History

American Legion Post 176 - Advocate Excerpts

Annandale American Legion Post No. 176
Annandale Advocate Newspaper Articles Excerpts

1-1-1920 – Local post has largest membership of any post in county – Membership reached ninety yesterday. Slowly but surely we are climbing toward the century mark. Basketball: Thus far we’ve won every game we’ve played.

1-8-1920 – Legion passed resolution favoring new schoolhouse.

11-15-1920 – Legion play a great success.

4-15-1920 – Legion boys to banquet. All members and ex-service men should attend this big gathering.

11-25-1920 – The members of the Post and community will be glad to know that arrangements are almost completed whereby we will have our permanent headquarters in the Odd Fellows Hall.

3-3-1921 - Disclaimer. Election Day there originated a rumor purporting that one of the tickets, the one not drawn up by the caucus, was a Legion ticket. The ticket mentioned above was an independent ticket and had nothing to do with the Legion. We want it understood that when the Legion puts up a ticket, it will not be afraid to tell the public about it.

5-26-1921 – There may still be time to obtain your Victory Medal for Memorial Day if you bring in your discharge certificate right away.

9-29-1921 – Officers: E. E. Dunton, Commander; Herman Muehring, Vice Commander; Harry A. Lano, Adjutant; T. C. Lee, Treasurer; Geo. H. Norris, Edward L. Kurz and John P. Hoikka, Executive Committee.

10-9-1921 – Next meeting of the Post at Headquarters, Wednesday October 12, 8 o’clock. All men having rifles assigned to them are to bring them in to this meeting without fail so that the decree of the annual meeting can be carried out without delay.

2-2-1922 – The Legion boys were hosts at a Smoker on Tuesday evening at their hall. The businessmen, with one or two exceptions, were present. The time was spent socially, including several speeches, and lunch was served by the boys.

1-11-1923 – Under the auspices of the American Legion, a skating rink has been provided for the people of our community. A large space on the lake at the end of Oak Avenue has been cleared and partly enclosed with canvas. It has been flooded and will be lighted.

2-15-1923 – The American Legion moved from the I.O.O.F. Hall to the court room in the village hall on Wednesday.

2-15-1923 – On February 20 the American Legion boys will hold a public supper and rally.

3-9-1923 – The Annandale Legion boys are putting on a patriotic movie show at the Grand Theater on Monday evening in order to raise funds for their organization.

3-29-1923 – Legion and Auxiliary in three act comedy, “Diamonds and Hearts.”

3-29-1923 – Band organized by Legion Post - Last Monday evening a majority of our prominent musicians and citizens met at the American Legion room in the village hall for the purpose of organizing a band.

5-29-1923 – Official Poppy Day, Sat. May 20^th.

10-29-1925 – Armistice Day to be observed. Annandale Legion Post plans big day and evening for November 11th.

7-30-1925 – Free Legion Rally.

8-20-1925 – List of subscribers to the American Legion Endowment Fund.

11-10-1927 – Legion rally of all posts of the western end of the tenth district to be held at Annandale. The following posts will be represented: Howard Lake, Cokato, Maple Plain, Buffalo, Delano, Maple Lake, Monticello, Clearwater and Annandale

3-7-1929 – Legion play, “The Teapot Domes.”

10-31-1929 – Officers: Commander, Jack Maurice; V. Commander, John Logeais; Adjutant, E. L. Kurz; Sec.-Treas., G. H. Norris.

9-16-1930 – The Annandale Post No. 176 of the American Legion will hold their first annual meeting next Monday evening Sept. 20^th at the Village Hall. The adoption of a Post ritual and question of a building for Post Headquarters and other issues will be dealt with.

10-6-1932 – Armistice Day - The American Legion will have charge of the program as usual, but this year instead of the funds being put into the Legion’s treasury to be used for their own good work, the proceeds will be placed in a special fund to be used for needy children of Annandale and vicinity.

11-17-1932 – Legion sponsors Armistice Day Program. The Armistice Day program at the school Friday afternoon was very well attended. The school band under the direction of Mr. Leraas opened the program. Rev. C. H. Blake delivered an address. Following this program school was dismissed for the day and the crowd proceeded to the village hall, where a musical concert was in progress, a rummage sale was being held, and an opportunity was given of winning a turkey, goose or duck. The evening was given over to a dance, which brought out a large crowd.

11-23-1933 – The American Legion and Auxiliary wish to say, “Thank You,” for the splendid spirit of cooperation and good will which they received in their Armistice Day program. The total receipts of the day were $118.68, which will aid greatly in their endeavor to supply clothing for the needy children of Annandale and vicinity.

2-8-2011 -- Annandale’s 91-year-old American Legion post has decided to go out of business. Members of Post No. 176, which was organized in 1919 and chartered in 1920, agreed at a meeting last week to retire the number and turn the membership over to the Maple Lake post, Commander Dave Connelly said. The move is meeting resistance at higher levels of the national veterans organization, which might try to recruit some new members, Connelly said, but he expects the members’ decision to prevail.

Disbanding the post won’t affect the Annandale Honor Guard, which appears at veterans’ funerals and the Annandale Memorial Day parade, he said. Connelly and treasurer Ed Kaz called the meeting Tuesday, Feb. 1, to either get more participation from the post’s 16 or so other members or to discuss dissolving it. "Basically we decided we’re going to return the post number and we’re going to transfer all membership over to Maple Lake," Connelly said after the meeting, which he, Kaz and four other members attended. None of the others wanted to take over the commander’s job, which Connelly has held for about 15 years, or fill other vacant offices. Everyone there agreed with the decision to disband, he said, and Maple Lake will accept the members.

When he contacted the state office about how to retire the post number, Connelly learned the district might try to recruit more members in the area, though the post’s efforts were unsuccessful. But "more than likely" the post will be dissolved, he said. Legion officials "hate to see a post number retired from such a large community," and that has just occurred at Rockford. "I highly doubt that the district can do anything different than we’ve done." The process of disbanding will take a few months, he said, since it has to be approved at the district, state and national levels.

Though it was formed by a Legion member, the honor guard is a group of veterans who aren’t affiliated with the Legion, and shutting down the post won’t affect it, Connelly said. Kaz, a 39-year member of the Annandale post, was asked whether the decision to disband disappointed him. "It does and it doesn’t," he said. "We have to use common sense. If we’re not getting participation here we might as well join Maple Lake and get better participation." Kaz said the Legion was slightly more active when he joined in 1972, but it hasn’t been active most of that time. It has always participated in the annual Memorial Day Parade, and Kaz was the master of ceremonies at the service in Woodlawn Cemetery for many years until last year.

The Legion shared a building with the Annandale Veterans of Foreign Wars, Kaz said, until the VFW merged with Maple Lake more than a decade ago and sold the building, now occupied by Tootsies Bar & Grill. A framed document listing numerous members of the Annandale post when the charter was applied for in September 1919, just months after the American Legion was proposed, hangs on the wall of his hardware store office. Kaz dug the charter out of storage last week and wiped the dust off the ornate frame. It said the charter was granted in August 1920. He told the Annandale History Club last year that World War I and World War II veterans were very active in the Legion, but some Vietnam War vets didn’t feel welcome. Today’s veterans aren’t joiners, he said then, and the Annandale post was having trouble getting new members.