Whether volunteering at Prom Plus or hosting a variety of bingo games, the American Legion adds much to the CV community.

By Charly SHELTON

The veterans of American Legion Post 288 on La Crescenta Avenue are a pillar of the community. No matter the event around town, the veterans can be found helping set up tables, directing traffic, cleaning up trash and doing whatever else needs to be done. Now celebrating the 95th anniversary of Post 288, the pace hasn’t slowed despite the passing of years.

  “The Post has a long history of community service in the Crescenta Valley,” said Lynn McGinnis, past commander and judge advocate of Post 288. “We have a membership of about 150 and we have about 25 active members. The other 125 are what we call paper members; they pay their dues for the American Legion and the national level and state level simply looks for membership numbers to bolster or support when they lobby the government.

“At the local level, we are identified by the Internal Revenue Service as a Veterans Service Organization in the community. We support youth, we support veterans and we support Americanism. Those three traditions of youth, veterans and Americanism go back very deeply with this Post and its 95 years.”

To commemorate the special day, which is on April 9, the Legion will hold its monthly veterans breakfast on Saturday, April 13 when it will also take a moment to give a special nod for 95 years of service.

“We’re putting an emphasis on [the Post’s] birthday. [Vice Commander] Robert [Wollenweber] is bringing a birthday cake, we’ve been contacted by [Assemblymember Laura] Friedman’s office and [County Supervisor Kathryn] Barger’s office. It sounds like they’re going to drop one of their decorative certificates to recognize the 95 years,” McGinnis said. “But we are not throwing a communitywide birthday party; that’s a little self-serving and we don’t think it’s consistent with the way we’ve been running the Legion the last five or six years.”

The veterans breakfast will include eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, hash browns, coffee and juice, McGinnis said. The breakfast is open to all veterans and their families, as well as the friends of the Legion.

Who are the friends of the Legion? Anyone who carries a spirit of service to others.

“That’s anyone in this community who is doing any kind of volunteer work, and they’re invited to a free breakfast. You might be just helping an elderly couple next door by driving them to the market when they need groceries, or maybe your teenage son mows their lawn to help them out because they don’t have a lot of income beyond Social Security,” McGinnis said. “You may be doing volunteer work with your church, you may be doing it through the chamber, you may be doing it through a club at CV or Rosemont – whatever. I don’t care how you’re doing the volunteer work but if you’re doing any kind of work to help any person here in the Crescenta Valley you’re invited to a free breakfast.”

Beyond the vets and friends breakfast in April, the “Merry Month of May” is always the busiest time of the year for the Legion. The first Wednesday of the month is the American Legion monthly meeting, then in May it’s the vets breakfast on the second Saturday of the month, which honors first responders. The third Wednesday of the month is the meeting of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. There is plenty going on month-to-month.

But on May 18 is Armed Services Day, which the Legion commemorates with its annual car show at CV Park. Then Memorial Day is on May 27 when the Legion hosts a ceremony at the war memorial in Two Strike Park, 5107 Rosemont Ave.

For anyone interested in attending the April breakfast, it will be held on Saturday, April 13 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Legion Hall, 4011 La Crescenta Ave.

“We would like to have you come down and we ask you to bring your appetite,” McGinnis said.

For anyone interested in buying the Legion Hall a birthday present, it is still accepting donations to its GoFundMe page set up to renovate the parking lot of the Hall. With only $1,712 left to reach the $24,000 goal, the finish line is near. A donation to the efforts of the veterans would be a great way to wish the Legion a happy birthday and say thank you for all that the organization does for the community.

To donate, visit the GoFundMe page at GoFundMe.com/AmericanLegionVerdugoHillsHall.

  Charly Shelton