 In the 1920s, Wharton was President of the Moline High School Athletic Booster Club and organized a group, the Maroon and White Association, to raise funds for construction of a field house.The field house would be adjacent to Browning Field (opened 1912) and host Moline Maroon teams.The Maroon and White Association eventually raised the necessary total of $175,000, aided by the sale of 620 $50 bonds, 100 $100 bonds and numerous bonds of higher value.