PINE GROVE MILLS, CENTRE COUNTY – VFW Post 5825 is celebrating its 65th birthday Saturday and they’re dedicating a monument to its charter and founding members.
June 7, 1950, this VFW Post opened its doors with 63 members.
“We started down where the sign is at the beginning,” Dan Rhodes, Post Commander, said. “That was the old Post and that was actually a gas station, it was an inn and they bought the Post and all 11.5 acres of ground here in 1950.”
Fast forward 65 years, to today.
“There have been a lot of changes,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes joined the VFW in 1970 after he got back from Vietnam.
“I wasn’t in the best shape. Nobody really, back then, cared one way or the other whether you were okay or not,” he said. “Some of the guys who were here helped get me back on the right track.”
He said the Post has been a home away from home, for him and about 700 other current members.
“The new porch was just put in and finished up, we just added new furniture, planted all new flowers,” he said. “We’re slowly, but surely putting it all together.”
It’s been a two year renovation process, with about a $500,000 price tag, but Rhodes said it’s all worth it.
Saturday, men and women who served in all branches will be honored, along with three founding members.
“We only have three living Post Charter members right now,” Rhodes said.
Their names and dozens others are imprinted in the monument and will stand as a symbol of community.
The birthday and dedication celebrations will begin Saturday at 1:00 P.M. at the VFW Post 5825. Everyone is welcome to join in on the festivities. Food and drinks will be served.
June 7, 1950, this VFW Post opened its doors with 63 members.
“We started down where the sign is at the beginning,” Dan Rhodes, Post Commander, said. “That was the old Post and that was actually a gas station, it was an inn and they bought the Post and all 11.5 acres of ground here in 1950.”
Fast forward 65 years, to today.
“There have been a lot of changes,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes joined the VFW in 1970 after he got back from Vietnam.
“I wasn’t in the best shape. Nobody really, back then, cared one way or the other whether you were okay or not,” he said. “Some of the guys who were here helped get me back on the right track.”
He said the Post has been a home away from home, for him and about 700 other current members.
“The new porch was just put in and finished up, we just added new furniture, planted all new flowers,” he said. “We’re slowly, but surely putting it all together.”
It’s been a two year renovation process, with about a $500,000 price tag, but Rhodes said it’s all worth it.
Saturday, men and women who served in all branches will be honored, along with three founding members.
“We only have three living Post Charter members right now,” Rhodes said.
Their names and dozens others are imprinted in the monument and will stand as a symbol of community.
The birthday and dedication celebrations will begin Saturday at 1:00 P.M. at the VFW Post 5825. Everyone is welcome to join in on the festivities. Food and drinks will be served.
