Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
On Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, The American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) turned 100.
American Legion Auxiliary Unit 30 in New Rockford is planning to celebrate with a Veteran's Day Breakfast from 7 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019 at the New Rockford Eagles Club with a free-will offering. The community is invited to attend.
The American Legion Auxiliary was founded in 1919 to help advance the mission of the American Legion to honor the sacrifice of those who serve by enhancing the lives of our veterans, the military, and their families, both at home and abroad. Following the formation of the American Legion, several existing women's organizations wanted to become affiliated with the Legion. Instead of joining with a pre-existing group, the Legion decided to build a new organization from the ground up made up of those most closely associated with te Legion. In less than one year, 1,342 local units of the American Legion Auxiliary were formed in 45 states.
Today, the ALA has nearly 600,000 members and more than 8,000 units nationwide. From helping to draft
the GI Bill in 1944 to advocating for veterans on Capitol Hill, the American Legion Family has been instrumental in advancing legislation that improves the quality of life for our nation's veterans.
Locally, since our Post #30 was chartered in 1924, services have been provided to veterans and our community. Some of the ways we serve are by our monthly meetings where we take care of business and plan for events. We sell poppies for veterans just before Memorial Day, our members attend regional and state meetings, and we host a breakfast for veterans each Veteran's Day. We provide apples for local teachers on their recognition day, and we host monthly birthday parties at the Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd. We collect food for the food pantry, have clothing and blanket drives for the needy, and we give scholarships to graduating seniors. Several local and state organizations receive monetary donations from us. Many years ago, the auxiliary had bicycle racks built for the school children, and they are still in use today. We will continue to support the work of the American Legion, and we thank you for your support of both of these fine organizations. We always welcome new members, and if you have a close relative who served in our military, you are eligible to join us.
Contact Sharon at (701) 649-0265 or Betty at (701) 302-0348.