Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

A shining history, a cloudy future

As the county's oldest veterans group marks its 75th anniversary, its leaders worry about declining membership.

By LOGAN NEILL
Published February 24, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Edmund D. Fountain] American Legion Post 99 finance officer Ed Baker, left, 74 and commander Bob Perkins, 62, check to make sure a banner is level for the open house.

BROOKSVILLE - Around the American Legion Post 99 in Brooksville, Ed Baker and Bob Perkins are known as the go-to guys.

If there are light bulbs to be replaced or hamburgers that need cooking or bingo numbers that are going to be called out, chances are, one or both of them will be reporting for duty.

"He's the chief cook and I'm the bottle washer," Perkins joked. "We both spend a heck of lot of time here."

There's always something that needs attention at the aging 50-year-old hall on Fort Dade Avenue. However, the past couple of weeks have been particularly busy as Baker, Perkins and other members have taken to sprucing up the place in anticipation of post's 75th anniversary celebration.

Folks who attend today's open house from 1 to 4 p.m. will find the building sporting freshly finished floors, and windows decorated with red, white and blue bunting. And they will be greeted warmly by post members smartly dressed in their uniforms.

"We enjoy showing our club off," said Perkins, commander of Andrew Jackson American Legion Post 99. "There's a lot of pride in our history and the things we have done in the community through the years."

Chartered by the state in 1932, Post 99 is the oldest active veterans organization in Hernando County. Although the group boasts 190 active members, the current roster is only about a third the size that it was during its heyday in the 1960s.

That concerns Perkins, who has been at the helm for about two years.

"We're not attracting the younger vets like we used to," said Perkins, 62. "The old-timers are dying off faster than we can find new members, and the younger guys just don't have the same allegiance to veterans groups."

Perkins, a Vietnam-era Army veteran, believes that at least some of the dropoff is due to the American Legion's strict qualifications, which limits membership to men and women of the armed forces whose active duty occurred during war time.

But as the World War II and Korean veteran population slowly dies off, Perkins is concerned that the American Legion could become a thing of the past unless some new recruits step up.

Getting Vietnam War vets like himself interested in joining has been a bit tough. Many are still of working age and don't have the time devote to a service group.

"They have families and jobs that pull them away from us," said Perkins. "Hopefully, once they retire in a few years that will change."

Ideally, Perkins said he would prefer to attract members who would be willing to further the post's volunteer involvement within the community.

"That's really what we're all about," said Perkins.

Baker, who serves as finance officer and judge advocate, said that the post's long history of community service dates back to the Depression era. A ledger he discovered in the basement of the hall recorded the group's $11 donation to a Brooksville home for "crippled children."

"It doesn't sound like much now, but back then, that probably fed a child for a couple of months," Baker said.

Through the years, the post has helped raise money toward the establishment of children's hospitals in Tampa and St. Petersburg and, along with its auxiliary unit, provides financial support for yearly scholarships through the Boys State and Girls State programs.

Much of the funding for such programs comes through regular social activities at the hall. Weekly bingo tournaments, dinner dances and other fundraising activities not only help to keep the unit afloat, they are a welcome source of social activity for many of the unit's elderly members.

"We're a close-knit group, and we like to get together and have a good time," said Perkins. "For some, it helps them to keep going."

If you go

Open house today

The Andrew Jackson American Legion Post 99 will host a free open house from 1 to 4 p.m. today at the post home at 208 E Fort Dade Ave., Brooksville. For information, call 796-9369 .

[Last modified February 23, 2007, 20:54:47]