We have our new slate of officers for the 2009/2010 year;
Bill Matthews, Commander; Bill Miller, 1st vice commander; Mark Eklund, 2nd
vice Commander; Mark Weldon, adjutant; Jack Bigler, Finance officer; Leonard
Badertscher, Sgt-at-Arms; John Tsocheff, Historian; and Louis Callen,
Chaplain.
Installation of the above officers was June 6, 2009 at The
Post with Department of Ohio 2nd Vice Commander Dennis Clausing as the
installing officer and guest speaker for the evening. Many thanks to Rich
Thatcher commander this past year, Rich you did a great job and it was a
pleasure serving as your 1st Vice Commander.
My first meeting as Commander was June 9, D-Day something
that will help me to always remember my first meeting as Commander.
July and August are light months for the Legion; however the
Red Cross Bloodmobile will be at the Post from 12 noon until 6:00 p.m. on July
22nd. If you care to donate come in during these hours the Red Cross is
always in need of blood. Help us to make this a very successful blood
drive by your donation.
My wife Kathryn and I will still be sending Care Packages
from our Post. As of this writing we have sent 156 packages since
09/06/2006. We have lots of addresses and are in need of donations of
items to put into the packages. There will be a list of items that we need
at the Post on our bulletin board with extra copies that you can take with you
shopping. All donations are very much appreciated.
Congratulations to Martha Lee Thatcher. By the time you
read this column Martha Lee will have been installed as Ohio's State American
Legion Auxiliary President. She is well deserving of this great office in
the Auxiliary. All members of this Post should be proud that we now have a
member of our Post to obtain this high office in the State of Ohio. Great
Job Martha Lee and we know you will do a great job as their president.
Our next regular meeting will be Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00
p.m. Hope to see you there.
The following letter was mailed to the Massillon Independent Newspaper
The American Legion
Massillon Post 221
427 Lincoln Way East
P.O. Box 757
Massillon, Ohio 44648
330-833-4545
Massillon Independent Editor:
My name is Jack L. Bigler and I am the finance officer of Massillon
American Legion Post 221.
As finance officer, on April 15th, I issued a donation check to the
Vietnam Memorial in Clinton, Ohio.
On the day that the memorial was dedicated the following members of
Massillon Post 221 were in attendance.
Commander Charles R. Thatcher, his wife, Martha Lee Thatcher who is the
1st Vice President of the American Legion Department of Ohio Auxiliary, the
1st Division Commander William J. Stevenson, his wife Janice Stevenson who
is the incoming American Legion Tenth District Auxiliary President who sang
at the event, eight members of the Massillon Chapter of the American Legion
Riders Organization plus other regular Legion members.
A simple phone call to our organization could have verified this
information.
Instead you felt it was more important to allow an unknown source insult
two very fine Veteran Organizations.
There is nothing that can be done to erase the thoughts from the minds of
those who read the enclosed article which I consider to be bad journalism.
-Jack L. Bigler, Finance Officer
Thank you, Thank you
To all who helped place U.S. flags on the graves of our
local veterans in Rose Hill Cemetery for Memorial Day. This was a huge
task and it took every one of you to get it done. In previous years we
have had 40+ volunteers; this year that number dwindled to less than 25.
The day was sunny with a nice breeze, but the ground was
hard due to the lack of rain. It was a back-breaking task to create a
hole in the ground and place the flag. We all learned the hard way
that a special tool is needed for this project. I can only promise
those of you hardy enough (and willing) to return next year that we will
have such a tool for every section of the cemetery.
With the help of Boy Scout Troop 16, Cub Pack 916 and
(approximately) 20 Post 221 members the flags were all in place by 6:30 P.M.
on Friday the 22nd. And the cemetery looked beautiful!
Again, thank you for a job well done.
-Marhta Lee & C. Richard Thatcher
S.A.L. NEWS FOR JULY/AUGUST
Hello all!
