For local veterans who consider the Arlington Heights American Legion Post 208 a home away from home, volunteering their time each year to paint the aging, 92-year-old wood-sided building was a labor of love, albeit an increasingly dangerous duty.
“Many of our volunteers are Korean War veterans in their 80s, and we can’t take a chance and put these people on ladders anymore,” said Donna Locher, the bar manager at the Merle Guild Post at 121 N. Douglas Ave.
Locher is leading a grassroots fundraising effort to raise $23,000 to pay for recent repairs to the Legion hall, in particular, new vinyl siding for the building’s exterior.
“The paint was peeling all the time, so after we talked about it, we decided we had to hire someone to install vinyl siding that is low-maintenance, and will last forever,” Locher said. “We paid the contractor’s bill for the siding, and started a fundraiser to cover the costs. But we didn’t realize it would be this hard to raise the money.”
Locher said a GoFundMe campaign that was launched at gofundme.com/2e8s2cpg to raise money for the recent building improvements has stalled this month, with only $900 pledged thus far.
Another $1,800 was donated by the post’s Women’s Auxiliary, and $40 in coins and cash donations was collected in a bucket perched on the bar, Locher said.
Meanwhile, while the post building is now sporting a facelift, featuring a fresh wrapping of green vinyl siding, members are now scrambling to recoup the expenditure.
“Paying for the siding pretty much wiped out our building fund budget,” Locher said. “We’re just making ends meet.”
Founded in 1919 by members of the American Expeditionary Force in Paris, the American Legion is a service organization for veterans, service members and communities, which has grown from a group of World War I veterans into a worldwide organization with more than 2.4 million members, according to the organization’s website.
Since its founding in September 1924, the Arlington Heights post has welcomed veterans from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, as well as their families, those on active duty and community members, officials said.
The post is open seven days a week, offering everything from bingo nights, pool tournaments and Sunday family pancake breakfasts, to serving up brats and beer during the village’s annual Frontier Days Festival.
In addition to marching annually in the village’s Memorial Day and Fourth of July parades, each year the post hosts the Great Lakes Naval Recruits for Thanksgiving, visits local schools and homebound veterans on Veteran’s Day, and sponsors American Legion scholarships.
Color Guard members from the post also honor local veterans who have passed, offering a brief service and presenting a Bible to the veteran’s family.
The post’s hall is also available for public rentals, and frequently hosts weddings, birthday and anniversary parties, and a growing number of quinceaneras, 15th birthday parties, officials said.
John Raughter, a spokesman for the Indianapolis-based American Legion, said these days, about 50 percent of the 13,000 posts in the U.S. and abroad do not have their own “bricks and mortar” buildings, but instead gather in meeting rooms, restaurants or homes.
“Each post is autonomous, and we’re a very bottom-up, grassroots organization,” Raughter said, adding that the organizations rely on financial support from members and donations, and do not receive any government funding.
Arlington Heights Mayor Thomas Hayes, a West Point graduate and Army veteran, said the village’s American Legion Post plays an important role in the community, especially after the shuttering of the village’s VFW Post building on Northwest Highway several years ago.
“Just like a church, the post’s building itself is just one part of this vibrant community of veterans,” Hayes said. “The Legion hall remains an important part of the village, and I support and encourage their efforts to bring it back up to standards, as it’s a great place for the community to meet.”
Arlington Heights resident Jerry Ziobrowski, 69, and a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Viet Nam War era, said he is optimistic the community will rally behind their local post by supporting the current fundraising campaign intended to pay for building repairs.
“We’re all fixtures here, and we all have jobs to do at the hall,” said Ziobrowski, gesturing toward about two dozen visitors who gathered in the Legion hall at a recent Thursday night for the its weekly “Queen of Hearts” raffle.
“I think a lot of people in town don’t realize we’re a neighborhood place, too,” Ziobrowski added. “We have a lot of different things going on during the week that are open to the public. But we’re also a family of military people, who have a special bond with each other.”
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