Work Begins on Library Expansion Funded by Son of Coal Miners

The son of two immigrants -- who succeeded in business and left the city of Waukee nearly three-quarters of a million dollars upon his death -- was remembered last week at a ground-breaking for an expansion of the Waukee library. 

The City of Waukee broke ground on the Hiram Ori Conference Center Tuesday, with a ceremony at the Waukee Public Library, 950 Warrior Lane.

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Members of the Hiram Ori family were asked to speak, along with Waukee Mayor Bill Peard and Library Board member Jason Craig. 

The groundbreaking ceremony will kick off the project that will construct a coal mine museum and conference room at the Waukee Public Library.

The late Hiram Ori, a former resident of the Shuler Mine Coal Camp, donated about $700,000 to the library in late 2011. Ori served in the Army in both World War II and the Korean War, then worked for Coors Brewing Co. in Colorado. He is survived by a brother, Richard, of Clive, and two sisters, Olga and Yolanda. Ori never married and had no children.

Our Earlier Story:

Shuler Mine Worker Wills Half a Million Dollars to Waukee Public Library