The Post had their Boys and Girl State diner September the
15th and if you have never attended one of these events you should.
When the young adults come to the podium to accept their certificate they
speak on their experiences at boys and girls state and believe me I am
impressed, I leave the dinner feeling really good about the future of our
county, state, and country. These young people have a lot going for
them; they will certainly be in some type of leadership role during their
lifetime. Well done recipients.
My wife Kathryn and I have been in charge of the Post's Care
Package program. We purchase items and ask for donations of items to be
sent to our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and aboard ships. This has been
one of the ways we have been getting items in boxes that Post 221 sends to our
service personnel overseas.
The American Legion Riders became involved. This last
Sunday, October 4th Legion Rider Sam Postlethwait and his wife Gay showed up at
our house with boxes and boxes of items for the Care Package program. What
they brought will fill many of the packages to be sent overseas.
Thanks millions Riders for all the items; I am sure the men
and women overseas will appreciate all you have done.
Also, the Legion Riders from Posts all over the country have
raised over $5,000,000.00 for the Children of servicemen and women killed in the
line of duty since 9/11. Their goal is $20,000,000.00, what a fine group
men and women. I can only say thank you a million for the items which you
brought to be sent by our Post 221.
By the time The Post Parade arrives at your house, the Post
will have memorialized over 25 Post members who have passed away since September
2008 with our Post Everlasting ceremony October 13, 2009.
MESSAGE FROM AUXILIARY PRESIDENT, UNIT 221
The weather is changing and schools is now in full swing. Football
games and homework take up most evenings in our households. Soon our
families will be visiting for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the winter
months will be upon us. in addition to these time honored events, the
Auxiliary has been very busy with School of Instruction and Fall Conference.
Over 200 members of the Auxiliary of Ohio attended Department School of
Instruction here at Post #221 on September 26. Martha Lee, our
Department President, and her Department Chairpersons led us in a day long
program designed to "instruct" us on the programs of the Auxiliary. It
was a wonderful day filled with information on how each of us can contribute
to the American Legion Auxiliary, and how each person is important in the
work that we do. The ladies of Unit #221 that attended were very proud
of the compliments that were heard about our Post home. We are very
fortunate to have a post with spacious rooms to meet in and kitchen
facilities to use. It was a great day for everyone involved.
10th District Fall Conference was held October 7 at Doylestown DWMD Unit
#407. Martha Lee was our guest speaker. She always gives a great
speech and gives us all something to reach for. This was also my first
official meeting as District President. One done, and now three more
to go! Again, it was a great day.
Don't forget to vote on Nov. 3! Exercise your Right! This
will also be the date of our regular unit meeting. On Nov. 7th, the
Unit will host a Homecoming for Martha Lee. This will be a wonderful
evening of fun and friendship and the members are very excited for her.
The Post and Unit will remember our veterans on November 11th at 11 on the
front lawn of the Post. That evening, we will hold our Early Bird
Dinner at 6:30.
The 10th District will host a Brecksville Birthday party on November 18th
and on November 21 our Color Guard will lead the Annual Massillon Christmas
Parade.
December kicks off with our regular meeting on Dec. 1. This is also
the night we hold a "wrap session" for the children's Christmas Party.
The meeting will begin at 6pm; bring your scissors and plenty of Scotch
tape! Our Children's Christmas Party will be held on December 12.
The party starts at 2:00pm, but registration begins at 1:00. No one
will be admitted until 1:00 PM so make arrangements accordingly. Also,
be on the lookout for the Angel Tree that will be up in the tavern!
Bring your items to the post, unwrapped but with the ticket attached.
We are also collecting gloves, hats, mittens, and scarves for our Wall of
Warmth. These items will be donated to the Salvation Army. On
December 6th, join us for an evening of fun and merriment before the
craziness of Christmas sets in! That is the night if our Santa
Auction. Bring your white elephant items, wrapped, and let us auction
them off to raise funds for our programs. This is always a fun night.
As you can see, these two months are busy at the Post. Please join
us and help us celebrate the holiday season. Please remember our
troops in your holiday plans. Send a military person a Christmas or
Hanukah Greeting. This is usually the hardest time to be away from
family and friends. God bless our country and our troops.
For God and Country,
-Janice Stevenson, President, Unit #221
S.A.L. NEWS FOR NOV./DEC.
Welcome new member Al Rostonski and Mark Macissac to our
squadron.
As this will be the last newsletter of the year, I'd like
to update everybody about the past few months. August took us to the
national convention in Louisville, KY. If you have never attended one,
it is a great experience. The State of Ohio took home two very big
awards; the Garland Murphy award and the Udie Grant award. These
awards are given for the largest donation and most money donated to the
Child Welfare Foundation.
November and December brings us to Thanksgiving and
Christmas. As you know, we adopt families for the holidays. If
you know of a family that needs help, write down their name, address, and
phone number and turn it in at the tavern. They have to be in by
November 9th and December 7th to be considered. We try to keep these
in the Legion family if we can.
I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas,
and a Happy New Year. Next regular meeting will be on Wednesday
December 9th. Due to Veterans Day, there will not be a meeting in
November.
