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12— Section I Saturday, April 5, 1975 THE HERALDSaturdayVFW post marches into its secondWorld War I veteran Paul Holste, 82, remembers the days when lie was the first commander...by LYNN AS1NOFA lot of men have gone through the doors of VFW Prospect Post 1337 since the “war to end all wars” concluded more than half a century ago.A lot more wars, probably more than those original 15 doughboys who gathered in a warehouse behind what is now Wille's Hardware could have ever imagined, have passed by, too.The men with their memories will gather Sunday and through the week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the post.WHILE THE WORLD has changed since Paul Holste was installed as the post’s first commander on April 7, 1925, Holste said the VFW itself is pretty much the same.“It’s a place you can get together and have your meeting and talk things over and meet your comrades and stuff,” said Holste. who is still a regular meeting-goer.Holste, 82, is one of four charter members alive today. “But I'mabout the only one who attends the meetings over there from the First World War,” he said.When the post started, Holste said the members were all World War I veterans. “First World War boys were more anxious to work and get things done,” he said.THERE WAS Prohibition in the early days, so the post members didn't do a lot of drinking. But Holste said he brought a couple of jugs of his father’s homemade wine to the first installation banquet.The post got its first home when it bought an old farmhouse at 51 N. Wille St. and moved in 1933. Holste said the post members had to put a lot of work into the old building. “There was about four feet of water in the basement,” he said.The old post was later converted into a single-family home which recently burned. The village is now trving to get the building condemned.After World War II, the VFW postgot many new' members. “From then on the members came very heavily,” Holste said. “That’s why we had to move from the old place because the Second World War guys were coming in.”THE POST purchased property at 601 N. Main St., and groundbreaking ceremonies took place in 1948. The building w^as ready for an open house by 1949 with the first meeting at the new building on May 26, 1950.At 4 p.m. Sunday, the post has scheduled a special golden anniversary award citation from VFW National headquarters. There will also be a flag-dedication ceremony and a buffet served by the ladies auxiliary.There are open houses every evening throughout the week, with either bingo or other entertainment planned. On April 12, the weeklong celebration will end with a dinner dance that begins at 6:30 p.m. and costs $6 per person.
Newspaper Details
Hoffman Estates Herald
Hoffman Estates, Illinois, US
Sat, Apr 05, 1975
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Mount P.
IL, USA 14 Jun 2024
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