Another year has gone by and we are ready to start a new
one. I hope that this year goes as well as the last. The new
officers for 2009-2010 are:
Bob Lunsford, Commander
Jack Dedmon, 1st Vice Commander
Bob Hookey, 2nd Vice Commander
Francis Benjamin, Jr., Adjutant
Bob Emmert, FInance Officer
Justin Bretz, Sgt. at Arms
Charles Stevenson, Asst. Sgt. at Arms
Jody Stevenson, Chaplain
Welcome new members: Ray Heintzelman, Glen
Buttacavoli, and Kaiden R. Badertscher.
Don't forget the steak fry on July 11th. Come out
and enjoy the fun.
Our next meeting is July 8th at 7pm. Please try to
attend.
Dues are now being accepted for 2009-2010.
Our new year started on June 1, 2009.
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS
-Bob Lunsford, Commander Squadron 221
MESSAGE FROM AUXILIARY PRESIDENT, UNIT 221
Greetings! The
summer season is off and running! We will have our regular meetings
for the month of July and August. Our Department Convention was held
June 26, 27, and 28, 2009. Unit #221's own Martha Lee Thatcher was
installed Department President. I had the honor of being a part of her
installation and Post #221's Color Guard posted the colors. It was a
great weekend and we are so proud of Martha Lee. The next time that
you see her, congratulate her. She deserves it. I was also
honored to be installed as 10th District President. I am thrilled to
serve this unit and the Great 10th District. Our unit is very active
and we would love for you to join us and work to improve the lives of our
veterans and their families. Please join us and support our American
Legion family this summer!!
-Janice Stevenson, President Unit #221
John Tsocheff Memorial Museum and Library - July/August
2009
From Estate of Fred E. Salhany - Staff Sgt. 253rd
Armed FA BN Army uniform with 2 pair of pants, complete with suspenders.
One Army winter overcoat, Legion cap, 10th District Comm. cap, American
Legion Post 436 Greentown, Ohio Legion uniform complete with jacket and
pants and Past Commander cap; one 40et 8.
Also, Legion cap 1st Division Commander 1989-1990, 10th
District Ohio Legion cap.
Stark County, Ohio 1988-1990 436. 40et 8 cap 10th
District Ohio
From John Tsocheff - One full pack WW2 vendor's
stamps; 2 cent
From Rosanne Miller - Many pictures of her dad
John B. Boylan and her uncle Robert P. Boylan. Both is U.S. Army 1942,
1943, 1944 Air Force - Too many articles and pictures to write about so I
put it all in book format. It will be in the museum.
Please! If you haven't given Post 221 a copy of
your DD214-discharge papers for the museum, please do so. It is so
important for your relative when you expire. If you can't find copies
of your DD214 locally, you won't get them in time for the funeral.
On June 1, 2009, the Bob Williams family from the U.K.
toured the museum. Nice family.
Please! If you find any articles in any newspaper
pertaining to American Legion Post 221, cut it out with the date and
identify the paper. Leave it at the Legion for the Historian.
Thanks!
DID YOU KNOW?
The Town Meeting: American free government at work
in its simplest form. Suppose the town needs a new sidewalk. The
citizens come together; the doctor, barber, telephone man, housewife etc. to
decide if they will tax themselves to pay for the improvement. Each
person is free to speak and cast his vote for or against it. Then they
act as the majority decides. This basic American tradition of free
government came with our first settlers. I think things are changing
and I find more and more things are decided for us and all we get is the
bill to pay.
-John Tsocheff, Historian
We would like to extend a very heartfelt "THANK YOU" to
everyone who helped make our Poppy program such a success this year!
This includes those who contributed money to our Poppy
letters, cans, and plates, and the volunteers who gave their time to help
with our Poppy distribution, and the merchants who allowed us to be at their
establishments for this distribution:
T. Meldrum's, Giant Eagle, and Wal-Mart.
To date we have collected a total of $4,861.00.
This will allow us to aid many needy veterans and their families in the
coming year. Thank you again.