Remember our Wagon of Cheer raffle. Tickets are
$1.00 or 6/$5.00 and can be purchased in the tavern or from any squad
member. Drawing will be Christmas Eve.
As always, Support Our Troops!
-Bob Lunsford, Commander, Squadron 221
Salvation Army Bell Ringing
One of our Post 221 traditions is to man the Salvation
Army Red Kettle collection point at the Massillon Kmart for a day. As
an organization, the Legion brings in more Red Kettle donations than any
other group, and we pride ourselves on this long partnership.
This year the American Legion and the Sons of the
American Legion will each be manning the Kettle for an entire Saturday.
The Sons will be at Kmart on Saturday, December 12th and the Legion will
perform this duty on Saturday, December 20th. The hours both days will
run from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
We break the day up into 2 hour shifts, and would like to
have at least 2 people, and preferably 3 or 4, for each 2 hour shift.
Having 3 to 4 people available helps to split up the work load and limits
exposure to the weather if it's very cold. A two hour shift actually
goes by very quickly. If you can't commit for 2 hours, even an hour
can be very helpful.
Sign up sheets will be up on the bulletin board at the
Post for those who want to volunteer to help out with a shift. If you
can't get down to the Post but want to participate, call the tavern at
833-4545 and they can let you know what spots are available and sign you up.
I would like to see more of our members participate in this very worthwhile
program, so please consider joining us in helping those less fortunate this
season.
-Mark Weldon, Adjutant
AMERICAN LEGION RIDERS
Another riding season is winding down. The Riders had a busy
summer! We rode almost 4,000 miles this year with an average of 9
bikes per ride. Since our inception in 2007, we have ridden together
8,500 miles and we have had a great time along the way! Some of us
even had the privilege of riding in the "Legacy Run" into Louisville,
Kentucky. While there, I was joined by Assistant Director, Randy
Dunbar and Secretary/Safety Officer, Ray Matthews in presenting $2,000.00
for the Legacy Scholarship Fund to the National Commander of the American
Legion, David Rehbein. David accomplished a lot during his year as
National Commander including helping the Riders work on some of our programs
because he is a :Legion Rider. He even rode half of the Legacy Run
before having to leave for Louisville for the National Convention.
At last count there was $638,000 raised for the Legacy Scholarship Fund
and this was $238,000 over our $400,000 goal. On behalf of Post 221 AL
Riders, I want to thank all of you at Post 221 who helped us raise these
funds especially the Legion, Auxiliary, and SAL.; you are all still
serving our country with your generosity.
If you know any Legion, Auxiliary, or SAL members who ride a motorcycle,
please tell them about our group and have them contact one of us.
We will soon be starting up a new Fund Raiser so keep watching in the
Tavern!
-Sam Postlethwait
"Big Sam", AL Riders Director
A CUT ABOVE
When you've been a person's Daughter in Law for 35 years,
you think you've heard all their stories. Not so!
My Father in Law, John Tsocheff, is someone most of you
know for his many years as an active and dedicated member of the American
Legion, as well as his stewardship of the John Tsocheff Memorial Museum and
Library.
Recently, John has been in the Rose Lane Nursing Home for
therapy before returning home. While taking a walk, we passed a barber
shop where we could schedule him for an overdue haircut. That
suggestion brought emphatic rejection. "I cut my own hair and haven't
been to a barber shop in over 40 years."
This of course piqued the interest of the lady in the
shop and me as well.
Then, he told us... the rest of the story.
While serving in the navy from 1944-47, he honed his
skills by routinely giving haircuts to his fellow sailors for 25 cents.
This fee was to replace clippers as needed. When he returned home to
Massillon, he continued cutting hair for servicemen and others in hospitals
and nursing homes.
One day, he learned from his own barber that the other
barbers in town were upset at him for giving free haircuts. They
lodged a complaint about him in the daily newspaper. As a result, he
vowed to cut his own hair and continued to cut the hair of veterans and
others in need. He has not had a barber touch his hair since 1969,
UNTIL he crossed paths with a captivating lady barber named Susan Woods, at
Rose Lane. Her charm and assurances, as well as his son Terry's
navigation of his wheelchair to the shop, sealed the deal.
Is he happy with the results? You betcha!!
-Harriet Tsocheff
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 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 SPECIALS: |
NOVEMBER - SEAFOOD PLATTER
DECEMBER - CITY CHICKEN |
|
WEDNESDAY SPECIALS
| NOV 4 |
- |
CRM CHICKEN & BISQ. |
DEC 2 |
- |
LASAGNA & GARLIC BRD |
| NOV 11 |
- |
NO SPECIAL |
DEC 9 |
- |
LIVER & ONIONS |
| NOV 18 |
- |
STUFFED PEPPERS |
DEC 16 |
- |
MEAT LOAF |
| NOV 25 |
- |
SAUSAGE SAND/FRIES |
DEC 23 |
- |
STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST |
| |
|
|
DEC 30 |
- |
SALMON PATTIES |
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
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
