Kat Cox stands with other officers of Sweet Home’s American Legion Post 133 in the spacious basement of what once was Fir Lawn Lutheran Church.
Around them, brand new tables and chairs stand neatly arranged around the sprawling room.
Welcome to the Legion’s new hall. But it will be a while before it will be fully functional.
That’s because repairs to the building at 109 W. Holley Road, severely damaged by an arson fire before church members decided to sell it to the Legion, still needs finishing touches.
Like insulation, drywall, light fixtures, carpet. And volunteer expertise.
Legion members, who are slowly returning to the organization, are already paying the mortgage, but they’re looking to complete the building so they can start renting it for local events, which will help with the financial demands the organization is facing.
“We need to get things going in November, right away,” said Tom Cox, one of the post officers. “Birthday parties, Christmas parties, that kind of thing.”
Kat Cox, the local post’s commander, said that although the downstairs section of the hall is already being used for Legion meetings and is available for other events – meetings and other gatherings, banquets, parties and more.
The community is stepping up with help in getting the post headquarters ready for use, they said.
One anonymous donor, from Lebanon, provided 48 “brand, spanking new” folding chairs that arrived last week, Cox said.
Columbia (formerly Umpqua) Bank provided more chairs and some tables.
With that furniture in place, the downstairs is functional, members said. They’re still working on getting cookware and utensils for the kitchen, as well as a refrigerator.
The building is representative of the Legion’s current state – one of rebuilding.
David Busby, one of the post officers, said Sweet Home has nearly 30 members now, but that’s a big need: more of them.
“The No. 1 thing that we need is members,” he said, as Cox interjected, “absolutely.”
They also need help in getting the building finished, Cox said. Legion members are making payments out of their own pockets as they try to get the upper story completed.
The focus of the Legion, Cox and others said, sets it apart from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which maintains the Sweet Home Veterans Club at 580 Main St.
Cox, who is a 17-year Legion member, expressed appreciation for the way the VFW has accommodated the Legion after the latter lost its building at 1127 Long St. in 2017.
A Vietnam Air Force veteran herself, she is the first woman to serve in the VFW Honor Guard in Sweet Home.
Membership in the VFW is restricted to veterans who have served in a combat zone or have received a campaign medal, whereas the Legion, founded in 1919, focuses on four pillars: Americanism, Children and Youth, National Security, and Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation.
The VFW, founded in 1899, specifically focuses on fostering camaraderie among veterans who have served in overseas conflicts.
“They have been more of a companion group,” Cox said, noting that the Legion post will not have a bar or regular alcohol sales, though it will be able to accommodate groups that want to include alcohol in their functions.
“It’ll be once in a while when there’s a specific need or event,” she said. “It won’t be a bar.
“We have a lot of programs that we need to be working on, with the children and the youth and the veterans and their families and law enforcement camp.”
One example, she and Jenkins said, is the American Legion’s National Oratorical Contest, which gives high-schoolers a chance to has helped youth deepen their understanding of the Constitution, develop leadership, and earn scholarships through public speaking about the Constitution.
“There’s a lot of scholarship money at the state level and the national level,” Busby said.
He said they’re working on getting Sweet Home students involved in time to compete in the local competition around the beginning of the new year.
But meanwhile, they are working to get the post in full operation.
The roof of the former church sanctuary on the main floor, which has been restructured completely, replacing the high A-frame peaked roof on the church building, needs to be insulated and sheet-rocked.
A sound system has been donated and will be installed upstairs, Cox said, and the stage, which was damaged during the firefighting operations, needs some repairs and carpet, which must be completed before the sound system is put in.
Once completed, the Legion plans to use the hall as a community center and make it available for rent. Cox and the others emphasized that they are not looking to compete with other organizations on activities such as bingo nights.
“We’re not looking to step on anybody’s toes,” Tom Cox said. .
“What kind of events can we support here?” Busby asked. “We can do all kinds of things. Once we get this energy going, it can build on itself. We can do a lot of good things for the community with this building.”