Lede News took a quick look at how one area fraternal organization is surviving the pandemic and coronavirus curfew. Today, we inquire if area service organizations, particularly American Legion posts, are fairing any better.
In short? Yes. Some of the reasons for that were outlined yesterday. But the Ohio Valley supports its veterans and the good work the American Legion does.
Russell “Joe” Peters is the 11th District Commander for the state of Ohio and also mans the fort at Post 77 in Neffs. He reported both Post 77 and other legion posts in Eastern Ohio are doing well, considering.
“I’m also our district commander, so I get around to a lot of the other legion posts,” Peters said. “Overall, most of the legions are holding their own. A few are struggling in the state but not in our area.
“The larger posts are holding their own a lot better because they have more membership. My concern was for the smaller posts when this all happened, But they’ve done better than I originally thought.
“It all comes from the membership and the support they receive.”
As discussed yesterday, the Legion has some advantages in that those allowed in the building are restricted just to regular members.
Veterans make up the majority of the membership role. But the Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion members also are granted entrance to the particular post.
The increased potential visitor pool has been huge.
“When we opened back up (in June) we didn’t know what to expect, but we’re doing better than I thought,” Peters admitted. “The Legionnaires, the Auxiliary members, and the Sons have all done a great job supporting us.
“We’ve got a real great Sons’ squadron.”
District 11 Commander Russell “Joe” Peters also leads Neffs Post 77.
Money In, Money Out
The curfew alone has the legion’s overall monthly income down compared to pre-pandemic levels. Usually Post 77 closed up shop at 1 a.m. The curfew naturally put a damper into that.
But one way Post 77 has combated that restriction is to open up a few hours earlier each day. The move has paid off.
“We’re a little off track compared to where we normally are, but it’s not a major amount,” Peters said. “Our monthly intake has been pretty consistent and opening up early has really helped us.
“We open up at 3 (p.m.) instead of 5, and once people discovered that, they started coming out earlier.”
The majority of Post 77’s proceeds come from bar sales, along with the tip boards allowed by the post’s bingo license. There are not a lot of food sales, but on Thursdays, Post 77 holds a wing night.
The weekly event, which is returning after a brief holiday-timed hiatus, is popular with members.
“We make ours from our bar sales, plus we have a bingo license that allows us to sell tip boards; we do some items on a tip board; we have a license for that, and that’s a plus that helps us a lot in a month’s time to cover expense
“It’s, off track a little bit, but compared to what it could be, we notice a small amount of difference, nothing major, and our monthly intake pretty consistent. Opening up at 3 instead of five really helped us, and people know that now, so we do have some coming in earlier.
“We have some of the older members concerned, and they don’t come in as often because of the conditions, but younger groups and auxiliary have been pretty faithful.
“I’d say probably half of our business (on wing night) is take out,” Peters said. “But it’s been pretty consistent during the history of having wing night.”
Missing Out
While the local legion posts are in better shape than some of their fraternal counterparts, they have missed out on important events during the pandemic.
Chief among those missed events was the annual Memorial Day service, which had to be canceled. Peters has been involved with the legion for more than 50 years, and that’s the first time that’s happened. A few months later, Post 77 was able to put together a smaller Veteran’s Day program.
“We did have a small service on Veteran’s Day,” Peters said. “It was a little different than normal, but we were able to have something.
“The tables and chairs were set up socially distanced, but we still managed to have a decent turnout. But it was a lot different than the normal procedure.”
Peters is hoping Post 77 and others can return to normal Memorial Day services in order to honor those veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“But if that’s not a possibility, you can bet the Legionnaires, Auxiliary and Sons’ members will find a way to give those men and women their due, however modified it may be.”
