Local Legionnaires keeping busy
Ongoing activities and plans for future ones are keeping local Legionnaires pretty busy these days.
Of course there is the always popular omelet breakfast on the third Sunday of each month. There have been so many people lately that the cooks have run out of available bratwurst! Last time, another cooking station had to be added. Given that each station includes one Legionnaire and two frying pans, that generally means at least six or seven cooks working their fastest to serve the line of hungry customers, each with a cup full of ingredients to be added to a ladle of beaten eggs.
Once the omelet or scrambled eggs have been served, customers move on to get their choices among biscuits, potatoes, gravy, fruit cups, orange juice, and coffee. Then comes the fun of sharing table space and conversation.
Some people have not come to these breakfasts because they have the mistaken idea that they have to be veterans. They don’t have to be; anyone is welcome, as long as they bring $8 ($10 includes bratwurst).
Tuesdays are also busy days. That’s when Doye Sivils, a Veterans Administration counselor from the Sacramento Vet Center, is at the post from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. to assist veterans with special needs regarding benefits and health care, as well as answering any other questions a veteran might have. This arrangement makes it so much easier for veterans than having to make long trips to Sacramento, Palo Alto, or Livermore.
On two Tuesday nights, first and third, in each month from 5 to 7:30 p.m., Cell Block 7 provides some great dance and Dixieland music. Post 22 membership provides the food, and there is no charge for this evening of entertainment.
Plans are already in the works for the annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner set for Saturday, March 17, at the Post. Traditional corned beef and cabbage will be served at 5 p.m., with doors opening at 4 o’clock. Cost is $10 per person, and reservations should be made no later than March 14 by calling 209-368-1420 or 209-625- 7982.
Looking even farther ahead, ideas and plans are being gathered for the celebration of the Post’s 100th anniversary in 2019. It was in 1919 that the small contingent of World War I veterans still in Europe came up with the idea of an American Legion. Soon after, posts were established in the United States to care for and support war veterans and their communities. Since then the Legion has gathered service members from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Post 22 board members are asking anyone with ideas for this remembrance to leave messages by calling or emailing them personally, or by calling the office at 209-3681420.