By Patric Hedlund, TME

If it takes a village to save a 74-year-old community institution, it was indeed a village that showed up on Saturday, March 12, to the home of VFW Post 9791—with three large Cavey’s pizzas, two dozen of Susan Henning’s homemade brownies, three veterans of foreign wars to sign on as new members and a roomful of neighbors (aged 8 years to 93) to applaud. They all arrived to say they are determined to help keep their Veterans of Foreign Wars Post open as a pillar of this Mountain Community.

The group aids all veterans, no matter where they served. This VFW gives scholarships to high school students, money to Meals on Wheels, coordinates Memorial and Veterans Day ceremonies at the Cody Prosser Veterans Memorial in Frazier Mountain Park, cooks up the Frank Thorpe VFW Pancake Breakfast for Fiesta Days, loans the entire community vital home-care medical equipment when their loved ones are ill—from crutches to hospital beds—provides an annual flag retirement ceremony and has provided Saturday Bingo Night fun for decades. But all that was at risk of ending last week.

SOS Alert

The SOS alert was sounded this month by VFW Quartermaster Ben Loveless and Trustee A.J. Durocher.

They wanted the public to know that the national bylaws for VFW posts mandate that they would have to close if they could not fill all their elected positions this month—and they have a lot of mandatory elected positions!

Struggling To Rebuild

It is a time when the entire culture of this Mountain Community is struggling to rebuild itself­—and every organization is trying to restore its networks of volunteers after this long covid-19 pandemic quarantine.

VFW 9791 members are still reeling from the deaths of four of their most active brothers and sisters during this past pandemic year, including Post Commander Gil Valenzuela just three months ago, Vietnam vet Dave Hicks, plus faithful Auxiliary members John Dever and the dynamic Dolores “Dee” Bumgardner.

Is This The End?

On March 12 State VFW District 6 Commander John Crump came to the local VFW meeting bearing a VFW national rule book, looking a bit like a friendly undertaker. He was there to make clear that Post 9791 could not continue if…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

Photo captions:

VFW Trustee A.J. Durocher, VFW Auxiliary President DiAnn Dever, Mountain Memories Association President Wade Jones, new Auxiliary member Michael Buckland, (middle): Susan Henning, Auxiliary Secretary Sarah Petrosky, Auxiliary Chaplain Christy Zimmerman, Auxiliary Treasurer Barbara Norcross, Sarah Moffitt, new Auxiliary member Jennifer Buckland, (back): William Henning, VFW Chaplain Wilford Bummer, new Post Commander Jim Flanagan, Quartermaster Ben Loveless, new VFW member James Shepard (Army, Vietnam), Dick Albright and Michael Moffitt. Not Shown: new VFW members Rhonda Igo (Air Force, Desert Storm, Iraq), Andrew Reininger (Air Force, Korea) and about 15 more mountain neighbors.

Rhonda Igo served in U.S. Air Force Intelligence in Desert Storm and in Iraq. She has lived in Frazier Park for eight months. Igo agreed to be 9791’s junior vice commander, its first woman officer.
• She hopes more woman veterans will join the post to help invigorate and modernize the VFW spirit.
•Meanwhile, the VFW Auxiliary also signed up new members. Men and women who wish to support the VFW are invited to join the Auxiliary.

Newly promoted Post 9791 Commander Jim Flanagan conducts the ceremony to induct three new members, James Shepard, Andrew Reininger and Rhonda Igo, with 9791’s Chaplain Wilford Bummer looking on. The new recruits pledged to uphold the constitution. Current members voted to admit them, and then the full group held interim elections. The next meeting is April 5 at 11 a.m. Annual elections will be in July.

John Crump of Maricopa, greeting Gorman School District Superintendent/Principal Dena Kiouses, who said she came to see how she might be able to help support the VFW and the Auxiliary.

As Quartermaster Ben Loveless calls what could have been Post 9791’s last business meeting to order, John Crump, Regional Commander, watches, and Dick Albright reviews TME’s March 4, 2022, front page story, ‘Will VFW have to close?’

Sarah Petrosky (Auxiliary secretary for seven years) and 16-year president DiAnn Dever said they will work with Post 9791 to be sure the VFW phone number is being answered regularly again.

Quartermaster Ben Loveless and longtime trustee A.J. Durocher hold DiAnn Dever’s hands, as gratitude for community support brought emotion to everyone, including her friend Sarah Moffitt (wiping away a tear). Dever lost both her husband (John) and her best friend (Dee Bumgardner) this past year, and now she is losing her sight. But when she accepted the $500 gift from the VFW fund for bereaved families, she immediately donated back $300 to buy a Lifetime VFW Auxiliary membership for former commander Gil Valenzuela’s wife.  

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This is part of the March 18, 2022 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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