Legion Centennial
The American Legion is marking 100 years, and many of Butler County's 11 American Legion posts are making plans to commemorate the national organization's centennial, both during the actual birthday window of March 15 to 17 and throughout the rest of 2019.
Following the end of World War I, the American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization.
The Legion evolved from a group of war veterans into an influential nonprofit group, winning hundreds of benefits for the nation's veterans and producing programs for children and youth.
Today, membership stands at over 2.4 million in 14,000 posts worldwide.
“A lot of people don't realize it is a wartime veterans association; members have to have served on active duty during a time of conflict,” said Todd Rockburn, commander of American Legion Post 852 in Harrisville, as well as the Legion's Butler County Council.
Today there are 2,676 Legionnaires belonging to Butler County's Legion posts.
People often have the misconception Legion posts are little more than private bars where veterans can go to swap war stories.
“Some people have that impression,” Rockburn said. “Of the 11 posts in Butler County, only five have bars.
“The Slippery Rock post meets at the community park. The Evans City post meets in a church,” he said.He noted some of the posts themselves are as old as the national organization.Damian Hambley, commander of Slippery Rock American Legion Post 393, said, “We're going to have our 100th birthday dinner March 22. The post started in 1919.“We have 92 members, but we don't have a post home. We meet in a place in Slippery Rock Park,” he said. “They had a post home, but they sold it in 1989 before I joined.”“There is no coordinated effort with the other posts to commemorate the centennial,” Rockburn said. “A lot of posts are doing something on their own, the details are being worked out.”As for his own post in Harrisville, he said, “ We're going to have some type of dinner March 15 to honor our 50- and 60-year members.”“We are planning to have a June 29 open house with food, youth activities and a display of our history,” Rockburn said.Jim Dittmer, commander of Post 117 in Butler, said, “We're planning on doing something pretty much the same thing. It's still in the planning stage; details are being worked out.”“I will say we are planning another celebration for next year when Post 117 is 100,” Dittmer said. “When I was updating a list of past commanders, I found minutes from the first meeting in 1920.”Rockburn said the post in Butler was started in 1920.Tony Dellach, commander of Saxonburg Post 683, 754 N. Pike Road, said the post's 100 members will mark the national organization's centennial with a private event.The post's adjutant, William Rodgers, said the post was founded Oct. 5, 1937. Although the post boasts 110 members, Rodgers said the post could always use more. People who are interested in joining, Rodgers said, should call the post at 724-352-9901.And some posts are not doing anything at all.
Joe Hasychak, finance officer of American Legion Post 778 in Lyndora, said the post's 614 members have no plans to mark the centennial.Hambley said the Slippery Rock post is planning a dinner March 22 in the Slippery Rock Township Building to mark the post's 100th anniversary.“We'll also have the winners of the auxiliary's Americanism essay contest and the outstanding eighth-grade boy and girl,” Hambley said. “We'll give them certificates.”“As far as plans for the national centennial, there are none that I am aware of,” he said. “We are talking a few things over, but we are taking it one thing at a time.”Looking forwardAfter marking the American Legion's long history in Butler County, Rockburn said the posts have to turn their attention to the future.Attracting new members is a priority, Rockburn said.Not all the posts started in the county survived to mark the centennial.Posts in Boyers, Petrolia and West Sunbury all had their charters lifted, he said.“Prospect is down to 18 members and they haven't been very active,” said Rockburn. “If you drop under 15 members for two years, the national organization will consider pulling the charter.”In fact, Rockburn said, the Prospect post will meet at 2 p.m. April 6 at Michael's restaurant, 970 New Castle Road, to discuss the possibility of closing the post. Rockburn said any veteran eligible for Legion membership is welcome to attend.Keith McBride of Butler, the adjutant of West Sunbury Post 243, 1431 West Sunbury Road, was a charter member of the Prospect post when it was chartered Dec. 16, 1998.
“We had about 30 members,” McBride said. “Our first commander was Reed R. Richards. We used to meet at the fire hall and ended up at the borough building.”In contrast, Post 117 in Butler has nearly 1,800 members on its rolls, Dittmer said.“But that's counting regular members who are veterans,” he said. “And the ladies auxiliary and the Sons of the American Legion, which is sons of veterans. All three bodies add up to 1,800.”McBride said the West Sunbury post numbers 230 members, not counting social members and sons of Legionnaires.“There are a few World War II veterans, several Korean War vets and a lot of Vietnam War era members,” Rockburn said.“We have to see what the younger veterans want, change the dynamic,” he said about attracting veterans of the Gulf and Afghan conflicts.“They don't want to just sit at a bar, and I also want to get the information out because a lot of people don't know what we do, ”said Rockburn.Hambley said his post has “veterans from all eras. We have, I think, two World War II veterans. We have Korean War and Vietnam veterans.“We're getting Iraqi veterans. We've been getting some of the younger members,” he said.Hambley added that active service members or members of the National Guard or reserves who join will have their dues paid by the post.Rockburn said five Butler County posts (Butler, Lyndora, Zelienople, Harrisville and West Sunbury) have given $264,000 in 2018 to a variety of charities including $29,500 to veterans programs, $23,600 to scholarships, and $22,500 to youth programs.“Locally, we run the Vets in Need program. It goes through the Veterans administration system,” Rockburn said. “Veterans are given a place to stay. We take them good condition furniture, appliances. We set them up with refrigerators, beds.”
