPPEL LUMBER COMPANY. The same year Kerper began the first of eleven years as the Chamber's executive secretary. During his term of office, Kerper was active in the development of the riverfront program, securing air transportation for the city and expanding local industry. His success has been measured by the industries that chose to locate in Dubuque. These include JOHN DEERE DUBUQUE WORKS and DUBUQUE STAMPING AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY. In 1950 he was the oldest past grand knight of the Knights of Columbus in Iowa. (2)

During his years as executive secretary of the Chamber, Kerper belonged to the Iowa Association of Chamber of Commerce Secretaries and the National Association of Chamber of Commerce Secretaries. He resigned from his position in 1951 to become the industrial director. In 1956 the Chamber awarded Kerper the Distinguished Service Award for his work on the Dock Board. Kerper Boulevard was named in his honor.

Kerper was one of the charter members of the Dubuque Boy Scout Council when it was first chartered in January of 1917. In November, 1922, he was one of 16 individuals that was awarded a 5-year Veteran badge by the Dubuque Council for his continuous service on the Boy Scout Executive Board since the Council originated. (3)

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Source:

1. Goodspeed, Weston Arthur. The History of Dubuque County, Iowa. Chicago : Goodspeed Historical Association, 1911, p. 539. Online: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=yale.39002006486725;view=1up;seq=599

2. "Knights Hear Early History," Telegraph Herald, March 27, 1950, p. 11. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19500327&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

3. "16 Scouts Eligible for Veteran Rank," Telegraph Herald, November 7, 1922, p. 2 andPaul Lewis