-Poppy Committee, Unit 221 Auxiliary
AMERICAN LEGION RIDERS
Some of our riders are planning on visiting different Post
in the 10th District to possibly recruit new members. Riders do not
have to belong to Post 221 in Massillon to join our American Legion Riders
group. Prospective members just need to be a member in good standing
of any American Legion, Auxiliary, or SAL. We not only enjoy planned
rides and activities throughout the year but we also serve the Legion in
other capacities. We are still serving our American Legion and our
country.
We will have bikes in the Massillon Cruise In on
Saturday, June 20th. Please come down and talk to our members about
our organization and what we are all about.
A number of our members are planning on joining the
Legacy Run into Louisville, Kentucky on the weekend of August 21st to the
23rd. the 1200 mile Legacy Run starts in Indianapolis on August 18th
and travels through Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia,
and Kentucky. We will meet the other riders in Charleston, West
Virginia and ride into Louisville, Kentucky to the National American Legion
Convention where we will lead the Convention Parade on Sunday, August 23.
It should be a fun filled weekend. Come join us!
-Sam "Big Sam" Postlethwait, Director
RICHARD M. LONGWORTH SR. AMERICAN LEGION GOLF CLASSIC
Hello Everyone,
Summer is here, so let's play golf. This year's
outing will be played on Saturday, July 18th at 1:00pm at the Elms Country
Club. The cost is $35 for 9 holes, cart, food, beverage, and loads of
fun. Please pay at the time you sign up in the Post Tavern. Hope
to see you there.
-Dick & Jack Longworth
July/August Tavern News
ATTENTION MEMBERS! YOU MUST HAVE YOUR MEMBERSHIP CARD WITH YOU TO BE SERVED ALCOHOL, NO EXCEPTIONS! NO CARD - NO SERVICE - THE LEGION IS A NON-SMOKING FACILITY
| HOURS: SUNDAY |
11 A.M. TILL 11 P.M. |
| MONDAY-THURSDAY |
12 P.M. TILL 12 A.M. |
| FRIDAY FISH FRY |
4-8 P.M. |
| FRIDAY SPECIAL: JULY - CITY CHICKEN; AUGUST - SWISS STEAK |
|
WEDNESDAY SPECIALS
| JULY 1 |
- |
STUFFED PORK CHOPS |
| JULY 8 |
- |
MEAT LOAF |
| JULY 15 |
- |
LIVER & ONIONS |
| JULY 22 |
- |
STUFFED PEPPERS |
| AUG 5 |
- |
GREEN BEANS & HAM |
| AUG 12 |
- |
CHEF SALAD W/CHICKEN |
| AUG 19 |
- |
MEAT LOAF |
| AUG 22 |
- |
SAUSAGE SAND AND FRIES |
| AUG 29 |
- |
LASAGNA & GARLIC BREAD |
EVERY MONDAY - 4PM-8PM
CONEY W/ GRILLED BUN AND FRENCH FRIES $2.50
EXTRA CONEY $1.00 - SORRY NO TAKE HOME
THURSDAY: WING DINGS 25 CENTS FROM 3 P.M. - 7 P.M.
(MINIMUM ORDER OF 6/TO GO REGULAR PRICE)
SUNDAY SPECIAL - "12 OZ MUG OF DRAFT" $1.00 - 3 P.M. TO 7 P.M.
22 OZ DRAFT - $1.75
"PICNIC ON THE PORCH" - SATURDAY JULY 25, 2009 - NOON TO 5
P.M.
FOOD, FUN, FROLIC - NO SIGNUPS - BRING A COVERED DISH!
FOOD AVAILABLE MONDAY - SATURDAY NOON - 8 P.M.
FRYER FOOD AVAILABLE STARTING AT 2 P.M. MON-SAT
Bob, Dixie, Mike, Deb, Alice, Denise, Char, Vickie, Smiley, Cheryl, David, Brandon, Justin, Merrie Ann, and Dan
