Get to Know Doylestown's American Legion Post 210

There are several veterans' organizations in the Doylestown area.  I have highlighted the VFW Post 175 in a previous blog entry.  I hope to feature all the groups in upcoming blogs.

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 after World War I as a patriotic veteran’s organization. Focusing on service to veterans, service members and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States. Membership swiftly grew to over 1 million, and local posts sprang up across the country. Today, membership stands at over 2.4 million in 14,000 posts worldwide. The posts are organized into 55 departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.

The local post in Doylestown is the at 315 North Street. Post 210 was established in 1919 and is active in community activities. 
The post is who perished on the battlefield in France during World War I.  The organization promotes civic duty, patriotism and citizenship.

In order to be a member, you either need to be currently on active duty, serving the United States honorably anywhere in the world, or have served honorably during any of the following eligible war eras:

• April 6, 1917 to Nov. 11, 1918
       (World War I)

Unlike the VFW, you do not need to serve in the war zone, only served during that
time.

The American Legion’s success depends entirely on active membership, participation and volunteerism. The organization belongs to the people it serves and the communities in which it thrives.

At one time, the Post hosted carnivals for the residents of Doylestown from the 1940s until the 1970s. It also was the place to be with its Saturday dances, turkey dinners at Thanksgiving and occasional pancake breakfasts.

Although it does not host dinners and pancake breakfasts, the Post still holds a pancake breakfast twice a year at Applebee’s in the Barn Plaza Shopping Center, Doylestown Twp. 

The post is active in many community activities. It sponsors a youth baseball team that is currently building a new baseball field. Steve Ruane, Doylestown American
Legion Baseball manager, shared his plans with me.

“The project we are working on is to dig up the present baseball infield at War Memorial Field and replace it with a collegiate-level field. The project will include irrigation, deep cut drainage and all new playing surfaces. This is a community field and has many possibilities for future expansion as a summer long destination for community baseball games. We have developed a relationship with Doylestown Athletic Association and Doylestown Connie Mack baseball to share the experience of playing on the "big" field.

We are planning to run a Capital Campaign with community leaders, alumni and
local businesses to raise the money needed to pay for the first installment of
$50,000 of the project. This is going to be a wonderful improvement
to this long-standing field. It has been a heavily used field for decades and
will continue to be the center of the baseball world in Doylestown. We are
planning on the "Field of Dreams" motto of "Build it and They Will Come" helping us with this project. The plan is to raise funds by raffling a car from Keenan Honda, an alumni golf outing as well as corporate sponsors and local donations.

Our veterans have been such a wonderful help to us, they support all we do and
we in turn send our men to work at the Legion Hall, Parade and whatever else
these deserving men require.  As the Capital Campaign progresses the plan
is to keep the Golf outing going as an annual event raising money for the
Veterans and team expenses.

This is going to be an exciting few years for us at the Doylestown American Legion!"

The Legion also sponsors scholarships for local high schools. The post also is a
big part of the annual and hosts a luncheon each
year after the parade on its grounds.

The Post also collects old worn and torn flags throughout the year and hosts a flag retirement ceremony to properly dispose of the flags. There is a box outside of the building to bring your flags.

Each year, the post sponsors an Easter Egg Hunt at the grounds for the children of the area.

In order to provide these services, the post has several fundraisers throughout
the year.  As stated above, is a big raiser of funds. You
will also see members selling raffle tickets for hams and turkeys at certain holiday times throughout the year at local grocery stores. 

Like all of the veterans' organizations in the area, the community is very important
to them and the many things done by these organizations are sometimes overlooked. So, if you see a veteran sitting in the cold selling raffle tickets or helping children at an Easter egg hunt or other activity, feel free to say thank you or help financially in some way to keep this great organization going. It will be appreciated.

To inquire about any activities or how to become a member or visit http://www.legion.org/ or call 215-345-4170.